The chamber’s Pulse survey found that confidence in the business community was falling and was now at levels witnessed during the pandemic.

The impact of the labour shortage was state-wide, but worse in central Queensland where 87 per cent said it was affecting business. In north Queensland it was 86 per cent and Brisbane 82 per cent.

The survey indicated that many businesses had been operating understaffed for much of the past year.

A lack of relevant skills or qualifications (66 per cent) and a lack of applicants at all (65 per cent) remain the main factors impacting the ability of Queensland business to recruit and retain suitable staff.

When compared to 2022, applicants lacking the relevant skills had worsened and become the most significant factor impacting a business’s ability to hire additional employees.

Businesses also said that while labour costs were impacting them and they expected they would need to increase wages in the next three months. Many were rearranging roles and responsibilities in order to cope.

The survey also found that Brisbane and its neighbouring coasts were where confidence was tanking, while the state economy was seen throughout Queensland as being a better performer than the national economy. Even so, the Queensland 12-month outlook was lower than the same quarter last year and below its respective 10-year average.

Business sentiment for the performance of the Queensland economy remains slightly better than those for the national economy.

Wide Bay, Mackay, Central Queensland and far north Queensland had the highest confidence in the state economy

The biggest problems for businesses were largely the same, although wage costs were now the second-highest constraint on business growth. Labour, interest rates, insurance costs and consumer spending were the issues.

However, they all appeared to be getting worse.

Conversely, general business conditions were seen to be improving, but still below this time last year. Conditions for the current quarter were expected to decline.

“Businesses are facing the combined impact of higher operating costs, high labour and insurance costs, high interest rates and reduced consumer spending which means they are less optimistic in the state and the nation’s economic future,” she said.

Business Chamber Queensland chief executive Heidi Cooper said businesses were facing the combined impact of high operating costs, high labour and insurance costs, high interest rates and reduced consumer spending which meant they’re less optimistic in the state and nation’s economic future.

“We’ve been seeing these macroeconomic challenges impact business confidence for the past year,” Cooper said. 

 “Interest rates impact businesses both directly and indirectly. Many businesses have their own debts to service while consumer spending is reduced. We saw this with level of demand and economic activity and interest rates both rank in the top five constraints on business growth. 

 “More than seven in 10 businesses reported wage costs increased in the June quarter while more than eight in 10 said operating costs also increased in the same period.”