According to the National Australia Bank’s quarterly survey of business confidence, the small business sentiment in Australia decreased to -3.79 points in Q3 2023 down from -2.69 points in Q1 2023.
source: tradingeconomics.com
The survey measures the expectations of business conditions for the next three months among small businesses with annual turnover of $2-3M. Owners remain pessimistic about future business conditions, as a similar report in the US indicate “Sales growth among small businesses have slowed and the bottom line is being squeezed”. (source: Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist).
Key findings include:
- the number of small businesses expecting trading conditions to improve over the next six months deteriorated from August by 43% seasonally adjusted.
- the NFIB’s job report states that 43% of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period.
- the frequency of reports of positive profit trends was a net negative of 24%.
- two percent of owners reported that financing was their top business problem. A net 26% of owners reported paying a higher rate on their most recent loans.
Related Content: NFIB & Small Business Press Releases
