WA economy: Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey shows stimulus-fuelled worker shortage remains
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
MSNBC host has meltdown over Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling
MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend has had a meltdown following the Supreme Court's ruling on birthright citizenship. During a panel discussion on Friday, Townsend called SCOTUS's ruling 'insane' as they voted in favour of US President Donald Trump's executive order. 'I just don't, I can't believe that we are asking the question, 'Is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution constitutional?' That is what, it is crazy. And I am sorry, but people need to call, 'This is crazy,'' she said. 'They are asking us… They're asking us not to believe our own eyes and our own ears. They're asking us to go against everything that we know to be true. This is insane.' The Supreme Court recently handed the Trump administration a major victory in its efforts to block lower courts from upending its executive orders. The justices ruled 6-3 in favour of the Trump administration; the ruling will allow lower courts to issue injunctions but only in limited situations.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Asia shares track Wall St gains before payrolls test
Asia shares have firmed as seemingly unquenchable demand for technology companies lifted S&P 500 futures to another all-time peak, while the dollar dipped on concerns US jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by President Donald Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $US3.3 trillion ($A5.1 trillion) to the nation's debt, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.3 per cent, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.2 per cent. The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan's Nikkei which rose 1.0 per cent in early trade on Monday, while South Korean stocks gained 0.5 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.1 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US payrolls are a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June with the jobless rate ticking up to 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. "While initial jobless claims retreated somewhat from their recent high, continuing claims jumped higher yet again," noted Michael Feroli, head of US economics at JPMorgan. "Consumers' assessment of labour market conditions also deteriorated in the latest confidence report." "Both of these developments suggest that the unemployment rate in June should tick up to 4.3 per cent, with a significant risk of reaching 4.4 per cent." The latter outcome would likely see futures push up the chance of a July easing from the current 18 per cent and price in more than the present 63 basis points of cuts for this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will have an opportunity to repeat his cautious outlook when he joins several other central bank chiefs at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra on Tuesday. The prospect of an eventual policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries about the US budget deficit and the huge amount of borrowing it entails. Yields on 10-year Treasuries were steady at 3.27 per cent, having fallen 9 basis points last week. The dollar has not fared so well, in part due to concerns tariffs and chaotic policies from the White House will drag on economic growth and erode the country's claim to exceptionalism. The euro was near its highest since September 2021 at $1.1731, having climbed 1.7 per cent last week, while sterling stood near a similar peak at $1.3719. The dollar was down a fraction at 144.48 yen, after losing one per cent last week, while the dollar index dipped to 97.163. James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, noted the dollar had fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," he added. "So, we suspect that this could be a pivotal period for the greenback - either it turns around here or there is another five per cent or so fall around the corner." In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment has undermined gold, which slipped to $US3,266 ($A4,999) an ounce and further away from April's record top of $US3,500 ($A5,357). Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. Brent dropped a further 55 cents to $US67.22 ($A102.88) a barrel, while US crude eased 68 cents to $US64.84 ($A99.24) per barrel.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Head of nuclear agency concedes he ‘doesn't know' whether Iran's nuclear material remains intact
The head of the international agency responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear development has made a troubling admission, conceding he 'doesn't know' whether the country managed to move its stockpile of enriched uranium to safety before the American strikes. Rafael Grossi is Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Today he spoke to Face the Nation, a current affairs program on CBS News in the United States. 'People here are looking for clarity, and there's confusion,' host Margaret Brennan said. 'The Defence Intelligence Agency assesses that Iran's program was set back by a few months, but once they dig out they could resume in a number of months. 'The CIA and the Director of National Intelligence (Trump appointee Tusli Gabbard) say the facilities were destroyed and it would take years to rebuild. 