Encouraging trend for business confidence

Confidence is still struggling within the business community, but in contrast to recent survey trends, an Auckland Business Chamber survey has shown a 4% lift in business confidence for the first quarter of the year.

Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett, suggested the result reflected the mix of businesses making up the Chamber’s membership.

“This ‘against the trend’ result, may be due to the survey reflecting feedback from both large and small enterprises that the Chamber’s membership captures.”

Despite the result showing a 4% increase in confidence from the Chamber’s previous quarterly survey, a net 34% of respondents still said they expect general business conditions in New Zealand to deteriorate over the next six months.

The survey also illustrated frustration for businesses trying to employ talent - with nearly 50% reporting difficulty finding skilled and specialist employees.

When asked to name the top three issues impacting negatively on their business the responses identified: Tax increases (e.g. Fuel Tax), Traffic Congestion and Compliance.

The survey also asked businesses if the increase in the minimum wage would mean a price increase in their products or service - 40% indicated that it would mean an increase.

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