Image | Courtesy of Associated Industries of Massachusetts
June 5, 2023
Index: Central Mass. business leaders still optimistic on economic outlook
Photo | Grant Welker
The Worcester skyline
By Timothy Doyle
While the business community throughout Massachusetts have begun to feel pessimistic about the state’s economic outlook for the first time in three years, company leaders in Central Mass. remain cautiously optimistic, according to the monthly index from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.
In the Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index for May, the region’s business leaders had an overall score of 50.3, which is still in optimistic territory. The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index is a subset of the AIM’s Business Confidence Index. It is based on a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers and is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; above 50 as positive; and below 50 as negative. The Central Mass. index is a joint indicator conducted by AIM and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The Central Mass. index rose one-tenth of a percentage point in May after slipping in March and April, according to a Monday press release from AIM.
Statewide, the index pushed lower to 49.6 in May, falling from 50.1 in April when it hit its lowest point since December 2020. Confidence among manufacturers fell 2.2 points to 46.5.
“Businesses have been stung by both stubbornly high inflation and persistently high interest rates, which have dampened demand and raised costs. It’s unfortunately not surprising that the Future Index indicates that business leaders expect these conditions to worsen further,” Michael Tyler, chief investment officer at Eastern Bank Wealth Management and vice chair of AIM’s board of economic advisors, said in the press release. “Thankfully, a possible recession would likely be shallow and short, cushioned by a strong jobs market and healthy consumer spending.”
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