Auckland business confidence has rebounded over the past three months, with the share of businesses in the city rating overall confidence as negative or very negative, falling to 40% in August from 54% in May, while positive sentiment climbed to 26% from 15%, according to a Friday report by New Zealand's Auckland Business Chamber.
The report said investment and hiring intentions in the city have both strengthened, with businesses planning to invest in the next 12 months rising to 59% from 50% and those planning to hire jumping to 50% from 36%, while only 8% of businesses now expect to reduce headcount.
The share of businesses finding energy costs unaffordable dropped to 48% from 55%, although it remains well above February's 40%, while the share of businesses reporting fewer customers paying on time fell to 29% from 48%, the most significant improvement of any indicator in the survey, the report added.
Consumer confidence and demand remains businesses' single biggest concern, cited by 64% of respondents, while inflation and interest rate anxiety eased to 46% from 55% and geopolitical and trade risk fell to 34% from 45% as the Iran conflict receded from front-of-mind, the report added.
Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges said that the task for the next government, whoever forms it after November, is to give businesses the stability to keep building on the improvement.