Employer Confidence Slides to Begin 2019
Stabilizing financial markets and continued strong employment were not enough to brighten the outlook of Massachusetts employers during January as business confidence fell for the fifth time in seven months.
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index (BCI) lost 0.9 points to 57.7, its lowest level since October 2016. Confidence has dropped 6.4 points during the past 12 months.
The retreat was led by a 7.3-point drop in employer views of the Massachusetts economy, and a 2.4-point drop in opinions about the national economy.
Overall confidence remains within optimistic territory, but every element of the AIM Index is now lower than it was a year ago.
A separate survey within the January Business Confidence Index found that while 71% of Massachusetts employers have seen some effect from the US government’s imposition of tariffs on goods form China and other nations, only 10 percent of companies characterize the effect as “significant” or a threat to the existence of their business.
The most common consequence of the tariffs has been an increase in raw-material prices, followed by changes to the supply chain, supply interruptions, products affected by retaliatory tariffs and loss of overseas customers.
“The Massachusetts economy grew at 2.1% during the fourth quarter of 2018 and continues to operate at near full capacity,” said Raymond G. Torto, Chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Design.
“At the same time, employers continue to confront uncertainty surrounding trade policy, demographic constraints on the labor market and the implementation of a sweeping paid family and medical leave program in Massachusetts.”
The AIM Index, based on a survey of Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative. The Index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997-98, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009.
The index has remained above 50 since October 2013.
