An industry group called the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) released its “Contractor Confidence Index” today. The number, a combination of member contractor confidence about future jobs, current business and projected staffing cuts or additions, is at its lowest point in the last two years, perhaps reflecting the general economic unease the country as a whole is feeling right now.

A few caveats should be noted of course. First, this index is by no means definitive – it’s one sector of a larger industry, and looking at data from 2010, there’s a logical dip in confidence heading in to the fall months. The less people need their A/C, the lest confidence A/C repair businesses have. Second, August has been filled with grim economic news and any kind of confidence in any part of the economy at large is going to be down. (Also, notice that the organization is trying to spin the outlook as “cautiously optimistic,” which, well, is to be expected from an industry group.)

This should be taken the same as anyone would take anything regarding the US economy right now, with a confused shoulder shrug. Nobody really knows where the economy, and more specifically the construction and service industries are headed right now. Everything is a dual good news, bad news scenario – the only thing in sharp decline for certain is confidence.