While Massachusetts’ business confidence ticked slightly upward in November, it marked the commonwealth’s ninth consecutive month in pessimistic territory.
The Massachusetts Business Confidence Index rose 2.0 points to a score of 48.5 last month, reversing the downward trend the state was experiencing since September, according to a Monday press release from the trade group Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which compiles the index.
The AIM index pulls from a survey of more than 140 Massachusetts employers and is scored on a 100-point scale; a score of above 50 represents an optimistic outlook and a score below 50 represents a pessimistic outlook.
November’s score was 9.2 points lower than the immediate post-election score of 57.7 in November 2024. The state stayed in optimistic territory until March, when business confidence fell to a five-year low when the President Donald Trump Administration originally threatened to increase tariffs on imports from all countries.
While inflation persists as a concern, November’s increase in business confidence comes as the nation’s economy has expanded throughout the year, with moderate growth expected into 2026, according to the release.
“The U.S. economy enters 2026 with a mix of solid fundamentals and notable risks, balancing strong private-sector momentum against inflation concerns. Though policy uncertainty continues to weigh on business planning, investment in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies remains a bright spot, driving capital expenditures and boosting productivity in key sectors,” Sara Johnson, chair of the AIM Board of Economic Advisors, which oversees the BCI, said in the release.
For the second month in a row, the state’s Company Index, reflecting employers’ confidence in their own businesses, was the highest-scoring indicator analyzed by AIM and the only one to sit in optimistic territory. Scoring 51.7 in November, the index was 1.4 points higher than in October, but overall 6.5 points lower than in November 2024.
Conversely, scoring 41.3, the Manufacturing Index was the lowest-scoring of AIM’s eight indicators. The index fell 4.4 points from October and 11.5 points from November 2024.
The U.S. Index, representing employers’ outlook of the nation’s economy as a whole, decreased the most over the year. Although the index rose by 4.1 points over the month to 42.3, November’s score marked a 15.1 point decrease from November 2024.
Scoring 51.7, large companies were the only sized companies to remain in optimistic territory, as they were more confident than medium and small companies, which scored 47.8 and 46.7, respectively.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
