This publication provides insights into the conditions and sentiments of Australian businesses.
This survey provides timely insights into the pandemic for governments, businesses, researchers and the broader community. The data from this release compliments the ongoing range of other information the ABS produces to provide critical insights into the impacts of COVID-19 on the Australian economy and society.
For more information refer to https://www.abs.gov.au/covid-19.
The collection was conducted through a telephone based business survey between 8 and 16 June 2022.
The Business Conditions and Sentiments Survey includes information on the following industries classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC):
The scope excludes public sector business units (i.e. all departments, authorities and other organisations owned and controlled by Commonwealth, State and Local Government).
The survey includes Employing and Non-Employing Units on the ABS Business Register. However, micro non-employing businesses are excluded. These are very small units on the ABS Business Register, by standard measures of size.
The statistical unit used to represent businesses, and for which statistics are reported, is the Australian Business Number (ABN) unit, in most cases. The ABN unit is the business unit which has registered for an ABN, and thus appears on the ATO administered Australian Business Register. This unit is suitable for ABS statistical needs when the business is simple in structure.
For more significant and diverse businesses where the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical needs, the statistical unit used is the Type of Activity Unit (TAU). A TAU is comprised of one or more business entities, sub-entities or branches of a business entity within an Enterprise Group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items is available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry subdivision (and the TAU is classified to the relevant subdivision of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)). Where a business cannot supply adequate data for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry subdivision and the TAU is classified to the predominant ANZSIC subdivision. Further details about the ABS economic statistical units used in this survey, and in other ABS economic surveys (both sample surveys and censuses), can be found in Chapter 2 of the Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (SESCA) 2008.
The survey is based on a random sample of approximately 2,000 units stratified by industry and employment size. The final response rate was 61%.
The survey sample is re-weighted to adjust for non-response and provide full population estimates.
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) has been developed for use in both countries for the production and analysis of industry statistics. For more information, users are referred to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006.
When interpreting these results, please note that there may be systematic bias in these estimates that statistical procedures would not correct. In particular, estimates may be subject to non-response bias.
| 1 | (a) Is this business currently trading? | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ Yes [Go to Q2] | ||
| ☐ No [Go to comments] | ||
| 2 | Does this business employ any staff? | |
| [NOTE: This includes all employees on the books and not currently working] | ||
| ☐ Yes | ||
| ☐ No | ||
| [NOTE: Businesses are not required to check records for the following questions] | ||
| 3 | (a) Over the past month, has revenue increased, decreased or stayed the same? | |
| [NOTE: Revenue refers to income generated from the sale of goods or services] | ||
| ☐ Increased | ||
| ☐ Decreased | ||
| ☐ Stayed the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| (b) And over the next month, do you expect revenue will increase, decrease or stay the same? | ||
| [NOTE: Revenue refers to income generated from the sale of goods or services] | ||
| ☐ Increase | ||
| ☐ Decrease | ||
| ☐ Stay the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| (c) Over the past month, have operating expenses increased, decreased or stayed the same? | ||
| [NOTE: Operating expenses refers to expenses incurred in undertaking normal business operating activities. Examples include payroll, rent, inventory cost, marketing and insurance] | ||
| ☐ Increased | ||
| ☐ Decreased | ||
| ☐ Stayed the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| (d) And over the next month, do you expect operating expenses will increase, decrease or stay the same? | ||
| [NOTE: Operating expenses refers to expenses incurred in undertaking normal business operating activities. Examples include payroll, rent, inventory cost, marketing and insurance] | ||
| ☐ Increase | ||
| ☐ Decrease | ||
| ☐ Stay the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| (e) Over the past month, have the number of employees increased, decreased or stayed the same? | ||
| ☐ Increased | ||
| ☐ Decreased | ||
| ☐ Stayed the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| (f) And over the next month, do you expect the number of employees will increase, decrease or stay the same? | ||
| ☐ Increase | ||
| ☐ Decrease | ||
| ☐ Stay the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| 4 | (a) Over the next 3 months, how difficult or easy will it be for this business to meet its financial commitments? Will it be… | |
| [NOTE: Financial commitments include any debts or regular payments that must be made by the business] | ||
