Almost one-in-five WA business leaders are heading to sleep at night worrying about Donald Trump’s trade war and conflict in the Middle East, with their outlook on the economy getting gloomier.
The number of bosses worried about tensions offshore has doubled since December, according to a fresh survey by lobby group the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA.
Only one in four chiefs expect the economy will get better over the next 12 months, while 31 per cent think things will get worse — an increase of 7 percentage points.
Months of uncertainty has led to growth downgrades across the world after America’s President sparked shock in April with a major increase in trade taxes.
Mr Trump soon back flipped and paused the scheme following financial instability. But the shadow of trade chaos looms large as the world hangs on a deadline of 9 July to negotiate deals.
Western Australia’s fortunes are unusually reliant on trade as about half of the State’s economic activity is generated by exports.
“WA is a trading economy and the knock-on effect of the US tariffs and retaliatory tariffs have the potential to weigh on our economy,” CCIWA chief Aaron Morey said.
“Coupled with the Israel-Iran war, the impact on supply chains is a major concern for many businesses.
“Three in five (60 per cent) WA businesses (are) saying they expect their supply chains to be impacted by the tariffs.”
The top worry for bosses remains the worker shortage, after a stimulus-fuelled inflation bubble coming out of the pandemic caused demand for staff to rocket.
Almost two-in-three chiefs reckon skills shortages are a barrier to growth — with manufacturing, construction and resources hardest hit.
Mr Morey seized on the survey to urge the State Government to cut payroll tax as a way to ease costs for companies and support job creation.
There’s still plenty of cause for optimism in WA. Unemployment remained below 4 per cent in May and the State’s economy grew in the most recent quarter.
https://thewest.com.au/business/economy/wa-economy-chamber-of-commerce-and-industry-survey-shows-worker-shortage-remains-amid-strong-demand-c-19191123
