Associated Industries of Massachusetts

Massachusetts employers agree that the federal health care system needs to change, but there is no consensus around what changes to make or how to make them, an Associated Industries of Massachusetts survey found.

The AIM Business Confidence Index rose one point to 61.4 percent last month, the highest reading since December 2004.

Massachusetts leads the nation in health care costs and price variation among providers, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Massachusetts employers were more confident about the business environment last month than anytime in the last 12 years, a survey by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts found.

Raising the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour would increase costs for about 70 percent of Massachusetts businesses, forcing some to hold off on hiring or consider moving elsewhere, two surveys conducted by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts found.

A new survey has found that 75 percent of employers are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions, up from 69 percent in 2013, particularly in the central and western parts of the state.

The average annual pay for an employee of a Worcester County private manufacturing company dipped slightly last year to $74,642, but salaries for the region's manufacturing workers have increased 28 percent since 2006.

A "surprising" improvement in the outlook of manufacturers and the lowest unemployment rate in 15 years drove business confidence among Massachusetts employers up last month.

A special commission studying health care pricing in Massachusetts discussed the roles employers and health plans should play in terms of narrowing the gap on cost of care.

Business confidence in Massachusetts ended a three-month slump in September, ticking upwards based in part on optimism among non-manufacturing companies.