Mid North Coast businesses remain cautious about hiring, with rising labour costs putting particular pressure on the region’s hospitality and retail sectors.
The latest Business Conditions Survey from Business NSW found just 12 per cent of businesses statewide planned to hire additional staff over the next three months, while 21 per cent expected to reduce their workforce.
The outlook was even weaker for accommodation and food services, a key sector for the Mid North Coast, with just eight per cent planning to hire and almost one in three expecting to cut staff.
Business NSW Mid North Coast Regional Director Rod Barnaby said employers remained reluctant to take on additional workers despite a modest improvement in business confidence.
“Businesses might be feeling slightly better than they were three months ago, but they’re still not confident enough to take on more staff,” Barnaby said.
“That’s especially evident in customer-facing sectors such as retail, hospitality and accommodation, where employers are often the first to feel pressure when consumers start tightening their belts.
“If governments want to see businesses hiring again, they need to make it easier and more affordable to employ people. Reducing payroll tax and scrapping the Emergency Services Levy would ease pressure on employers
and help restore confidence.”
Barnaby said the quality of customer service was particularly important for businesses in regional areas such as the Mid North Coast, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors.
However, rising labour costs were prompting more venues to introduce QR code ordering and other measures to reduce staffing costs.
“Service in hospitality is becoming a dying art because venues simply can’t afford the staffing levels they once had,” Barnaby said.
“Increasing minimum wages, weekend and public holiday penalty rates, regulation and red-tape, and payroll tax all combine to result in less employment within the hospitality industry.”
Across NSW, the Business Confidence Index improved from -78.0 in May to -65.0, while forward-looking expectations rose to -47.3. Both measures remained firmly negative.
Taxes, levies and government charges were the highest-ranked cost concern for businesses for the second consecutive quarter.
Businesses rated their prospects for the current financial year at 5.5 out of 10, only slightly above the survey’s “just enough business to survive” level, while one in four rated their prospects below that threshold.
The survey also found 46 per cent of businesses had increased their use of artificial intelligence over the previous three months.
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