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Small business owners give State Government a poor rating

06 Dec 2007

More than half of Australia's small businesses think their State Government's performance on small business development is poor, according to the latest MYOB Australian Small Business Survey, released today.

"We are seeing a continual trend towards a lack of confidence in Sate Governments by small business owners.  However small business owners do have confidence in their own business outlook and are predicting a good year in 2008," said Tim Reed, Managing Director of MYOB Australia.

The MYOB survey found that small businesses in the Manufacturing sector are most critical of the State Government (66%), with an increase of 11% since the last quarter (55% in July 2007).

The MYOB survey also reveals that small business owners in Tasmania (66%) were most likely to perceive their State Government's performance negatively (ie: "very poor" and "somewhat poor").  Small business owners in Queensland have the most confidence in the performance of their State Government, but more than 40% rate their State Government poorly.

Among factors negatively affecting small business owners, State Government policies rank third after interest rates and general business costs.

In positive news, more than three quarters (77%) of small businesses surveyed rated their current business performance positively, which has increased slightly since last quarter (74% in July).

Despite negative feelings about the State Government, concerns about interest rates, petrol prices and competitive activity, small businesses are predicting a good year in 2008.  Around three quarters of small businesses surveyed (76%) are confident about their business prospects over the next 12 months, with around a quarter (24%) expressing that they were extremely confident.  This positive outlook reflects a constant trend from previous quarters (76% in April and 77% in July).  While two thirds (65%) of small businesses surveyed expect their business performance to be better in 12 months time than it is now.

However while they are confident about their business prospects over the next 12 months, overall around a quarter (24%) of small businesses expect the Australian economy to perform better over the next 12 months. This has decreased by 7% since July (31%).

The outlook is good for employment, with 27% of small businesses surveyed intending to employ staff within the next 12 months.  This is slightly higher than previous quarters (23% in July and 24% in April).