More than a third of WBJ readers believe the Central Massachusetts economy will decline in 2023.
In WBJ’s annual Economic Forecast survey of its readers about their thoughts and plans for next year, the portion of respondents who said the economy will decline slightly or significantly (37%) is at the highest level its been since at least 2016. Only in one other year over that time period (2018) were readers this pessimistic about the future economy, and it’s more than double the pessimistic portion from last year’s survey (16%).
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It’s not all bad, though. While most readers believe inflation will be a problem well into late 2023 and high cost of living remains the largest impediment to economic growth in Central Massachusetts, nearly two-thirds of readers (63%) said the rising costs of inflation won’t have significant impacts on their businesses in 2023.
The future is difficult to predict, as significant events like the coronavirus pandemic lead to unexpected disruptions. Yet, based on all their experience and everything they know today, WBJ readers aren’t hyped about next year.
