| Employers in Massachusetts felt more optimistic about the state’s economic outlook in September than they have all year.
That’s according to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index, an economic indicator that polls the organizations members each month about current and prospective business conditions in the state and nation, as well as for respondents’ own operations.
On the index’s 100-point scale, a reading above 50 indicates that the state’s employer community is predominantly optimistic, while a reading below 50 points to a negative assessment of business conditions.
September’s BCI was 62.4, which ties the BCI in March of this year, the highest of any monthly BCI score from the last 12 months.
“The Massachusetts economy continues to maintain a steady recovery, with employers adding 10,800 jobs during August and the state jobless rate declining to 4.2 percent,” Elmore Alexander, dean of the Ricciardi College of Business at Bridgewater State University, and member of AIM’s board of economic advisors, said in a statement. “The surge in the AIM Sales and Future indices suggests that business activity may actually accelerate in coming months, so the primary challenge for employers will remain hiring and retaining skilled workers in a tight labor market.”
The index was also taken before the announcement by congressional Republicans and the White House to significantly reduce corporate taxes, said Raymond G. Torto, chairman of AIM’s BEA and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
“The index was also taken prior to the announcement of an effort by Congressional Republicans and the White House to significantly reduce corporate taxes, a move that enjoys broad support among employers,” he said in a statement. “The prospect of tax reform and tax simplification is likely to buoy employer sentiment through the end of the year.”
While employers are generally supportive of federal initiatives to reduce business taxes, AIM President, CEO and BEA member Richard C. Lord said employers remain concerned about the potential effect those reductions might have on the federal deficit.
