Business Leaders Express Worries Over Economic Risks

LONDON (Reuters) – Business leaders globally are worried about recession risks, labor shortages, and rising inflation, despite some economic improvement, according to a World Economic Forum survey released on Thursday.

Extreme weather events have become a growing concern, following a year characterized by record temperatures, severe flooding, and wildfires in major economies such as Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, and the United States. This was revealed in a survey of more than 11,000 business leaders from G20 countries.

According to the WEF Executive Opinion Survey, there is "a significant level of anxiety among business leaders in G20 countries," stated Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer for Europe at Marsh McLennan (NYSE:MMC), a partner of the WEF, along with Zurich Insurance.

The economic downturn is viewed as the top risk facing business leaders over the next two years, closely followed by labor and talent shortages, then inflation. Poverty and inequality rank fourth, while extreme weather events are fifth, the survey indicated.

In specific country surveys, concerns surrounding adverse technological risks, including artificial intelligence, ranked highly, being the top risk for doing business in Indonesia, third in the United States, and fourth in Britain.