More Wellington firms plan to hire and invest

Wellington firms are increasingly confident about their prospects and more are ready to invest and hire staff, according to a survey taken before last week's Budget.

However, the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce's May survey shows companies in the area are slightly less upbeat about the economy generally.

A net 56 per cent of firms surveyed expected the economy to improve in the next six months, down from 61 per cent in the last survey in January.

Firms were more optimistic about their own activity, with 63 per cent confident their situation would improve in the next six months. That was up from 55 per cent in January.

Almost 31 per cent of firms planned to make a big investment in the next year, up from 24.5 per cent in the last survey.

Some 23 per cent of firms planned to hire more full-time staff in the next three months, up from 15 per cent in the last survey, and 14 per cent of companies planned to lift part-time staff numbers.

A significant number indicated they gave no pay rises in the past year, with most of the rest giving less than 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey shows consumer confidence rose 4 points to 126 points in May, up for the third month in a row. The survey shows 40 per cent of people expected to be better off financially in a year from now, and 27 per cent expected better times for the economy.

In another positive sign, 21 per cent thought it was a good time to buy a big household item.

The Chamber of Commerce survey was taken before the Budget last Thursday, but after the Government's recent research and development announcement.

The Chamber said it was likely the Budget announcement had "improved business confidence further".

- © Fairfax NZ News