Businesses Approach ‘Neutral’ Confidence

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index rose for the sixth consecutive month and hit 44.9 in November.

The reading is the index's highest since September 2008, but still below a neutral 50 score on the 100-point scale.

AIM's Company Index hit 49.5 during the month. The Future Index, which asks employers to predict business conditions for the next six months, hit 49.

AIM warned that while the climbing index scores are reason to be positive, AIM members surveyed for the index still doubt the recession is over and the percentage of respondents who said economic "recovery is not in sight" increased from 21 percent to 25 percent over the month.