HUNTER businesses are more confident compared to three months ago but remain worried about the costs of trading, the latest Business Hunter survey shows.
The latest quarterly Business Conditions Survey from the region's peak business organisation Business Hunter shows that Hunter businesses were far more optimistic in April compared to the start of the year.
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said the survey, conducted during April and early May, shows businesses no longer feel like they are in "crisis mode" that gripped the economy during the peak Omicron COVID-19 outbreak of January.
Mr Hawes said that the data showed that support measures introduced by the NSW government during Omicron had had a "positive impact" and helped to restore confidence that was "tanking" across the Hunter region from mid-December through to February.
"The Hunter region has actually stood out when compared across the state in its recovery of confidence over the survey period by more than 50 index points. That says a lot about the resilience of the region and the innovation and tenacity of our business sector," he said.
"There was a particular focus on this survey on business operating costs - with 97% of business owners saying they'd had to make changes to their business due to rising costs of materials, supply chain impacts and some downturn in trade due to staff shortages in many sectors.
Adrian Coffey, owner of New Lambton-based Elder Street Pantry, said while consumer confidence was improving, he believed the Hunter was "less relaxed" than Sydney and other areas because Omicron was "still here" and many were wary of contracting the virus.
Mr Coffey, who merged his business Matchbox Espresso with his other business Elder Street Pantry in February, said while confidence may have risen, many suburban traders had lost the business they had during lockdown.
"We have customers now going back to work now and we saw them two or three times a day, we now see them once a day," he said.
Mr Coffey, who was forced to close his business this week [it reopens Monday] after testing positive, said hospitality was suffering with staff shortages: "There is no workforce, every time I look, another cafe needs baristas and there is no-one."
Business Hunter said the data showed the secondary impact on the cost of doing business was insurance premium increases, with almost 80% of businesses reporting a rise in the cost of insurance in the past year.
"It is troubling to see that many businesses in this survey period have reported increases above 10 per cent, knowing in many cases they have had limited ability to pass these costs on," Mr Hawes said.
"This is above recent rises in inflation and when counted together, these unavoidable increases bite sharply on the profit and loss statements over the months."
