Spring is in the air for New Zealand’s small businesses, many of who are seeing fine economic weather ahead. However, a lack of skilled staff is putting a strain on growth, according to ANZ’s quarterly Business Micro Scope survey of small firms.
A net 17% of respondents – up from 8% in June – say they are confident about the business environment in the year ahead. Within this group, businesses employing 6 20 employees were the most optimistic, jumping 15 points to a net 26%.
The ANZ composite measure a key proxy for growth lifted to +15 during the quarter. The composite measure is based on firms’ activity outlook, hiring, investment and profit expectations, all which improved in the September quarter.
