Insights into Australian business conditions and sentiments.
This publication was previously named Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19.
In responding to the survey, businesses are asked to provide a best estimate only, without accessing records or reports.
Business size categories used in this release:
For information on survey sample, response rates and the questionnaire, see Methodology.
Businesses reported on changes in revenue over the last month and expected changes over the next month. This information has been collected each month since July 2020.
One in five (22%) businesses reported decreased revenue in March and 8% of businesses expect decreased revenue in April.
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
(b) Businesses reported changes over the last month
(c) Expectations for the indicated month as reported by businesses in the previous month of collection
The proportion of businesses reporting they expect it to be easy or very easy to meet financial commitments over the next three months has doubled since August 2020 (46% compared to 23%).
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
(b) The sum of the component items does not equal 100% because businesses could respond "Dont know" or "Not applicable"
Businesses were most likely to expect it to be easy or very easy to meet financial commitments regardless of employment size.
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
(b) The sum of the component items does not equal 100% because businesses could respond "Dont know" or "Not applicable"
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
Less than a third (29%) of businesses were accessing at least one support measure in March, compared to almost three quarters (73%) of businesses in May 2020.
The support measures most likely to be accessed by businesses were:
Small businesses were less likely than medium and large businesses to be accessing support.
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
Businesses accessing support also provided information on actions they expect to take when the support measures are no longer available.
Of the 29% of businesses that reported that they were accessing support, the most likely actions they expect to take once this support is no longer available are to:
Nearly nine in ten (87%) employing businesses reported that, based on current operations, they have a sufficient number of employees. This is consistent with December 2020 results (83%).
| Small businesses | Medium businesses | Large businesses | All businesses | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| Business has sufficient employees | 87 | 79 | 83 | 87 |
| Business does not have sufficient employees | 12 | 20 | 14 | 12 |
| Don't know | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
(a) Proportions are of all businesses
(b) The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding
Employing businesses that did not have a sufficient number of employees (12%, compared to 15% in December) reported on factors influencing the number of people they employed.
More than two thirds (68%) of these businesses reported that the main factor influencing the number of employees was the inability to find suitable staff. This compares to 60% in December.
(a) Proportions are of employing businesses with an insufficient number of employees
(a) Proportions are of employing businesses
(b) Businesses could select more than one response
Medium and large businesses were twice as likely as small businesses to report they expect to increase staff numbers over the next three months (39% and 36% compared to 18%).
(a) Proportions are of employing businesses
One in five (19%) employing businesses plan to increase staff numbers over the next three months. The majority of these businesses expect the increase in staff would be small (79%) and that most of the jobs would be permanent (58%).
This release previously used catalogue number 5676.0.55.003