Massachusetts employers grew a bit more confident in June but remained slightly pessimistic overall in the face of federal policy changes, especially uncertainty about tariffs, according new confidence index results.
Even before the Trump administration latest tariffs, announced last week, sent the stock market into a tailspin, Massachusetts businesses were turning pessimistic about the state economy in March.
The Trump administration’s back-and-forth tariff policy is engendering skepticism from local financial institutions at the same time it appears to be scaring consumers and local businesses.
Massachusetts employers sure are worried about tariffs and the prospect of major cuts to medical and scientific research.
Massachusetts business confidence fell in June amid indications that the Federal Reserve’s two-year effort to moderate inflation may finally be slowing down the economy.
Confidence among Massachusetts employers stumbled in March for the first time in four months, but remained in optimistic territory, according to the latest survey from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts businesses kicked off the new year with a sunny disposition, with business confidence among employers surveyed by Associated Industries of Massachusetts rising to an 11-month high in January.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts cited “strong signals” of more moderate inflation, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s suggestion last month that interest rate increases appear to be over for now and that there may be rate reductions in 2024.
The Massachusetts economy keeps driving ahead and that recession out on the horizon doesn’t seem to be getting any closer.
Recession and inflation concerns conspired in June to leave Massachusetts employers on the verge of switching to a pessimistic posture.
Having risen to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic in June and July, business confidence took a step back in August as Massachusetts employers dealt with waves of Delta variant cases, worker shortages and supply chain disruptions, Associated Industries of Massachusetts said.
Despite the uncertainty that remains around public health – which will likely govern near-term demand for commercial loans of all types – leaders at some of the state’s largest community banks say signs point to an economic turnaround.
Business confidence slid further into negative territory as Massachusetts employers dealt with financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty about re-opening plans in April, but remains above its all-time low during the Great Recession
Confidence among Massachusetts employers rebounded last month from a decline in March but businesses remain worried about a persistent shortage of qualified workers, analysts said.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported Tuesday that its business confidence index rose 0.6 points to 61.6, with any reading above 50 considered in positive territory.
The eight-and-a-half year run during which Massachusetts employers were more bullish about the state economy than the U.S. economy ended in August and analysts said the change says more about the national economy.
