Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19

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Insights into Australian business conditions and sentiments.

Reference period

December 2020

Released

16/12/2020

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Key statistics

In December, 25% of businesses reported increased revenue over the last month.
One in five (21%) employing businesses reported they were having difficulty finding suitably skilled staff.
Two thirds (65%) of medium and large employing businesses plan to employ staff over the next three months.

The next release will be on 26 February 2021. This release will include data on changes in revenue, operating expenses and number of employees in January and February.

From February 2021, this publication will be named Business Conditions and Sentiments.

In responding to the survey, businesses are asked to provide a best estimate only, without accessing records or reports.

Business size categories used in this release:

Small (0-19 persons employed);
Medium (20-199 persons employed); and
Large (200 or more persons employed).

For information on survey sample, response rates and the questionnaire, see Methodology.

Revenue, employees and expenses

Businesses reported on changes in revenue, number of employees and operating expenses over the last month and expected changes over the next month. This information has been collected each month since July 2020.

Changes in revenue

From July through to November the proportion of businesses reporting a decrease in revenue fell each month. Between November and December, the proportion of businesses reporting a decrease remained stable (22% compared to 20%). Similarly, the proportion of businesses reporting an increase in revenue in December (25%) was comparable to November (24%).

Changes in revenue, July to December (a)(b)
	Decreased (%)	Stayed the same (%)	Increased (%)	Don't Know (%)
July	47	32	16	6
August	41	38	16	5
September	38	45	13	4
October	31	49	16	5
November	22	49	24	6
December	20	48	25	7

Changes in revenue, July to December (a)(b)

["","Decreased","Stayed the same","Increased","Don't Know"]

[["July","August","September","October","November","December"],[[47],[41],[38],[31],[22],[20]],[[32],[38],[45],[49],[49],[48]],[[16],[16],[13],[16],[24],[25]],[[6],[5],[4],[5],[6],[7]]]

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(a) Proportions are of all businesses

(b) Businesses were asked to report changes over the last month

Sentiments related to monthly revenue expectations have weakened, with over a quarter (27%) of businesses expecting a decrease in revenue over the next month from December, compared to 10% in November. A number of businesses commented that they expect revenue to decrease due to planned closures over the festive period.

Positive monthly revenue expectations were reported by one in five businesses (22%). These sentiments were predominant in industries where December seasonal factors are expected to influence such as Retail trade (40%) and Arts and recreation services (36%).

Monthly revenue expectations, July to December (a)
	Decrease (%)	Stay the same (%)	Increase (%)	Don't Know (%)
July - expectations over the next month	27	49	11	14
August - expectations over the next month	28	55	9	8
September - expectations over the next month	14	61	14	11
October - expectations over the next month	14	56	18	12
November - expectations over the next month	10	56	25	9
December - expectations over the next month	27	43	22	8

Monthly revenue expectations, July to December (a)

["","Decrease","Stay the same","Increase","Don't Know"]

[["July - expectations over the next month","August - expectations over the next month","September - expectations over the next month","October - expectations over the next month","November - expectations over the next month","December - expectations over the next month"],[[27],[28],[14],[14],[10],[27]],[[49],[55],[61],[56],[56],[43]],[[11],[9],[14],[18],[25],[22]],[[14],[8],[11],[12],[9],[8]]]

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(a) Proportions are of all businesses

Changes in number of employees

One in ten (11%) businesses reported an increase in the number of employees in December.

Medium businesses were three times as likely as small businesses to report an increase in the number of employees (30% compared to 10%).

Changes in number of employees in November and December, by employment size (a)(b)
	Decreased (%)	Stayed the same (%)	Increased (%)	Don't know (%)
Small businesses - change in November	5	85	8	2
Small businesses - change in December	5	83	10	2

Medium businesses - change in November	17	64	19	1
Medium businesses - change in December	12	57	30	1

Large businesses - change in November	14	63	20	4
Large businesses - change in December	12	58	26	4

All businesses - change in November	6	84	8	2
All businesses - change in December	6	82	11	2

Changes in number of employees in November and December, by employment size (a)(b)

["","Decreased","Stayed the same","Increased","Don't know"]

[["Small businesses - change in November","Small businesses - change in December","","Medium businesses - change in November","Medium businesses - change in December","","Large businesses - change in November","Large businesses - change in December","","All businesses - change in November","All businesses - change in December"],[[5],[5],[null],[17],[12],[null],[14],[12],[null],[6],[6]],[[85],[83],[null],[64],[57],[null],[63],[58],[null],[84],[82]],[[8],[10],[null],[19],[30],[null],[20],[26],[null],[8],[11]],[[2],[2],[null],[1],[1],[null],[4],[4],[null],[2],[2]]]

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(a) Proportions are of all businesses

(b) Businesses were asked to report changes over the last month

Changes in operating expenses

Almost a quarter (24%) of businesses reported an increase in operating expenses in December, compared to 18% in November.

Medium businesses (32%) were more likely than small (23%) and large (27%) businesses to report an increase in operating expenses in December.

Changes in operating expenses in December, by employment size (a)(b)
	Decreased (%)	Stayed the same (%)	Increased (%)	Don't know (%)
Small businesses	3	71	23	3
Medium businesses	4	59	32	4
Large businesses	7	62	27	5
All businesses	3	70	24	3

Changes in operating expenses in December, by employment size (a)(b)

["","Decreased","Stayed the same","Increased","Don't know"]

[["Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses","All businesses"],[[3],[4],[7],[3]],[[71],[59],[62],[70]],[[23],[32],[27],[24]],[[3],[4],[5],[3]]]

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(a) Proportions are of all businesses

(b) Businesses were asked to report changes over the last month

Number of employees - changes and influencing factors

Employing businesses reported on how current employee numbers compared to this time last year.

Image

Description

Employee numbers compared to this time last year (proportions are of employing businesses): - 21% have more employees; - 54% have about the same; and - 23% have fewer employees

Medium (34%) and large (35%) employing businesses were more likely than small businesses (22%) to report they have fewer employees compared to this time last year.

Number of employees compared to same time last year, by employment size (a)
	Lower (%)	About the same (%)	Higher (%)	Don't know (%)
Small businesses	22	55	21	2
Medium businesses	34	37	26	4
Large businesses	35	26	31	8

Number of employees compared to same time last year, by employment size (a)

["","Lower","About the same","Higher","Don't know"]

[["Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses"],[[22],[34],[35]],[[55],[37],[26]],[[21],[26],[31]],[[2],[4],[8]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

Businesses with more or fewer employees compared to this time last year, top industries (a)(b)

Image

Description

Top industries with businesses that had more employees than compared to this time last year: Administrative and support services (41%), Mining (30%), Health care and social assistance (28%), Other services (27%) and Rental, hiring and real estate (27%). Top industries with businesses that had fewer employees than compared to this time last year: Information, media and telecommunications (37%), Accommodation and food services (34%), Retail trade (32%) and Arts and recreation services (31%).

Whether businesses have sufficient employees

Almost one in six (15%) employing businesses reported that, based on current operations, they do not have a sufficient number of employees.

Medium employing businesses (23%) were more likely than small (15%) and large businesses (12%) to report they do not have sufficient employees.

Whether businesses have sufficient employees, by employment size (a)(b)
	Businesses that have sufficient employees (%)	Businesses that do not not have sufficient employees (%)	Don't know (%)
Small businesses	83	15	2
Medium businesses	76	23	1
Large businesses	85	12	3
All businesses	83	15	2

Whether businesses have sufficient employees, by employment size (a)(b)

["","Businesses that have sufficient employees","Businesses that do not not have sufficient employees","Don't know"]

[["Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses","All businesses"],[[83],[76],[85],[83]],[[15],[23],[12],[15]],[[2],[1],[3],[2]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

(b) Businesses were asked to report whether they had a sufficient number of employees based on current operations

Employing businesses in the following industries were the most likely to report having insufficient employees:

Manufacturing (34%);
Arts and recreation services (28%); and,
Wholesale trade (24%).

