Western Australian businesses are increasingly struggling to deal with supply chain disruptions and skill shortages, and are concerned by the rising threat of higher interest rates. 

The CCIWA Business Confidence Survey for the March Quarter shows the buoyant mood at the end of last year has largely dissipated, with confidence in the short and longer term suffering its largest drop since the initial COVID shock two years ago.

The depth of the supply chain impacts is reflected in 85% of businesses reporting they have been impacted by supply issues, including 68% suffering higher costs and almost half (48%) experiencing delays.

Finding workers remains a huge impediment with 82% of those surveyed struggling to fill a particular skillset – the highest since CCIWA started canvassing this issue 12 months ago.

While there has been some short-term relief from increased fuel prices, operating costs continue to rise and the prospect of interest rate rises are weighing on the mind of one in five business owners.

WA businesses clearly require ongoing support, not only when determining the State’s COVID response including restriction settings, but also through improvements to national policy settings that would make it easier to welcome more skilled overseas workers to our state.

Read the full Business Confidence report