State consumer confidence rises
Confidence among Massachusetts businesses rose slightly in May, but firms see the national and state economies weakening in coming months, Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported.
AIM's business confidence index rose to 57.5 in May, up a tenth of a point from April and 2.7 points from a year ago. Any reading over 50 is considered optimistic.
Confidence is considered an important indicator since businesses are more likely to expand and hire when they are optimistic about the future.
Firms were confident of current business conditions, but see weaker economy ahead. The sub-index measuring expectations for the next six months slipped a half-point to 57.7. All in all, AIM officials said, business conditions remain lackluster in Massachusetts.
"Since February we have noted that the Commonwealth's economy lacks dynamism, and May's results are more of the same,'' said AIM's president, Richard C. Lord. (By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff)
