Business confidence levels stabilized in June
Confidence levels among Massachusetts employers stabilized in June following a sharp drop between April and May.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported Tuesday that its business confidence index settled at 57.6 in June, up half a point from May and down 3.7 points from a year ago. The index has held since October 2013 within the 50-or-higher zone that represents optimistic territory.
The employer trade group said its index "reflects constantly changing headlines about international trade, economic growth and the direction of interest rates."
While concerned about an economic slowdown, Massachusetts employers are encouraged by larger-than-expected national job growth numbers released last Friday, signals that the Federal Reserve Bank may ease interest rates, and "signs of a thaw" in trade relations between the U.S. and China, according to AIM Board of Economic Advisors Chair Raymond Torto.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congressional panels on Wednesday and Thursday.
AIM President John Regan also said businesses were encouraged by recent Beacon Hill decisions to postpone for three months the start of new payroll taxes to fund paid family and medical leave and to sunset, as scheduled, temporary assessments on employers to help finance growing MassHealth costs.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments