New Zealand businesses remain pessimistic. Photo/Getty Images
Business confidence bounced back in September with just 38 per cent of respondents to ANZ's Business Outlook survey saying they expect conditions to deteriorate in the year ahead, compared with 50 per cent at last month's survey.
Firms' perceptions of their own activity prospects lifted four points to a net
8 per cent expecting an improvement. Investment intentions fell 4 points to a net minus 9 per cent, ANZ said.
"It is encouraging that nearly all activity indicators out of the ANZ Business Outlook survey rebounded this month, with only investment intentions deteriorating further," said ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner.
"The growth signal coming out of the survey remains weak, certainly. But if the indicators continue to rebound, it will increase the odds that while the economy may have hit a pothole, the wheels are not falling off," Zollner said in the bank's Business Outlook.
Finding skilled labour was the biggest issue, with 26 per cent of firms identifying this as their single largest problem, the bank said.
