Index: Central Mass. business confidence trending toward pessimism
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The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce offices
The business confidence index ticked lower for the second month in a row among businesses in Central Massachusetts, falling 1.4 points to a score of 50.3, nearing pessimistic territory on the region’s economy.
The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index is a subset of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index is based on a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers and is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative, according to a Monday press release from AIM. The Central Mass. index is a joint indicator conducted by AIM and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The slide in the region’s confidence in April came after the index fell 1.9 points in March. Central Massachusetts businesses were at their most confident since August 2022 in February, according to The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index, but that confidence has been on the decline since.
Statewide, the index for all Massachusetts businesses lost 1.4 points in April for the index score to reach 50.1, the lowest confidence level since December 2020. The 50.1 statewide score is eight points lower than this time last year, and marks the approach of the business community to feeling more pessimistic than optimistic.
“Businesses report that some customers are postponing buying decisions as they evaluate whether the economy is headed for a soft landing or a recession. At the same time, however, the report on Friday that U.S. employers created 253,000 jobs in April shows that the employment market continues to defy the gravity of any slowdown,” said Sara Johnson, chair of the AIM board of economic advisors, in the AIM press release.
The press release listed interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve and a reported decrease in corporate and business tax collections as reasons among employers for decreased confidence.
Among the state’s other regional indexes, the North Shore Confidence Index, conducted with the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, declined from 54.9 to 48.2, while the Western Massachusetts Business Confidence Index, in collaboration with the Springfield Regional Chamber, rose to 55.4.
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