Mass. business owners' confidence steady
Massachusetts business owner’s confidence in their businesses held steady in September, although confidence in state and national conditions remained less positive, according to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM).
AIM’s monthly Business Confidence Index recorded a 54.4 on a 100-point scale (50 is neutral). That’s a slight 0.2 percentage-point increase over August; 2.9 percentage points from September 2013. Business owners’ confidence remains down since a high of 56.2 in July, but is still steadily increasing since it recorded a 50 in February.
“On our survey, employers gave more positive answers to all questions relating to their own businesses, while they were less positive about state and national conditions,” Raymond G. Torto, chairman of AIM's Board of Economic Advisors (BEA), said in a statement.
AIM’s U.S. Index of business conditions dropped 1.8 points in September to 47, while the Massachusetts Index of conditions fell two points to 50.7.
“It is possible that these declines reflect political dissatisfaction, concerns about effective leadership and policy,” said Katherine A. Kiel, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross, a BEA member. “If actual business conditions were driving the drop, we would expect to see that in the company indicators, which remain strong.”
AIM’s Business Confidence Index, launched in 1991, reached a high of 68.5 in 1997 and 1998; its all-time low was 33.3 in February 2009.
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