Labour productivity hitting New Zealand employers' business confidence
More than a quarter of employers in New Zealand are concerned about labour productivity, according to a new survey from Business NZ.
The poll, which surveyed 134 businesses, revealed that labour productivity is one of the top five concerns affecting their own business confidence (27%) and for the general business community (33%).
The findings also come as 13% of the respondents found it very hard to recruit skilled and qualified candidates for their job vacancies in the past year. Only four per cent of the respondents, on the other hand, said it was "very easy" to do so.
Source: BusinessNZ Business Sentiment Survey 2024
Business confidence of employers
Overall, the report found that the biggest factors affecting business confidence were related to finances.
The top concern affecting employers' business confidence for the general business community is interest rates (43%), followed by input prices/profitability (36%).
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Source: BusinessNZ Business Sentiment Survey 2024
On the other hand, the top concern affecting their confidence for their business is input prices/profitability (41%).
Source: BusinessNZ Business Sentiment Survey 2024
Catherine Beard, Advocacy Director at BusinessNZ, said the findings demonstrate the current environment facing many businesses, where profitability "has been depleted by rising input costs resulting from inflation."
"A key picture emerging from the survey is of businesses affected by the inflationary results of past government spending," Beard said in a statement.
New Zealand's annual inflation increased 3.3% in the June 2024 quarter, according to the latest figures from Stats NZ.