Victorian small and medium businesses the most confident in Australia
5 February 2019: The December Quarter 2018 Sensis Business Index, released today, has revealed that Victoria has overtaken Tasmania as the most confident state or territory in the country when it comes to small and medium businesses (SMBs).
The report, which measures SMB activity, expectations and confidence over a three-month period, found a 14-point post-election surge in Victorian SMBs confidence to reach +56; the most confident in the nation, reaching a seven year high for the state.
Sensis Chief Executive Officer, John Allan, said: “December was a strong quarter for Victorian small and medium businesses, with the report showcasing positive balances across the majority of key performance indicators, to help drive confidence in almost seven in ten SMBs (67%).”
Expectations for the current quarter remained positive on balance, while 12-month predictions increased to above average across all areas.
When it came to opinions of the State Government, support for the newly re-elected Labor Government increased three points to a neutral balance, with positive SMBs feeling it is supportive and helpful toward small businesses. However a massive 71% of SMBs felt Victorian Government policies had no impact on their business.
“The increase in support of the Victorian Government has lifted it to become the fourth most popular State Government in the country, behind Tasmania (+29), South Australia (+17) and NSW (+2).”
When looking at views of the Federal Government, Victorian SMBs also reported feeling more confident in their policies, increasing four points to +7.
“It’s uplifting to see Victorian small and medium businesses have such a positive quarter to finish off 2018, and we look forward to continuing to watch this growth throughout 2019,” Mr Allan continued.
Other interesting findings from the report:
· Confidence among SMBs in regional Victoria fell six points to a balance of +28, a huge 40-points behind Melbourne-based businesses.
· Victorian SMBs are most likely to predict climbing wages and higher prices in 2019 when compared with other states and territories, recording balances of +30 and +35 respectively.
