Western Australian small and medium enterprises are confident in themselves, but not in the State Government, according to the quarterly Sensis Business Index, released today.
Western Australian small and medium enterprises are confident in themselves, but not in the State Government, according to the quarterly Sensis Business Index, released today.
Their state government remained second least popular, receiving a -21 per cent approval rating in the report, down from -9 per cent in the August quarter of 2006.
Surveying a total of 225 businesses in Western Australia, and 1,800 nation-wide, the report put business confidence in Western Australia at 72 per cent, which despite a three per cent drop remained the strongest in the nation.
In Perth, business confidence was at 76 per cent, ten points higher than any other state capital.
But rural WA businesses were not so sure, with the business confidence indicator falling from 68 per cent to 57 per cent, putting it behind the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland.
Despite this, WA SMEs recorded the highest performance results for sales, employment and profitability of any state or territory.
The proportion of SMEs reporting difficulties finding and keeping staff decreased in the quarter, but remained a significant problem, with 27 per cent of WA respondants reporting this problem.
Western Australian and Queensland companies were also the most likely to be expecting increases in wages bills.
The full text of a Sensis announcement is pasted below
Western Australia has the highest business confidence in the nation, despite a less rosy outlook from the state's regional businesses, according to the latest SensisĀ® Business Index released today.
The survey, undertaken quarterly by Sensis to track and understand the views of small businesses, interviewed 1,800 businesses from 24 April to 31 May.
Report author Ms Christena Singh said business confidence amongst Western Australia's small and medium businesses (SMEs) retreated three percentage points during the quarter.
"With the business indicator at 72 per cent, the state still has the most optimistic small businesses in the nation," Ms Singh said.
"However, the business confidence indicator for Western Australia's regional SMEs tumbled 11 percentage points during the quarter, down from 68 to 57 per cent.
"Regional business confidence in Western Australia has dropped to fourth spot, behind Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland. It is, however, still above average for regional areas," she said.
Business confidence amongst Perth SMEs has remained constant at 76 per cent over the quarter, the highest level of business confidence in the nation.
"Small business confidence in Perth is a clear 10 percentage points higher than any other capital city," she emphasised.
Western Australia experienced some record-high trading conditions during the quarter.
"After a decline last quarter, the state's sales and profitability indicators rose substantially this quarter.
"Both sales and profitability in Western Australia are at the highest levels in the nation and are hovering around near record levels," she said.
The employment indicator also strengthened, up from six to 14 per cent. "Overall, Western Australian small businesses have grown the size of their workforces at nearly three times the rate of the national average."
While still at relatively high levels, inflationary pressure eased during the quarter with both price and wage indicators falling.
The SensisĀ® Business Index shows that trading conditions for the upcoming quarter are not expected to be as strong as this quarter, with all business indicators expected to fall with the exception of employment.
Despite these strong conditions, small business support for the Western Australian Government continues to decline.
With an approval rating of negative 21, the Western Australian Government is the second least supported government in Australia.