Central Mass. businesses remain pessimistic about local economy, as outlook on U.S. economy drops to 16-year low
Photo | Courtesy of Rentschler Biopharma
The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index fell into pessimistic territory in April.
Business confidence in Central Massachusetts yo-yoed back into pessimistic territory in April as Massachusetts employers’ view of the U.S. economy sank to the lowest point since the end of the Great Recession in 2009.
The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index fell 5.6 points in April to a score of 46.7. The region’s BCI has been volatile in recent months after rising 5.2 points in December, sinking nearly 11 points throughout January and February, and then rising again 4.4 points in March. While on a decline, the region’s BCI was the highest of the three Massachusetts areas analyzed by AIM.
The region’s downward trend in April fell in line with the state’s overall BCI, which sank 4.5 points further into pessimistic territory to a score of 41.5, according to a Wednesday press release from the trade group Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which compiles the index. The state’s April BCI reflected a score 10.4 points lower than in April 2024.
The AIM index pulls from a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers and is scored on a 100-point scale; a score of above 50 represents an optimistic outlook and a score below 50 represents a pessimistic outlook.
The confidence Massachusetts employers have in the U.S. economy dropped 7.0 points over the month to a score of 29.6, the lowest level since April 2009.
“The April confidence reading was consistent with a drop in national consumer confidence to a five-year low last month amid the back-and-forth on tariffs and uncertainty about federal tax and spending policies. Yet, AIM's survey also indicated a relatively stable job market, consistent with national employment data,” Sara Johnson, chair of the AIM Board of Economic Advisors, which oversees the BCI, said in the release.
The Western Massachusetts Business Confidence Index once again had the lowest business confidence in the state, with its score dropping 1.5 points to 37.3.
The North Shore saw its BCI plunged 9.3 points to a score of 39.2, a drastic shift after the region’s confidence had just stepped into pessimistic territory in March after falling 2.3 points to a score of 48.5.
At a 42.9 index, large companies were more optimistic than medium and small companies, which indexed 40.8 and 40.0, respectively.
April saw every single index analyzed by the BCI fall deeper into pessimistic territory, with Olena Staveley-O'Carroll, associate professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, citing trade between the U.S. and China coming to a standstill.
“The availability of Chinese products and the price that consumers pay for them has not changed that much so far. But some companies are now starting to raise their prices. And the effects will become more and more obvious in the coming weeks,” she said in the release.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments