Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | June 24, 2024 | wbjournal.com In WBJ's annual midyear survey, business leaders largely are feeling good about where the economy has gone and is going in 2024, with some reservations Modest optimism M I DY E A R E C O N O M I C F O R E C AS T How will the U.S. economy fare in the second half of 2024 compared to the first half? Compared to your expectations at the start of the year, how do you think the Central Massachusetts economy performed in the first five months of 2024? Last year saw significant turmoil in the national banking system, as institutions like Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, though those businesses' failures largely didn't have a wider impact on the economy. How con- fident are you in the U.S. banking and financial system, compared to the middle of 2023? Improve significantly 4% Improve slightly 40% Remain the same 32% Decline slightly 24% Much better 2% Better 30% What I expected 53% Worse 16% Same as always 53% Less confident 26% More confident 21% T he Central Massachusetts economy is largely trending as expected in 2024, and the second half of the year will see a slight improvement. is is the plurality opinion from WBJ's Midyear Economic Survey of its audience of Central Massachusetts business leaders, conducted from June 7-17. is year's effort is a follow-up from last year's survey, when seismic events like inflation and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California created ripple effects on the national economy. Even though the first half of 2024 has proceeded much more predictably, WBJ's audience still had plenty of interesting and mixed opinions on how the second half of 2024 will play out. Despite the cautious optimism about the rest of the year, 40% of survey respondents said their companies are performing below expectations from the start of the year, and 39% are anticipating to have to make significant cuts in expenses in the second half of the year. Half said the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at a 23-year high is hurting their businesses, while 56% are still having a hard time finding the right people with the right skills to fill open positions. Yet, 87% of respondents expect to have either more employees or the same number at the end of the year than they did at the start of the year. More than half expect the Fed to cut interest rates at least once this year, and 88% don't plan on moving from their office locations, despite turmoil in the commercial real estate market nationally and in major markets like Boston. Compared to WBJ's year-end Economic Forecast survey published in December, Central Massachusetts business leaders aren't quite as optimistic as they were six months ago, when 64% of respondents said the local economy would improve either significantly or slightly in 2024. e first five months of this year appear to have tempered expectations somewhat, although the overall feeling is still optimistic. – Brad Kane, editor 2 0 2 4 W

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