Central Qld business confidence down & tough conditions to continue
Chamber of Commerce & Industry Queensland Pulse Survey of Business Conditions March Quarter 2009
20 May
Bucking the state-wide trend, businesses in Central Queensland were less confident in the performance of the domestic economy over the three months to March 2009.
CCIQ Central Queensland Regional Chair, Peter Callaghan, said over 69 per cent of the Central Queensland businesses surveyed expect national and state economic conditions to deteriorate over the coming year.
"Recent job losses in the mining industry have contributed to businesses in the region becoming increasingly concerned about the effect the current economic downturn will have on the performance of the Australian, Queensland and local economies," Mr Callaghan said.
"There is considerable concern that any further rise in unemployment rates will undermine the already fragile confidence of consumers and businesses and result in reduced economic activity."
Mr Callaghan said Central Queensland businesses continue to believe that global economic conditions will be the major influence on the domestic economy over the coming year.
"At this stage, businesses remain of the view that the impact will be negative with the global economic slowdown continuing to depress demand and economic growth," Mr Callaghan said.
Consistent with the current economic downturn, all of the major indicators - sales & revenue, profitability, employment and capital expenditure - remain at unsatisfactory levels.
Over 44 per cent of Central Queensland businesses reported a fall in sales & revenue in the March quarter and 53 per cent reported weaker profitability. The slowdown in demand has begun to flow through to employment, with 40 per cent of businesses reporting a reduction in the size of their workforce over the three months to March 2009.
Related links