Confidence among U.S. chief executive officers rose in the fourth quarter to the highest level in almost a year as their economic outlook and hiring plans improved, a private survey showed.

The Young Presidents' Organization's index of sentiment climbed to 62.2 from 57.7 in the prior three months, according to the Dallas-based group. Readings greater than 50 show the outlook was more positive than negative in the survey, which started in July 2009. The employment index rose to 59.8, the highest since records began, from 58.3 in the previous quarter.

Fifty-one percent of the executives surveyed said the economy would improve in the next six months, up from 30 percent in the prior period. Recent government data showed the world's largest economy expanded 2.8 percent in the final three months of 2011, the fastest pace in more than a year, and employers added 243,000 workers in January, the most in nine months.

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