Nearly a year into the second Trump administration, Democrats atop Beacon Hill are not the only ones unable to shake a sense of economic agita.
Private sector employers have been feeling the strain, too, unsure about what degree of burden they should expect from tariffs and worried about the downstream effects of federal funding cuts to research. Some are frustrated less about Washington and more about the high cost of living in Massachusetts.
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a trade group representing thousands of businesses, on Monday reported that business confidence dropped again in October, marking the eighth straight month in pessimistic territory.
It’s the first time the group’s “business confidence index” has remained south of the line separating positive and negative outlooks for that long a stretch since 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic.
AIM cited several factors depressing business confidence, including the ongoing federal government shutdown, “rising prices,” and uncertainty about the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs.
One unnamed employer responded to the survey noting that “federal government contracting is decreasing for small business and tariffs are hurting everyone.”
Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, said he found the continued negativity among businesses unsurprising.
Massachusetts, he said, is likely already in a recession.
“The driving force is federal,” Horowitz said. “It’s uncertainty around tariff policy, around immigration policy — the unparalleled levels of uncertainty and disruption resonating from Washington.”
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Published by MassINC