A YOUTH jobs guarantee has been identified as one of the top 10 priorities as the western region's economy recovers from the COVID-19 recession.
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Business NSW has listed its priorities in a new report, Back On Track, published this week as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg prepares to deliver an economic and fiscal update on the impacts of the coronavirus.
Business NSW western region manager Vicki Seccombe said uncertainty over the future of support programs such as JobKeeper was having a "massive chilling effect on the appetite of business owners to hire staff and invest for the future".
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"The recovery drivers discussed in our report are aimed at ensuring that businesses stay open, staff are rehired and that the foundations for future economic growth are set in place," Ms Seccombe said.
"These drivers include a federal and state government compact committing to returning unemployment to below six per cent by June 2022, providing greater certainty on the pathway ahead for businesses currently affected by restrictions, supporting young people through a youth jobs guarantee and replacing JobKeeper with a new rebate to protect vulnerable jobs.
"... We urgently need regulatory reform to drive business growth, concrete steps to improve NSW's energy outlook and investment in new infrastructure to unlock economic capacity in regional NSW."
Business NSW conducted a survey of more 1000 businesses to better understand the operating environment and to identify what needs to be done to come through the crisis.
The recovery drivers discussed in our report are aimed at ensuring that businesses stay open, staff are rehired and that the foundations for future economic growth are set in place.
- Vicki Seccombe
Key findings included:
- On average, revenue has fallen 43 per cent.
- One-in-three recipient businesses have not planned for when JobKeeper payments stop.
- Tourism, construction, transport, hospitality and education businesses are least likely to be back to normal by October.
- Only 29 per cent of businesses said they would likely be in a position to hire new staff by October 2020.
"Despite the challenges ahead, there is a real opportunity to take advantage of Australia's success in managing the health crisis," Ms Seccombe said.
"Two-in-three businesses believe Australia will recover faster than comparable countries, while eight-in-10 businesses expect to be operating back to normal by October.
"In this global crisis, Australia has an opportunity to seize and then capitalise on its reputation as a safe and reliable place to invest, work and study."
The Research Report and Recovery Drivers are available at businessnsw.com.
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