Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic fluctuations rose in March to the highest level since August 2001, the government said Thursday.
It said the result signals that the ongoing economic recovery is now spreading to small companies and regional areas.
The diffusion index of confidence among so-called economy watchers over the current state of the economy climbed 3.6 points from February to 53.7, the highest reading since the government increased the number of workers surveyed to 2,050 from 1,500 in August 2001.