According to the Westpac’s Small Business Index, Australia’s small businesses are feeling positive about their current and future performance.
The index is sitting at 119.4, which is an indication that Australia’s small businesses are performing better than they were three months ago.
Ratings of above 100 show businesses are more positive than negative about their outlook for the next three months. Four in five (83 per cent) small businesses expect their activity and sales to either increase or stay the same over the next three months. Only 16 per cent believe their activity and sales will decrease.
This can only be seen as a positive for the transport industry which is boosted by business confidence and the movement of goods.
“It’s encouraging to see positivity amongst small businesses, especially in the context of a challenging economic environment. Small business is the backbone of the Australian economy and their sentiment can often be a barometer for the national economy,” says Julie Rynski, Westpac’s General Manager of Small Business.
“The Index revealed some promising indicators for the Australian economy more broadly over the next three months, including a net five per cent intention to increase staff levels and net of more than a quarter (27 per cent) of small businesses expecting activity to increase.”
Small business optimism remains despite the sector identifying Australia’s current economic position (35 per cent) as the number one negative impact on their businesses, followed by ‘customer relationships and sales’ (27.1 per cent) and ‘regulation’ (22.8 per cent) respectively.
One of the top contributors to costs for businesses was ‘administration’ – indicating that complying with excessive regulation could be hurting small businesses.
“The Government is busy putting in place the policy foundations to see a renaissance in enterprise after years of deterioration in the sector,” she said.
“It is our belief that our best days as a nation are still ahead of us and that is particularly the case for small business. Information from an Index like this stimulates much needed discussion about an often overlooked sector of our economy,” said the Hon. Bruce Billson Minister for Small Business.