Pulse Report September 23

Business Chamber Queensland’s Pulse Survey of business conditions for the September 2023 is out now and shows business conditions, sentiment and expectations in Queensland are showing no signs of improvement with confidence in the future of the state and national economies weak ahead of the traditionally busy Christmas period.  

Day-to-day business challenges combined with macroeconomic issues continue to impact forward economic confidence, stabilising at low business as normal levels. 

At the same time, general business conditions continued their downward trend and returned to levels not seen since periods of COVID business restrictions in 2021.  

Top Constraints on Business Growth

  • Retaining and recruiting suitably qualified employees remains the largest constraint on business growth, however the index eased from the last
    quarter (down by 2.1 points) and is consistent with a slight softening in labour market conditions.
  • Workforce challenges have been the top constraint on business growth for close to two years and first emerged as the leading constraint in the
    December 2021 quarter.

Business Confidence

Latest results from the Pulse Survey for the September Quarter 2023 shows business confidence recovered slightly but remains weak, stabilising at a low
business as normal level.
Poor business confidence is reflective of:

  • The compounding impact of global instability.
  • High fuel prices.
  • High transportation and insurance costs.
  • High inflation.
  • Interest rates reducing consumer demand.
  • High lending costs impacting business investment and projects.

Acknowledgement of Country

Business Chamber Queensland respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners and custodians of the lands from across Queensland and the Torres Strait. We acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal people as the Traditional Custodians of Meanjin (Brisbane), the lands where our office is located and the place we meet, work and learn. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.