The ability to hire capable staff is re-emerging as a handbrake that may constrain further expansion of small businesses, an ANZ survey has found.
Otago-Southland is not immune to the constraints being felt by the lack of skilled staff to recruit.
Small business confidence lifted in June, with growth expectations rising to the highest in a year.
However, growth could be constrained by a lack of skilled staff, the ANZ quarterly Business Micro Scope survey of small firms found.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls said yesterday there were skill shortages in the region.
The shortages included construction, information technology, some areas in health and manufacturing, and the related service areas.
The surge in construction in the past year in Queenstown and Wanaka in commercial, retail and new homes meant it was harder to get tradespeople, including joiners, carpenters and electricians.
"The competition for these skills over the past year has increased the salaries paid and there is concern about the financial burden this is placing on these businesses.''
Recruitment was also becoming more challenging across Otago-Southland for architectural designers, quantity surveyors and planners, she said.
In Dunedin, the regeneration around the precincts such as Vogel St meant more skilled staff were needed.
It was also challenging to find people with accountancy skills at an intermediate level and office administrators with skills in accounts receivable and credit control were hard to find, she said.
In the past three months, there had been a significant increase in inquiries coming from Auckland and Christchurch with families wanting to move to Dunedin or Queenstown.
Those families were looking for a change in lifestyle to get away from escalating house prices and increasing rents, although some candidates were sometimes disappointed with the salaries on offer, Ms Nicholls said.
Small business owners were saying they were confident and ready to put their money into growing their business, ANZ regional general manager of retail and business banking Andrew Webster said.
A net 27% expected to lift activity in the coming year and that looked promising for economic growth.
"Being able to recruit the skills they need is a key factor influencing whether businesses can meet demand in the market, yet nearly one in five small firms consider finding skilled employees as their main obstacle.''
Migration and training would remain in the forefront in maintaining the talent pool.
Firms would more than ever need to build their strategies to attract and keep good staff who could help the business grow, he said.
Small businesses accounted for more than 90% of New Zealand firms and employed more than a third of workers.
Despite the significance of small businesses to the economy, there was only a limited amount of official data reported on economic prospects in the small business sphere, Mr Webster said.
The overall Micro Scope showed more firms were upbeat about their business.
That was a good sign for growth.
"It's not headline confidence that matters, rather what businesses think about prospects for their own firm.''
Hiring intentions were a net 10 for the third consecutive quarter and where it had been, on balance, for the past five years.
Hiring intentions in services, manufacturing and construction all improved but appetites to hire receded in the retail sector.
Small firms in the agriculture industry continued to align employment prospects with budget reductions in the dairy sector.
At a net -18, hiring intentions in the dairy sector were the lowest to date, he said.
