BNZ Monthly Survey Results July 5 2008
After improving for three months in a row business confidence about where the economy will be in 12 months time has gone
backwards over the past month. In our survey from Thursday night through Friday a net 43.9% of respondents said they
expect the economy to get worse. This is a deterioration from a net 29.8% pessimistic in late May but is still below the
recent peak for pessimism in March of a net 62.3%.
The results will reflect the further increasing of petrol prices in recent times along with weaker sales activity
reported by many respondents. Businesses are increasingly noting layoffs need to be made and few expect positive
surprises in the near future.
Having said that, before we run through the generally negative comments for specific industries it can be noted that
some industries are doing well – though there are but a few. They include dairying and dairy support such as
construction and animal health and genetics, oil and gas exploration and development, property management as owners seek
to rent out property they don’t wish to discount for a sale, insolvency practitioners, education providers and trainers,
and legal firms excluding conveyancing activities.