Economic Insight

The CCIWA Business Confidence Survey is the longest running and most comprehensive business survey in WA. Produced quarterly it covers businesses of all sizes and sectors across the state and includes:

• Expert analysis about the short and medium-term business confidence
• Comprehensive data regarding issues such as labour costs, profitability, and capital expenditure

The first of its kind in the State, the CCIWA Consumer Confidence survey provides invaluable insights into the attitudes and sentiments of Western Australian consumers.

Analysis includes:

• Short and medium-term expectations of economic conditions provided by metropolitan and regional consumers
• The major concerns for consumers in the current economic climate – including spending habits, employment prospects and financial health

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Outlook is a biannual CCIWA publication that provides expert forward-looking economic analysis. It contains:

• Analysis of the state, national and international economies
• Economic forecasts on key indicators such as inflation, the labour force and employment

Produced by our well-informed and market-conscious economics team, Outlook makes sure you stay ahead of the current and expected changes in economic conditions.

For further information, please contact [email protected]

March 2024 Report

The global economy appears to be on the home straight in its fight against inflation.

Interest rates are now sitting firmly in restrictive territory after skyrocketing at the fastest pace in recent memory. In Australia, the Reserve Bank has raised the cash rate to 4.35%, while policy rates in some other advanced economies have been lifted even higher.

There is now mounting evidence that these efforts are working, as inflation rates around the world close in on their respective targets. Year ended inflation in Australia was 4.1% to December 2023, down from the 7.8% recorded 12 months prior. Overseas there has been even greater progress, with the US recording an inflation rate of 3.1% for the year to January, down from 6.3% a year ago, while in the UK inflation now reads 4.0% for the same period, down from 10.1%.

While significant progress has been made, the race isn’t over.

Previous Economic Outlook Reports

Western Australia’s regions are the engine room of the WA economy, supporting a range of key export industries, including resources, agriculture and tourism.

Regional Pulse breaks down key results from the CCIWA Business Confidence Survey, providing insights into the conditions facing businesses in WA’s regional centres. The report contains:

• Comprehensive data on key economic indicators across the regions, including profitability, capital expenditure, production, labour costs and employment.
• The major barriers facing regional businesses over the next 12 months.

December 2023

Regional businesses are slightly more pessimistic about both the short- and longer- term conditions compared to last quarter. Relative to businesses in the metro area, regional businesses are more pessimistic in both the short- and longer- term.

Fewer regional businesses are optimistic about the next 3 months than they were last quarter. Three in 10 (28%) businesses in regional WA expect conditions to improve, down 4 percentage points since September. However, a greater proportion have a steady outlook, with two in five (40%) businesses expecting conditions to remain the same – up 7 percentage points.

The longer-term outlook has seen a slight swing towards weaker conditions. Less than one in five (17%) regional businesses expect stronger conditions over the next year, down 2 percentage points since September. Conversely, almost two in five (39%) expect conditions to soften, up 3 percentage points.

Produced quarterly, our inflation update provides charts and tables on consumer price trends in Perth and all the capital cities.

December 2023:

• Nationally, CPI rose 0.6% in the December quarter, with inflation now reading 4.1% over the 12 months.
• Perth recorded a 1.5% increase to CPI over the quarter, bringing inflation to 3.6% over the year, the second lowest reading of all states.
• What influenced CPI this quarter?
  • Housing (+6.0%), primarily driven by electricity (+56.7%), and domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+6.0%) saw the greatest price rises over the quarter.
  • In contrast, furnishings, household equipment and services (-0.7%) and transport (-0.3%) saw the greatest price falls.

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2020

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2018