| ☐ Very difficult | ||
| ☐ Difficult | ||
| ☐ Neither difficult or easy | ||
| ☐ Easy | ||
| ☐ Very easy | ||
| ☐ Not applicable as my business does not have any financial commitments over the next three months | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| 5 | (a) Is this business having difficulties finding suitable staff to fill any jobs? | |
| ☐ Yes [Go to Q5b] | ||
| ☐ No [Go to Q5e] | ||
| ☐ Don't know [Go to Q5e] | ||
| (b) Can you tell me which jobs this business is having difficulty finding suitable staff for? | ||
| [NOTE: All jobs are in scope] | ||
| (c) You have indicated the business is having difficulty finding suitable staff to fill jobs. To what extent has this impacted business operations? | ||
| ☐ Not at all | ||
| ☐ To a small extent (e.g. a minor impact on work quality and/or output; existing employees; or sales and customers) | ||
| ☐ To a great extent (e.g. a significant impact on work quality and/or output; existing employees; or sales and customers) | ||
| ☐ Don’t know | ||
| (d) With regards to these jobs, are any of the following factors impacting this business’s ability to find suitable staff? | ||
| ☐ Location of the job(s) [NOTE: For example, staff are not willing/cannot relocate or commute to job location] | ||
| ☐ Lack of applicants for job(s) | ||
| ☐ Applicants don’t have the skills or qualifications required for job(s) | ||
| ☐ Pay conditions of the job(s) such as salary/remuneration | ||
| ☐ Types of employment offered such as permanent/temporary, casual, full-time, part-time | ||
| ☐ Working days/hours of the job(s) such as shift work, weekend work, number of hours, overtime | ||
| ☐ Other employment or working conditions of the job(s) such as leave entitlements, flexible working arrangements, superannuation | ||
| ☐ Uncertain economic conditions | ||
| ☐ Are there any other factors impacting this business’s ability to find suitable staff? (please specify) | ||
| (e) Over the next 3 months, does the business plan to take any of the following actions in relation to its workforce? | ||
| ☐ Increase staff numbers | ||
| ☐ Reduce staff numbers | ||
| ☐ Increase staff hours | ||
| ☐ Reduce staff hours | ||
| ☐ Increase wages or salaries (e.g. to retain or attract new staff) | ||
| ☐ Introduce new flexible working arrangements | ||
| ☐ Introduce new benefits (e.g. sign-on bonus, non-wage incentives) | ||
| ☐ Outsource work to a third party | ||
| ☐ Re-train existing staff | ||
| ☐ Rearrange job roles and responsibilities | ||
| ☐ Are there any other actions the business plans to take in relation to its workforce over the next 3 months? (please specify) | ||
| 6 | (a) On an average day what percentage of this business’s workforce are currently teleworking? | |
| [NOTE: Excludes staff solely checking and responding to emails only] | ||
| ☐ None [Go to Q6b] | ||
| ☐ Less than 25 per cent [Go to Q6c] | ||
| ☐ 25 to less than 50 per cent [Go to Q6c] | ||
| ☐ 50 to less than 75 per cent [Go to Q6c] | ||
| ☐ 75 to 100 per cent [Go to Q6c] | ||
| ☐ Don't know [Go to Q6c] | ||
| (b) You indicated that none of the business’s workforce are currently teleworking. Is this due to any of the following factors? | ||
| ☐ Nature of the work is not suitable for teleworking (e.g. onsite requirements, security concerns) | ||
| ☐ The business does not have appropriate technology for teleworking | ||
| ☐ Staff do not have access to and/or are unable to use technology | ||
| [NOTE: This includes not having the right set-up at home to work remotely, as well as not having the skills to use the technology] | ||
| ☐ Staff were encouraged/or wanting to return to the office | ||
| (c) You indicated the business currently has workforce teleworking. Are any of the following factors influencing the business’s current teleworking arrangements? | ||
| ☐ The business uses teleworking to allow staff flexibility | ||
| ☐ More staff are geographically widely spread | ||
| ☐ Access to a broader recruitment pool | ||
| ☐ The business has reduced its office space | ||
| ☐ Staff are unwilling to come into the office due to concerns over catching COVID-19 | ||
| ☐ Staff are teleworking due to illness or COVID-19 isolation requirements | ||
| ☐ Staff were encouraged/or wanting to return to the office | ||
| (d) Still thinking about teleworking. Long-term do you expect this to….? | ||
| [NOTE: Long-term refers to teleworking arrangements expected to remain in place beyond the current restrictions and business conditions (i.e. for more than 6 months)] | ||
| ☐ Increase to have all staff teleworking | ||
| ☐ Increase to have more staff teleworking (but not all) | ||
| ☐ Decrease, but still have some staff teleworking | ||
| ☐ Decrease, and have no staff teleworking | ||
| ☐ Stay the same | ||
| ☐ Don't know | ||
| 7 | (a) Is the business currently experiencing any supply chain disruptions? | |
| [NOTE: A supply chain is a logistics network between a business and its suppliers to produce and distribute a product to the customer. A supply chain disruption is an interruption to that network.] | ||
| ☐ Yes [Go to Q7b] | ||
| ☐ No [Go to Comments] | ||
| ☐ Don't know [Go to comments] | ||
| (b) You indicated the business is currently experiencing supply chain disruptions. To what extent are the supply chain disruptions affecting this business? | ||
| ☐ Not at all | ||
| ☐ A small extent (e.g. some delays but little impact on revenue) | ||
| ☐ A great extent (e.g. major delays/cannot obtain certain items and significant impact on revenue) | ||
| ☐ Don’t know | ||