South Australian small and medium businesses are among the most confident in the nation and have reported a significant rise in trading conditions – which include profitability, sales, forward orders and employment – according to the latest independent NAB quarterly SME survey.
The survey, which covered the first three months of the year, showed South Australia and QLD 'led the gains in business conditions' – with SA (up 5.8 to 25.3 points) now outperforming the other surveyed states on this measure.
Accommodation, cafes and restaurants (up 13 points), property services (+8 points) and construction (+7) reported the biggest rise in conditions, nationally.
SME confidence here is second only to Western Australia – up 4.9 to 19.4 points – as the state continues its strong, ongoing COVID-19 economic and jobs recovery.
"South Australia's hardworking small and medium businesses are the backbone of the state's economy and it's pleasing to see both their confidence and trading conditions continue to rise," said Treasurer Rob Lucas.
"The more confident an employer is, and the better their trading conditions, including cashflow and sales, the more likely they are to expand and create more jobs which is our absolute focus as we turbo charge the state's economy."
The latest NAB survey is consistent with other recent surveys – including by BankSA, Business SA, and ANZ/Property Council – which all tell a similar story about rising levels of business confidence in South Australia.
The report follows positive ABS Labour Force: Single Touch Payroll data this week, which showed SA continues to outperform almost every other state and territory for its strong jobs rebound since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
