Survey: Confidence Lagging Among Mass. Employers

A new survey suggests increasing concern among Massachusetts employers about the sluggish economic recovery.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts said Tuesday that its monthly Business Confidence Index dropped 1.7 points in June and now stands at 50 on a scale of 100. The midpoint reading would indicate that employers in general feel neither great optimism nor pessimism about the economy.

The index has fallen in two straight months. The chair of AIM's Board of Economic Advisors, Raymond Torto, says the drop reflects uncertainties about economic developments nationally and globally.

"People are not back to what I call good health — that is, we're not back to jogging five miles like we were before the great recession, but our health is getting better," Torto says.

According to Torto, many businesses are closely watching the climate, but neutral about the national economy.

"But on the other hand, the confidence that they have in their own company is notching up. So it's a sort of a situation where, 'I'm doing OK, but I'm worried about the general economy,'" he says.

AIM says the average index for the second quarter of 2011 was higher than the same period a year ago.

The WBUR Newsroom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.