State House News Service – Business confidence in Massachusetts was flat in September, as employers, who had grown more optimistic during the second quarter, came to grips in the third quarter with the disappointing reality of a slow economic recovery, according to an Associated Industries of Massachusetts index released Tuesday.
“Clearly our members are not expecting any drastic change in business and economic conditions to result form the upcoming elections. Whoever wins, the most important challenges before them will be to reinvigorate our economy and to reshape government for an era of greater austerity,” Rick Lord, AIM’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
Fred Breimyer, regional economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of AIM’s board of economic advisors added, “Employers are unimpressed by the strength of the recovery and foresee very slow improvement, at best, into 2011 — but no ‘double dip’ back into recession.”
AIM’s September index clocked in at 47.6 — any reading below 50 indicates employers have a negative assessment of business condition
