The results of South Australia’s longest-running and largest business-to-business survey are out. After seeing declines in business confidence over previous quarters, the March quarter of the South Australian Business Chamber William Buck Survey of Business Expectations is looking good. The SA Confidence Index is up 18pts from December 2021 to 98.8pts. General business conditions also saw an increase of 6.8pts up to 93.4pts.
The South Australian Business Chamber Chief Executive Martin Haese says that businesses had to deal with a tremendous amount of change during the December quarter with the border reopening and learning to live with COVID-19.
“Now, in the March quarter, it is pleasing to see that businesses simply got on with the job with both conditions and confidence. This is testament to the resilience of the South Australian business community.
“Having borne the financial brunt of the pandemic over the past two years, businesses have done it tough. While there are calls to increase wages, it makes sense that business owners and employers are concerned about the associated cost impacts.
“Wages in some areas are already increasing due to the intense competition for skilled staff.
“Increasing the minimum wage beyond reason is not the best way to deliver higher living standards for low-paid workers. There are taxation mechanisms that will give them a better result and avoid putting more pressure on business owners.
“According to the survey, over 50 per cent of business owners and employers are ‘a lot’ or a ‘great deal’ concerned about wage rises over the next 12 months.
“It isn’t just wage rises that is concerning businesses, with additional cost pressures experienced for materials and overheads. This will ultimately impact consumers and other businesses as these costs will be passed on, with 86 per cent of businesses expecting inflation to further increase in the June quarter.”
The South Australian Business Chamber Director of Policy and Advocacy Kendall Crowe says that two-thirds of businesses reported that the lack of suitably skilled workers made it difficult to source labour over the quarter.
“What we’re facing here is not just a skills shortage, but a shortage of people in general to fill the jobs.
“We commend the Malinauskas Government for its commitment to developing skills in the election period. With the May Budget fast approaching, we remind them that this is absolutely the number one issue facing South Australian businesses and must be prioritised.”
William Buck Managing Director Jamie McKeough says we seem to have moved away from the noticeably angry business sector in the December quarter results.
“Rightly so, though, as business owners struggled with the unexpected restrictions and shifting goal posts as we began living with COVID-19. The March quarter shows us that there are lingering COVID-19 concerns going forward, but this is no longer the dominant concern.
“We are left with significant challenges, though, not ones that can be solved overnight. In the March quarter, business owners welcomed the decisiveness of the Malinauskas Labor Government, and they appreciated that they had been listened to when it came to relaxing the restrictions. But business is looking for more from new our state leaders in labour related areas such as reducing payroll tax, incentivising employment, and increasing training. They are also calling for reduced red tape and increased local procurement by the state government.”
Read Business Now for the full results.
