| 
Confidence among employers in Massachusetts continued its up-and-down trajectory in October, when the business community felt more optimistic about things.
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index last month rose two points to 60.9. Over the past year, it was above the 60 mark on only three other occasions, in April and July, and also during November 2018.
“U.S. hiring was unexpectedly resilient in October and prior months saw upward revisions. It appears that consumers will extend the record-long expansion despite trade tensions and weak business investment,” Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA), said in a statement.
The index is based on a survey of more than 100 Massachusetts employers, and readings above 50 are in positive territory.
The future index, measuring expectations for the next six months, gained 2.2 points to settle at 58.6 in October. And Paul Bolger, Massachusetts Capital Resource Company president and a BEA member, said “employers appear to have concluded that the slowing economy remains fundamentally strong enough to make a recession unlikely in the near future,” according to AIM.
