There has been a reduction in confidence for Victorian businesses in regards to revenue growth, with almost one third responding in a survey they are less likely to recruit any new staff.
The Victorian Chamber’s third business voice survey was released on Wednesday, May 17, with the survey conducted from April 18, to May 2, 2023, from a range of small, medium, large businesses and family operations from all industries.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said confidence is continuing to drop as challenging economic headwinds pick up.
“The… report reflects what we are hearing anecdotally from our members,” Mr Guerra said.
“The cost-of-living crisis is [impacting]… business of all sizes and across all industries… as they are no longer able to positively predict revenue growth or are bracing themselves for a downturn.”
“This in turn is impacting on business’ willingness to increase their workforce or make significant investments in capital.
“We hope that the Victorian government’s 2023-24 budget will not add to these concerns and instead provide the right environment to empower business to continue driving the state’s economy.”
The survey found 32 per cent of businesses responded they are no longer looking to hire new staff, which is up from 26 per cent in November 2022.
Respondents said the biggest barrier to hiring new staff is high wage expectations, insufficient applicants for skilled roles, skills gap in the workforce and insufficient applicants for entry level roles.
There has been a 12 per cent drop in business confidence towards revenue growth rising or remaining stable since February 2023, and 11 per cent of businesses have indicated they expect a decline in revenue.
