Employer confidence in the Massachusetts business climate dipped slightly last month, according to data released today by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM).
AIM’s business confidence index fell from 50.8 in January to 50 in February, with a 50 rating on the 100-point scale representing a neutral assessment. Business confidence was at 49 at this time last year.
“We are not seeing any progress in the first months of 2014,” said Raymond Torto, global chairman of research at CRBE and chair of AIM’s board of economic advisors. “It’s a telling sentiment of the long-term damage inflicted on employer sentiment by the Great Recession.”
Most of AIM’s sub-indices fell slightly in February, with the lone exception of the employment index, which rose 0.8 points to 51.2. The Massachusetts index of business conditions widened the gap with its federal counterpart due to a 2.5-point dip in the federal figure.
AIM President and CEO Richard Lord said the commonwealth needs to undertake confidence-building measures – such as reforming the unemployment insurance system – before employers will invest further.
“Business confidence has fallen drastically with the onset of the recession, and it has recovered slowly – even more slowly … than the underlying economy,” Lord said. “In fact, unlike the economy, confidence has come to a standstill.”
Some 26 percent of employers reported adding jobs over the past six months, the survey found, while 25 percent reported reducing the size of their workforce.
