ARLINGTON, Va. — According to the December Contractor Comfort Index (CCI), contractors are continuing to have a cautious outlook when it comes to short-term growth.

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) began measuring contractor attitudes toward short-term economic growth with the CCI in February 2010.

The CCI is calculated based on a survey of the association’s contractor members, who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future. Weighted and averaged into one number, a CCI of 50 or above reflects anticipated growth.

For December 2011, the CCI was 53. These results show that contractors are feeling less confident than they were 12 months earlier, when CCI was measured at 61.

The CCI is released prior to the start of each month. The next index number will be released the last week of January.

Publication date: 01/16/2012