Local business confidence rose in January
The above graph was included with AIM's press release.
A Massachusetts business confidence index posted a 55.2 reading in January, up 2.8 points from the previous month's rating.
The index is maintained by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, or AIM, a group that represents Massachusetts employers. The index uses a 100-point scale, a reading above 50 indicates an optimistic outlook; a reading below 50 suggests that employers have a pessimistic outlook on the economy.
“Four consecutive months in the positive range, above 50 on the Index’s 100-point scale, points to cautious but real optimism about the economy and business climate,” Raymond G. Torto, chair of AIM's Board of Economic Advisors, said in a statement. “The January survey results show that Massachusetts employers are regaining confidence in state and national economic conditions, and expect further improvement over the next six months.”
One word of caution: a report issued last week by the University of Massachusetts showed that the Bay State's economy slowed significantly in the fourth quarter of 2010, lagging behind the US economy for the first time in a year. To read a Globe story about that, please click here.
André Mayer, AIM's senior vice president of communications and research, noted that the higher confidence among Massachusetts employers in recent months is based primarily upon their perception that national conditions are improving.
"While parts of the Massachusetts economy have done relatively well as the recovery struggled to take hold nationally, many of our industries cannot thrive unless the national economy begins to grow more robustly," he said in an e-mail.
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