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Perth businesses worried while regional WA confident

June 05, 2012

Business confidence has fallen dramatically in Western Australia during the quarter, according to the June Sensis® Business Index released today.

Report author Ms Christena Singh said Western Australian business confidence had fallen below the national average on the back of concerns about a decrease in business and consumers not spending.

“However, the overall fall in business confidence was caused by declines in business confidence in Perth. In fact, confidence in regional Western Australia was the strongest of any metropolitan or regional area of Australia.

“Overall, trading conditions have been mixed during the quarter for Western Australian small business.

“On the one hand, the profitability indicators rose to the highest level in Western Australia in over 12 months and is the nation’s strongest.

 “On the other hand, the sales and capital expenditure indicators dropped, with employment remaining stable,” Ms Singh said.

Western Australian small businesses also bucked the national trend and recorded an overall decrease in the proportion of small businesses that exported over the quarter, as well as a negative export value indicator.

Looking ahead, Western Australian small businesses are expecting a further weakening across all indicators.

Overall, five in 10 Western Australian small businesses are confident about their business prospects for the next 12 months, while three in 10 are worried.

Concerns about decreases in business and consumers not spending are the main reasons

Western Australian small businesses are worried about their business prospects. Being an established and experienced business and positive conditions in the local area are the key reasons for being confident.

Following the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, the June Sensis® Business Index also asked Western Australian small businesses for their opinions about regulatory reform.

 As part of the survey, small businesses were able to indicate any area of Federal Government regulation they would like to see reformed.

 “Taxation is the most common area Western Australian small businesses said they would like to see reformed, with the GST and workplace relations the next nominated areas for reform,” Ms Singh concluded.

 Key Western Australian indicators for June 2012 Sensis® Business Index:

 Export value = overall net % of exporting businesses that experienced an increase/decrease in the value of exports during the quarter.