Optimism Continues As Calendar Flips to 2025
Massachusetts employers remained optimistic because the calendar flipped to 2025 and President Donald Trump took over within the Oval Workplace, although the specter of main tariffs may change their outlook, based on a regional enterprise group.
The newest enterprise confidence index from the Related Industries of Massachusetts rose two-tenths of a degree to 55.6 in January, remaining for the seventh straight month nicely above the 50-point line that divides pessimistic territory from optimistic territory.
AIM famous that its survey came about earlier than the Trump administration introduced — after which postponed — plans to impose 25 % tariffs on virtually all items traded with Canada and Mexico. In a follow-up survey after that information emerged, Bay State companies “expressed considerations” concerning the likelihood of tariffs, AIM stated.
“Within the design and building business we’re very involved concerning the pending tariffs on items from Canada, Mexico and China, and the way they’ll affect already excessive building prices,” one firm wrote, based on AIM.
AIM has voiced considerations about wide-reaching tariffs. Its CEO, Brooke Thomson, stated late final month that the “mixture of elevated costs for key commodities like power with potential retaliation by essential export markets is counterproductive to our collaborative efforts to broaden the Massachusetts economic system.”
Trump on Sunday signaled new plans to impose 25 % tariffs on metal and aluminum imports.
Amongst constituent indexes that contribute to the enterprise convention index, the boldness stage employers keep in their very own operations gained 1.9 factors to 57.3, 2.8 factors higher than in January 2024. The index assessing enterprise circumstances in Massachusetts misplaced 1.9 factors to 53.1, or 0.9 level decrease than a 12 months earlier.