Factors influencing number of employees

Employing businesses reported on factors influencing the number of people they employed.

Factors influencing number of employees (a)(b)
	All employing businesses (%)	Employing businesses that do not have sufficient employees (%)
Availability of existing employees to work	27	46
Government wage subsidies	25	39
Inability to find suitable staff	24	60
International and domestic border closures	18	32
Difficulty retaining staff	15	38
JobMaker hiring credit	6	14

Factors influencing number of employees (a)(b)

["","All employing businesses","Employing businesses that do not have sufficient employees"]

[["Availability of existing employees to work","Government wage subsidies","Inability to find suitable staff","International and domestic border closures","Difficulty retaining staff","JobMaker hiring credit"],[[27],[25],[24],[18],[15],[6]],[[46],[39],[60],[32],[38],[14]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

(b) Businesses could select more than one response

Factors influencing number of employees, top industries (a)(b)

Image

Description

Factors influencing number of employees by top industries: - Availability of existing employees to work: Accommodation and food services (54%), Wholesale trade (37%) and Retail trade (34%); - Government wage subsidies: Accommodation and food services (44%), Arts and recreation services (38%) and Retail trade (33%); - Inability to find suitable staff: Accommodation and food services (44%), Electricity, gas, water and waste services (38%) and Manufacturing (35%); - International and domestic border closures: Accommodation and food services (41%), Mining (35%) and Transport, postal and warehousing (29%); - Difficulty retaining staff: Administrative and support services (27%), Manufacturing (24%) and Accommodation and food services (21%); - JobMaker hiring credit: Accommodation and food services (17%), Arts and recreation services (14%) and Retail trade (11%).

Operational changes influencing the number of employees

Employing businesses reported on whether the number of people they employed was influenced by operational changes.

Medium and large businesses were more likely than small businesses to report that each of the operational changes had influenced their number of employees.

Operational changes influencing number of employees (a)(b)
	Small businesses (%)	Medium businesses (%)	Large businesses (%)
Scaling up of business operations	30	49	44
Changes to business processes	20	37	27
Scaling back of business operations	18	28	26
Changes to business structure	17	25	24

Operational changes influencing number of employees (a)(b)

["","Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses"]

[["Scaling up of business operations","Changes to  business processes","Scaling back of business operations","Changes to business structure"],[[30],[20],[18],[17]],[[49],[37],[28],[25]],[[44],[27],[26],[24]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

(b) Businesses could select more than one response

Skills shortages

One in five (21%) employing businesses reported they were having difficulty finding suitably skilled or qualified staff for jobs.

Medium businesses (41%) were more likely to report they were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs, compared to small (19%) and large (29%) businesses.

Whether businesses were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs, by employment size (a)
	Businesses are having difficulty finding suitable staff (%)	Businesses are not having difficulty finding suitable staff (%)	Don't know (%)
Small businesses	19	77	3
Medium businesses	41	54	5
Large businesses	29	63	8

Whether businesses were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs, by employment size (a)

["","Businesses are having difficulty finding suitable staff","Businesses are not having difficulty finding suitable staff","Don't know"]

[["Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses"],[[19],[41],[29]],[[77],[54],[63]],[[3],[5],[8]]]

[]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

Businesses in Accommodation and food services (33%) and Other services (33%) were the most likely to report they had jobs they were having difficulty finding staff for, while businesses in Retail trade (7%) were the least likely.

Businesses that were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs, by industry (a)(b)
	Businesses having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs (%)
Accommodation and Food Services	33
Other Services (c)	33
Arts and Recreation Services	30
Mining	30
Manufacturing	30
Education and Training	29
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	28
Administrative and Support Services	28
Wholesale Trade	22
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	21
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	20
Health Care and Social Assistance	19
Construction	18
Financial and Insurance Services	14
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	13
Information Media and Telecommunications	13
Retail Trade	7

Businesses that were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs, by industry (a)(b)

["","Businesses having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs"]

[["Accommodation and Food Services","Other Services (c)","Arts and Recreation Services","Mining","Manufacturing","Education and Training","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Administrative and Support Services","Wholesale Trade","Transport, Postal and Warehousing","Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","Health Care and Social Assistance","Construction","Financial and Insurance Services","Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","Information Media and Telecommunications","Retail Trade"],[[33],[33],[30],[30],[30],[29],[28],[28],[22],[21],[20],[19],[18],[14],[13],[13],[7]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

(b) Businesses were asked to report if they were having difficulty finding suitable staff for jobs

Businesses reporting skills shortages provided additional comments on the types of jobs for which they were having difficulty finding suitable staff. The following word cloud presents the types of jobs reported by these businesses. More common responses are bigger and bolder.

Image

Description

Key occupation categories reported by businesses that reported having difficulty finding suitable staff: include tradespersons, hospitality workers, labourers, drivers, STEM professionals, and others.

Future workforce actions

Employing businesses reported on workforce actions they plan to take over the next three months.

Two thirds (65%) of medium and large employing businesses plan to employ new staff over the next three months and around half of medium (49%) and large (52%) businesses expect to re-train or upskill existing staff to fill skills gaps.

Workforce actions businesses plan to take over the next three months, by employment size (a)(b)
	Small businesses (%)	Medium businesses (%)	Large businesses (%)
Employ new staff	33	65	65
Re-train or upskill existing staff to fill skills gaps	32	49	52
Increase staff hours	23	33	23
Outsource work to a third party	13	12	11
Reduce staff hours	8	9	8
Re-employ laid off staff	5	11	11
Reduce staff numbers	4	8	9

Workforce actions businesses plan to take over the next three months, by employment size (a)(b)

["","Small businesses","Medium businesses","Large businesses"]

[["Employ new staff","Re-train or upskill existing staff to fill skills gaps","Increase staff hours","Outsource work to a third party","Reduce staff hours","Re-employ laid off staff","Reduce staff numbers"],[[33],[32],[23],[13],[8],[5],[4]],[[65],[49],[33],[12],[9],[11],[8]],[[65],[52],[23],[11],[8],[11],[9]]]

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(a) Proportions are of employing businesses

(b) Businesses could select more than one response

Image

Description

Top workforce actions by top industries: - Employ new staff: Accommodation and food services (62%), Education and training (57%) and Manufacturing (56%); - Retrain or upskill existing staff: Other services (55%), Arts and recreation services (54%) and Information, media and telecommunication services (50%); - Increase staff hours: Manufacturing (61%), Accommodation and food services (44%) and Arts and recreation services (37%).

Data downloads

Business Impacts of COVID-19, December 2020

Data files

Download xlsx [120.56 KB]

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5676.0.55.003

Methodology

Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19 methodology, December 2020

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APA

Citation

Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Revenue, employees and expenses

Changes in revenue

Changes in number of employees

Changes in operating expenses

Number of employees - changes and influencing factors

Businesses with more or fewer employees compared to this time last year, top industries (a)(b)

Whether businesses have sufficient employees

Factors influencing number of employees

Factors influencing number of employees, top industries (a)(b)

Operational changes influencing the number of employees

Skills shortages

Future workforce actions

Data downloads

Business Impacts of COVID-19, December 2020

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

Provide feedback

APA

Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19

APA

Key statistics

Revenue, employees and expenses

Changes in revenue

Changes in number of employees

Changes in operating expenses

Number of employees - changes and influencing factors

Businesses with more or fewer employees compared to this time last year, top industries (a)(b)

Whether businesses have sufficient employees

Factors influencing number of employees

Factors influencing number of employees, top industries (a)(b)

Operational changes influencing the number of employees

Skills shortages

Future workforce actions

Data downloads

Business Impacts of COVID-19, December 2020

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

One in five businesses face skills shortages

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder