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Business confidence ticked upwards among Massachusetts employers in September but sentiment remained in negative territory and torn between the impacts of growth and rising costs.

In its last snapshot before the elections, Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ monthly index rose by 1.2 points to 48.6. The index has been in positive territory – 50 or above – for just three of this year’s first nine months.

“Employer attitudes continue to reflect a tug-of-war between an economy that is growing at a moderate pace and rising costs and other issues that are affecting profitability,” AIM said.

Sub-indexes shows varying business confidence levels. Confidence among employers in their own operations rose 2.9 points to 53.3; the Massachusetts Index assessing conditions within the state lost 1.7 points to 44.7; and the US Index measuring conditions nationwide declined 0.8 points to 38.6. The future index was nearly unchanged at 45.9.

“Hiring is considerably slower than during the post-pandemic expansion,” Olena Staveley-O’Carroll, economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross and a member of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors, said in a statement. “Businesses appear reluctant to make large layoffs, but they also aren’t adding workers at the elevated rates seen earlier in the recovery, while declining quit rates suggest workers are becoming more cautious.”