Business confidence in Mass. rises for second month

Business confidence rose for the second consecutive month in August as Massachusetts employers expected economic conditions to remain solid in coming months, Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported. AIM's business confidence index rose to 57.1 from 55.4 in July and 53.2 from June. Last month's reading was down nearly a point from August 2005, when it stood at 58.

Confidence is considered an key indicator because business are more likely invest and hire when they are optimistic about conditions. In AIM's index, any reading above 50 is considered optimistic. AIM's survey, in fact, found employers reporting stronger sales and hiring in August.

Massachusetts employers' assessment of current business conditions improved 1.1 points from July to 57.3 while their expectations for the next six months showed a steeper rise, up 2.8 points to 57.4, according to the sub-indices measuring these outlooks. Their view of the Massachusetts economy also improved, to 50.7 from 50.1 in July, although the view of the national economy fell to 55.7 from 57.4
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)