A survey of Illawarra businesses has found a growing confidence in the economy - but not in their ability to find suitable employees.
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The NSW Business Conditions Survey features the responses of 110 Illawarra businesses and Illawarra Business Chamber chief executive Debra Murphy said the perceptions of the state’s economic performance improved ‘‘significantly’’ over the last quarter.
‘‘More than a third of businesses reported that the state’s economy had strengthened in the past three months, an 11 percentage point increase since June, and 43 per cent reported that they expect the economy to strengthen in the December quarter,’’ Ms Murphy said.
‘‘The improved NSW economic conditions provided some much-needed relief for Illawarra businesses who have been doing it tough. While more businesses continue to record a decline in profitability than an improvement, the proportion of Illawarra businesses reporting a decline in profits fell by nine percentage points.’’
However there was a spike in the number of businesses who had problems finding staff.
‘‘The percentage of Illawarra businesses reporting that they do not have access to suitably qualified staff doubled to 24 per cent in just one quarter,’’ Ms Murphy said.
