More than 31 per cent of firms are expecting to cut back on staffing levels in the September quarter, the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Business Expectations Survey has found.
The survey, released yesterday, confirmed business executives remain downbeat about the local business outlook.
Expectations for sales, profits, employment, inventories and capital investment also all remain in negative territory, indicating that further challenges lie ahead.
While the survey showed a marginal improvement in sentiment on the March quarter, D&B’s CEO Christine Christian said there is still a long way to go on the road to recovery.
“The survey indicates that we may not experience the V-shaped recovery that some are anticipating,” she said.
According to the survey, the influence of interest rates has continued to fall in line with the lower RBA cash rate.
More than 30 per cent of firms rank interest rates as a major influence on their business, a 26 per cent fall since February 2009.
