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CEOs of the Fortune 500, surveyed in the last two weeks of April, believe it will be years before the effects of COVID-19 are purged from the U.S. economy. Only 27% expect their workers to fully return to their usual workplaces this year. A majority believe it will be the first quarter of 2022 before overall economic activity returns to levels reached before the pandemic, and another 27% don’t expect that until the first quarter of 2023. Most say business travel at their company will never return to levels reached before the crisis. Despite the economic impact, three-fourths believe the crisis will force their companies to accelerate their technological transformation.
Fortune 500 CEO Poll conducted 4/23-5/4. Risk question provided by survey sponsor, Zurich North America Insurance.
A version of this article appears in the June/July 2020 issue of Fortune with the headline “The CEO Outlook”