The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index ended three months of gains and declined to 38.2 in June.
A score of 50 on the index is considered neutral. The index hit its all-time low of 33.3 in February and by May had inched up to 39. AIM said the overall trend in the index “is positive but not strong.”
AIM’s future index, which asks businesses about their prospects for the coming six months, lost 1.1 points to finish June at 43.7. The state’s economy has not reached a turning point, AIM said.
The company index, which asks survey respondents about their own operations, fell 1.3 points to 40.9 and the sales index fell six-tenths of a point to 39.5.
Although respondents were hopeful about the future, they were “very negative about the current business climate generally,” AIM said. Not one rated state or national business conditions “good.”
AIM also announced today that it had partnered with five community colleges, including Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, to offer non-credit courses in human resources and customer service.