'Israel says the military program is set back by many years. 'What's the truth here? What do you make of these assessments?' Ms Brennan could have also cited President Donald Trump himself, who claimed in the immediate aftermath of the strikes that Iran's nuclear sites had been 'obliterated'. Or Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said 'Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated'. Or White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said the strikes 'took away Iran's ability to create a nuclear bomb'. 'You know what? This hourglass approach, with weapons of mass destruction, is not a good idea,' Mr Grossi said. 'All of that depends on your metrics. If you tell me it will take them two months or three months – for what? 'The capacities they have are there. They can have, in a matter of months I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium. Or less than that. 'But frankly, one cannot say that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there. Because first of all, it is clear that there has been severe damage, but it is not total damage. But Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. 'If they wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He did concede that Iran's 'protective measures' ahead of the American strikes could have included the 'movement of materials', as suggested by a series of satellite images from the days beforehand, which showed trucks leaving the Fordow nuclear facility. 'We don't know. We saw the same images that the whole world has seen,' Mr Grossi said, referring to those satellite images. The fear, here, is that Iran managed to move its stores of highly enriched uranium to safety. Ms Brennan noted that Iran possessed 'just under 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium' before Israel and the United States launched their attacks. 'Do you have any idea where that was moved, and if it was moved before the attack?' Ms Brennan asked. 'We presume, and I think it's logical to presume, that when they announced they were going to be taking protective measures, this could be part of it,' said Mr Grossi. 'But we don't know where this material could be, or whether part of it could have been under attack during those 12 days. 'Some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. 'There has to be, at some point, a verification. If we don't get that verification, this will continue to hang over our heads as a problem.' Ms Brennan said she was probing at the 'open question' of whether Iran 'could sprint towards a bomb'. 'If we don't know where the highly enriched uranium is, and cannot account for all the centrifuges, is that still a risk?' she asked. 'We don't want to be alarmist here, and I don't want to be part of a messaging that would be spreading alarm,' said Mr Grossi. 'But we need to be in a position to confirm what is there, and where is it, and what happened. Iran had a very vast, ambitious program. Part of it may still be there. And if not, there is also the self-evident truth that the knowledge is there. The industrial capacity is there. Iran is a very sophisticated country, in terms of nuclear technology. 'You can't disinvent this.' He stressed that 'we are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily'. 'You are going to (have to have) an agreement, and an inspection system,' he said. Mr Grossi's point, repeated throughout the interview, was that Iran likely retains the capacity to develop nuclear weapons, despite the damage caused by America's attack. 'There is an agreement in describing this as a very serious level of damage. It can be described in different ways, but at facilities where Iran used to have capabilities in treatment and enrichment of uranium, (that has) been destroyed to an important degree. Some is still standing,' he said. 'So there is, of course, an important setback in terms of those capabilities. This is clear. Now the important issue is, what are the next steps? 'I think we have a snapshot of a program that has been very seriously damaged, and now what we need to focus on is the next steps.' He said he 'wholeheartedly' supports Trump envoy Steve Witkoff's attempts to reach a negotiated deal with Iran, but 'it's not going to be easy' in the aftermath of the strikes. Ms Brennan pointed out that Iran's parliament just passed a law saying it would not be co-operating with the IAEA, and the country's Foreign Minister had specifically said Mr Grossi would be barred from entering the country. 'This is why it's so important that we sit down around the table,' said Mr Grossi. 'Iran is party to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. That implies that they need to work with the agency. 'So we have been going through this law they approved, and we see that they are talking about co-operation on the basis of the security and the safety of their sites. I think that is not incompatible with the inspection work that needs to take place. 'At the end of the day, this whole thing, will have to have a long-term solution.' Pressed on whether Iran was kicking out IAEA inspectors, Mr Grossi hinted the answer was no, though he did not say as much directly. 'An international treaty takes precedence. You cannot invoke an internal law to not abide with an international law,' he said. 'I think we have to go down into the details, because the work will have to continue. Otherwise nobody will have an idea of what is happening in Iran. Iran will continue with a nuclear program, the contours of which are yet to be seen.'
