Consumer confidence in Massachusetts surged ahead of the rest of the country over the past quarter, according to data released today by Mass Insight.
The Boston-based consulting and research firm said confidence among Bay State residents rebounded 6 points from July to October to a reading of 86. That stands in sharp contrast to national confidence, which fell 9 points over the same period to a reading of 71.
The national figures come from the Conference Board, where a score of 100 is considered neutral. The Massachusetts figures are adjusted to be generally comparable with the national figures, Mass Insight said.
“The end of the federal government shutdown and the fact that the state economy grew at a surprising 3.5 percent annual rate from July to September has helped shape a better outlook statewide,” said William H. Guenther, founder and CEO of Mass Insight.
Mass Insight said the rise in confidence among Bay State consumers was tied chiefly to more positive evaluations of current conditions, which improved eight points from the last quarter. Optimism about future expectations also improved four points.
The number of consumers saying it’s currently hard to get jobs in their area fell from 44 to 37 percent over the past quarter, while the number of people saying there are plenty of jobs rose from 15 to 17 percent.
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