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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business confidence declined in the December 2012 quarter and remains well below average levels, according to new research.
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The NAB Quarterly SME Survey revealed that SMEs are experiencing weaker confidence levels than their larger counterparts.
“The weak tone of SMEs suggests that interest rate cuts towards the end of 2012 have done little to ease business concerns about the soft state of the local economy,” the survey results said.
According to the results, confidence and conditions fell particularly sharply in the finance sector.
“Conditions in property services, manufacturing, finance, and health services deteriorated heavily in the December quarter, while modest improvements were reported in wholesale and retail – albeit activity in these industries was still very poor,” the survey said.
