Business confidence nearly in optimistic territory
Photo | Grant Welker
A quiet Main Street in downtown Worcester
Business confidence in Massachusetts rebounded in June in lockstep with the reopening of economic sectors that had been sealed off by government order to guard against the spread of COVID-19.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) reported Tuesday morning that its business confidence index rose 6.9 points to 49, one point below the level that signifies an optimistic outlook among employers.
"Companies certainly want to reopen as soon as possible and hire back some of the one million Massachusetts residents who lost their jobs during the pandemic," said Raymond Torto, chair of the AIM Board of Economic Advisors. "At the same time, the flareup of COVID-19 cases in states that opened aggressively seems to underscore the value of moderation."
Based on a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers, the index had posted readings in the optimistic territory for an extended period before it plummeted to 40.2 in March with COVID's arrival that dragged the nation into recession.
Massachusetts employers last month grew notably more optimistic about their own companies, with an index that measures that sentiment rising 5.9 points to 51.6, moving into optimistic territory for the first time since the shutdowns. The future index, measuring expectations for six months out, rose 3.6 points to 51.8.
At 43.7, the weakest sub-index in June was the U.S. index that measures conditions nationally. However, that index gained 7.7 points, recovering somewhat after a drop of 14.3 points during the year.
AIM board member Michael Goodman cautioned that the pandemic's negative impacts on health care and higher education, two usually stable sectors for Massachusetts, will make the economic recovery more difficult.
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