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QLD business worried about consumers’ zipped pockets

March 06, 2012

Four in 10 Queensland small and medium businesses are worried about their business prospects, according to latest Sensis® Business Index.

Report author Ms Christena Singh said weak consumer demand and decreasing business were having an impact on business confidence in Queensland.

“Queensland has reported the nation’s weakest sales for the quarter and business confidence remains low at the second weakest level in Australia, behind only South Australia,” Ms Singh commented.

Overall, four in 10 Queensland small businesses are worried about their business prospects for the year ahead, with five in 10 confident and the remainder neutral.

Profitability did improve during the quarter, but remains in negative territory, while sales and employment continued to deteriorate.

Queensland small businesses are expecting some improvement in conditions during the coming quarter.

Support for the Queensland Government improved marginally during the quarter, but it remains the second least supported state or territory government.

The key reasons Queensland small businesses said they disapproved of the state government’s policies were perceptions about:

  • Too much bureaucracy
  • Too many taxes
  • Only being concerned with big business.

Key QLD Indicators for March 2012 Sensis® Business Index: 

Indicator

March 2012

December 2011 

Business Confidence

+14%

+14%

Sales

-17%

+1%

Employment

-8%

-4%

Wages and Salaries

+1%

+7%

Prices

-2%

+1%

Profitability

-17%

-24%

Capital expenditure

-16%

-13%

Approval of QLD Government

-39%

-41%

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Information & Downloads

Sensis Business Index, March 2012

Contact:

Damian Glass
Sensis Corporate Affairs
0459 818 553