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Despite battling to find staff and contending with rising inflation and cost-of-living expenses small businesses are continuing to remain positive according to the latest SME Sentiment Tracker from ACA Research.
The latest data showed the revenue growth reported in June, was maintained in July with 22 per cent of SMEs now operating with higher revenues than prior to the pandemic.
And the news continued to improve with the data revealing that 51 per cent of SMEs reported a profit in July up from 47 per cent in the previous month with 28 per cent expecting short-term revenues to remain steady with 28 per cent in August.
However, in line with weaker sentiment, the proportion of growth-focused SMEs has declined from 40 per cent in June to 32 per cent this month. The level of concern regarding energy prices (87 per cent) and fuel prices (86 per cent) is very high, with supply chain delays (78 per cent) and inflation (78 per cent) also concerning for most SMEs.
The survey showed the recruitment process is proving very difficult for nearly half (46 per cent) of SMEs currently looking for staff. The lack of candidates (62 per cent) is the key issue, but high wage demands (39 per cent) also spiked significantly during July. Consequently, the proportion of SMEs that believe recruiting is now more difficult than before the pandemic is 71 per cent compared to 64 per cent in June.
Overall, SMEs are continuing to report positive revenue and profit numbers despite weaker sentiment regarding economic conditions and inflationary pressures. The demand for new staff also continues to increase as SMEs execute on their growth plans in 2022. Moving forward it will be interesting to see if the latest interest rate rise has any immediate impact on demand among the SME community.