More than 40 percent of respondents in the January survey by the National Association for Business Economics said they expected their firms to raise prices in the first three months of the year, the largest percentage since 2012. "The outlook for 2014 is strengthening" said Jack Kleinhenz, the group's president and chief economist at Kleinhenz and Associates.

But despite the brighter outlook, the pace of hiring is not expected to increase, the survey said.

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