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Date Published : Monday, March 10, 2008
Rapidly increasing wages have overtaken fuel prices as the major concern for businesses and economists across Australia, according to a new report.
Research by Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) has found that 27 per cent of company executives in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors fear high wage demands to be the greatest concern in the three months from June this year.
Predicting the future outcomes of consumers and industry across Australia, the study found that petrol prices were the most important influence for 26 per cent of business leaders, a five per cent drop from the previous survey, despite news crude oil prices surged above $US100 ($A108) a barrel, the Herald Sun reports.
A number of factors have contributed to rapidly rising wages in a number of sectors, including the need to service debts and credit card bills.
D&B chief executive Christine Christian told the publication: "The impact of the high cost of funding and the tighter credit market are being seen in expectations for business growth - less than ten per cent of executives expect to seek finance to grow their business in the coming quarter."
Another factor behind the increasing wages, according to D&G, is the level of interest rates across the country.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased rates by 0.25 per cent to 7.25 per cent, their highest level for over 12 years and the fourth interest rate rise in six months.
Since then, a number of home loan lenders - such as National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank - have increased the rates of interest charged on their home loans, adding to the financial pressure on homeowners and businesses across the nation.
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