Business confidence remained at record high levels ahead of Q3 2021, driven by record optimism about the state economy, industry sales, and industry hiring. The index increased 2.9 points from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021 and slipped only slightly looking out further to Q4 2021. Optimism was centered around increased demand, reopening of the economy, decreasing COVID cases, and the vaccine; however, there remained concerns about worker shortages, inflation, and the supply chain.