Central Mass. business confidence drops into pessimistic territory again
Photo | Grant Welker
Downtown Worcester
The Central Massachusetts business confidence descended past neutrality and into pessimistic territory in June, making it the least confident region in Massachusetts.
The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index dropped 3.8 percentage points from 50.6 in May to 46.8 in June, according to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index. Central Massachusetts’ business confidence index is developed in conjunction with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Though now in pessimistic territory, June’s score was still 0.9 percentage points higher than April’s in which the Central Massachusetts index dropped to 45.9, the second lowest monthly index recorded since November 2021, when AIM launched regional confidence scoring.
The statewide index decreased in June by 3.5 percentage points to 49.8. June’s data represented Massachusetts’ lowest index since September and marked the largest over-the-month drop in the past year. Still, June’s index was 0.1 points higher than that of June 2023. The AIM index pulls from a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers and is scored from a 100-point scale; a score of above 50 represents an optimistic outlook and a score below 50 represents a pessimistic outlook.
Central Massachusetts’ business confidence was the lowest of the three regions surveyed: the Western Massachusetts index increased from 44.8 to 50.3, and the North Shore index stayed within the optimistic range at 52.5.
Confidence Massachusetts employers have in their own business decreased 4.0 percentage points from 54.8 in May to 50.8 in June, marking a 1.1 percentage point increase from June 2023.
The Massachusetts index was higher than the country’s index, though both scores were in pessimistic territory. The Massachusetts index was 49.7, 3.0 percentage points higher than the U.S. index, which scored 46.7.
“One constant in the AIM survey has been weak sentiment among manufacturers. Thus, most of the June deterioration was in service sectors, where post-pandemic recoveries are largely completed, and activity may be stalling,” Sara Johnson, chair of the AIM Board of Economic Advisors, said in a Monday press release from AIM.
Manufacturing was the lowest scoring constituent among employers with an index of 45.0, down 1.0 percentage point from May and 0.7 percentage points from June 2023.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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