Griffith City Council says its latest Griffith Business Survey has uncovered some encouraging trends including an overall increase in sales compared to previous years.
More than 200 businesses took part in the 2023 Business Survey conducted over the 2023 December quarter by Council and the Griffith Business Chamber.
The survey was designed to collect information relating to local investment and businesses in Griffith.
Council Director Economic and Organisational Development, Shireen Donaldson said the survey results will assist in determining how Council can help local businesses in the future, as well as analyse the current business climate.
“The results of the survey and the subsequent report will help inform the development of strategies and long-term plans, as well as support grant applications for our region,’ she said.
“In addition, the report will assist in providing information for major infrastructure projects as well as the long-term operational and strategic decisions for Council.”
Mayor, Doug Curran said the findings will be a valuable tool for local businesses to determine opportunities within their industry, and provide key information to attract investors.
“The results show that almost three quarters of the businesses surveyed are happy with how they are operating, and over half are planning expansions over the next five years,” said the Mayor.
“Almost all of the respondents believe that innovation and technology is one of their greatest strengths.
“The results are encouraging and demonstrate that while we are affected by external influences such as the staff shortages, rising costs of rent, water, power and lending, local businesses and industry are working hard to develop and grow.”
Griffith Business Chamber President, John Nikolic, thanked Council for organising the survey and also businesses that participated.
“It was great to see over 200 responses,” he said.
“Overall, the picture appears to be that business confidence has returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 57.6% of surveyed business saying they are looking to expand in the next 12 months, compared to 51% in 2019, and 72.7% indicating that they were either happy or very happy with their business performance – slightly higher than in 2019. This exceeds State-wide data, which has shown only modest increases in business confidence over the last three quarters.
“However, we also know that businesses are suffering from ever increasing costs of doing
business – including to wages, energy costs, insurance and freight costs – and that consumer demand is still supressed due to cost of living pressures.
“For Griffith, the primary constraint on growth remains a lack of labour – it was notable to see that 33% of surveyed businesses were advertising for staff and that 75% wanted to
increase staff numbers in 2024.
“We’re hopeful that the new Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) will help to alleviate staff shortages – the Chamber will be hosting a seminar at the Gem Hotel at 5.45pm on Thursday 30 May 2024, with a presentation from Glenn Cole at Australia Skilled Migration about how local businesses can utilise the DAMA – all are welcome to attend.”
The Griffith Business Survey summary is available to read here.
