Australian small businesses are persevering amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and still outperforming those in other countries, according to the latest Xero Small Business Insights.
Sales rose just 3.7% in the 12 months to September, highlighting the challenging environment small businesses are operating in. Yet, although this growth rate is only about half of the long-term average, it is higher than the United States, New Zealand and Canada, all of which recorded negative sales growth in the September quarter.
“Australia also recorded the highest proportion of small businesses creating jobs and the shortest payment times, and is one of the most effective at managing wage cost pressures,” the report says.
Small business hiring continues to climb, with annual growth of 4.8%. In September, job growth was 5.8% year-on-year – the largest increase in two years. There was, however, a “noticeable variation” across the industries and regions.
Annual job gains were led by public administration (9.0%) and healthcare (8.6%), two sectors that are underpinned by public sector spending. Hospitality, meanwhile, not only continued its trend of declining jobs (-0.2%) but was the only industry in Q3 employing fewer staff than a year ago.
#accountant #smallbusinesses #economy