13-year high for business confidence in Mass.
Optimism among manufacturers, a sector targeted for assistance from President Donald Trump, helped lift the latest Massachusetts business confidence reading to a 13-year high.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported Tuesday morning that its 100-point index rose 0.7 points to reach 62.1 in January. That's seven points higher than a year ago and the highest reading since August 2004.
AIM'S index of national business conditions has risen 11.5 points over the past year while its manufacturing index is up 9.1 points.
"Employers are certainly enthusiastic about lower corporate taxes, streamlined regulation and a meaningful infrastructure program. They are not as enthusiastic about withdrawing from trade agreements and once again having to process major changes in health reform," AIM President and CEO Richard Lord said in a statement accompanying the latest index readings.
The AIM index has been issued monthly since July 1991. It is presented on a 100-point scale, with a score of 50 being neutral. The all-time high of 68.5 was recorded in both 1997 and 1998, the group said, and its low was 33.3 in February 2009. The index has remained above 50 since October 2013.
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