Findings in the December quarter, the South Australian Business Chamber, William Buck Survey of Business Expectations have identified an optimistic trajectory in business confidence, despite economic headwinds.
Results released today by the South Australian Business Chamber detail a South Australian Business Confidence index of 91.2 points in the December quarter, a metric designed to provide insight into future expectations of business. The results are 4.5 points above the September 2022 quarter and 10.4 points above the December 2021 quarter. It should still be noted that a score of 100 is neutral, any score below that remains in negative territory.
Business Conditions experienced a slight decline to 100.9 points. The figure, which is 1.7 points down from the September 2022 quarter provides an insight into business experiences during the previous quarter.
The South Australian Business Chamber CEO Andrew Kay says “the cautiously optimistic survey results are interesting considering three interest rate increases in the December quarter, and Federal Treasury’s Budget last year forecasting a 56 per cent increase in energy prices over the next two years.
“It’s been more than one year since mandatory isolation periods ended in South Australia and this has provided more certainty for businesses.
“For many businesses, supply chain disruptions are easing, and freight costs are slowly returning to pre-COVID levels, which would contribute to steady business conditions and confidence during the last period.
“Looking ahead, there is a clear shift from worrying about supply to focussing on demand as the economy tightens. For the first time in a long while, Sales, or revenue coming in, was the number one concern for businesses. This reflects an expectation that continual interest rate hikes will start to bite.”
The South Australian Business Chamber’s quarterly Survey of Business Expectations also highlighted a continued struggle with labour shortages. The survey, which has been tracking labour issues since December 2020 identified the gaping hole in Australia’s workforce availability remains, with 58.3 per cent of respondents experiencing shortages in the December quarter.
Kendall Crowe, the South Australian Business Chamber’s General Manager of Policy, Advocacy and International Services said “while previous survey results showed ‘lack of applicants’ as the primary reason for unfulfilled vacancies, the most frequent response for the December quarter was ‘lack of suitably skilled workers’.
“The lack of available workers is hindering business growth in the state, with nearly half of respondents advising it was the main constraint to growing their business. We hear this story over and over.
“With the Federal Migration Review underway, we hope that some of the labour and skill challenges will soon be addressed.”
Jamie McKeough, Chair Aust/NZ and Managing Director at William Buck added “the great labour shortage is alive and well. With unemployment low, the simple lack of applicants makes it even harder to fill positions.
“If we had the people, businesses would actually be in a relatively good place.
“We are seeing an enormous amount of resilience, particularly SMEs pushing through despite economic uncertainty”, Mr McKeough added.
The South Australian Business Chamber made a submission to the Federal Migration Review with recommendations using feedback from South Australian businesses in the September 2022 quarter survey of business expectations.
The full findings of the South Australian Business Chamber, William Buck Survey of Business Expectations can be downloaded at business-sa.com/businessnow
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