Central Qld Coast 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 on the Central Queensland Coast were less confident in the performance of the domestic economy over the three months to March 2009.
CCIQ Central Coast Regional Chair, Peter Grant, said over 67 per cent of the Central Coast businesses surveyed expect national and state economic conditions to deteriorate over the coming year.
"The fall in confidence has largely been driven by recent job losses in the mining industry, although the region's tourism industry has also been hit hard by both the slowdown and a reduction in inbound flights, which has also had a negative impact on confidence levels in the region," Mr Grant 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 Grant said Central Coast 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 Grant said.
Consistent with the current economic downturn, all of the major indicators - sales & revenue, profitability, employment and capital expenditure - remain at unsatisfactory levels.
Over 58 per cent of Central Coast businesses reported a fall in sales & revenue in the March quarter and 52 per cent reported weaker profitability. The slowdown in demand has begun to flow through to employment, with 41 per cent of businesses reporting a reduction in the size of their workforce over the three months to March 2009.
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