We are pleased to present the results from our latest Tradie Confidence Index (TCI) survey.
The survey period covers the first quarter of 2019, being January to March.
On this page we will detail the results for each question, both at a national level and a state level. State levels are restricted to New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, as only these states had sufficient submissions to give an accurate result.
Summary
This is the first survey we’ve conducted since the same time last year. The results show that confidence has massively deteriorated in that time.
Although overall confidence is low, it’s always the case that whilst some tradies are struggling for work, others are killing it and doing well.
Some tradies let their business success be dictated by economic conditions, whilst others thrive. What makes the difference? We’d love to know…
Question 1. Would you say you have more work or less work on now compared with the same time last year?
Results are down across the board for this question. Although Queensland appears to be the hardest hit, they did have an unusually high score last time, which makes the drop look larger than it probably is.
NSW suffered the least positive score, with just 52% of tradies believing they had more work on now compared to the same time last year, which was a drop of 34% since the last survey.
National:
- More Work: 56% (down 21%)
- Less Work: 44%
New South Wales:
- More Work: 52% (down 34%)
- Less Work: 48%
Queensland:
- More Work: 57% (down 43%)
- Less Work: 43%
Victoria:
- More Work: 63% (down 14%)
- Less Work: 37%
Other States:
- More Work: 53% (down 4%)
- Less Work: 47%
Question 2. This time next year, would you expect to have more work or less work on than you do now?
This question also saw a big drop in confidence, however it’s clear to see that tradies are more confident about how things will look next year compared with right now.
65% of tradies believe they’ll have more work on this time next year, with Queensland tradies being the most confident at 78%.
National:
- More Work: 65% (down 20%)
- Less Work: 35%
New South Wales:
- More Work: 68% (down 27%)
- Less Work: 32%
Queensland:
- More Work: 78% (down 2%)
- Less Work: 22%
Victoria:
- More Work: 48% (down 38%)
- Less Work: 52%
Other States:
- More Work: 71% (no change)
- Less Work: 29%
Question 3. Do you think over the next 12 months tradies overall will be experiencing good times or bad times?
Although question 2 showed that tradies were pretty confident about their own businesses over the next 12 months, they are not so confident when it comes to the overall industry.
National:
- Good Times: 55% (down 21%)
- Bad Times: 45%
New South Wales:
- Good Times: 52% (down 24%)
- Bad Times: 48%
Queensland:
- Good Times: 48% (down 12%)
- Bad Times: 52%
Victoria:
- Good Times: 63% (down 19%)
- Bad Times: 37%
Other States:
- Good Times: 59% (down 12%)
- Bad Times: 41%
Question 4. Thinking about the overall Australian economy, are you expecting good times or bad times over the next five years?
If question 3 showed that tradies aren’t so confident about the building industry, they are even less confidence about the overall economy.
Over half of tradies are expecting bad times over the next five years, with Victorians being the least confident in this area.
National:
- Good Times: 46% (down 4%)
- Bad Times: 54%
New South Wales:
- Good Times: 58% (up 6%)
- Bad Times: 42%
Queensland:
- Good Times: 52% (down 8%)
- Bad Times: 48%
Victoria:
- Good Times: 33% (down 22%)
- Bad Times: 67%
Other States:
- Good Times: 35% (down 1%)
- Bad Times: 65%
Question 5. Do you think the next 12 months will be a good time or a bad time to invest in your business? Be it equipment, staff or otherwise.
With a large portion of tradies not being confident about business conditions in the coming years, it’s no surprise that almost half believe it’s not a good time to invest in their business.
National:
- Good Time: 51% (down 18%)
- Bad Time: 49%
New South Wales:
- Good Time: 55% (down 16%)
- Bad Time: 45%
Queensland:
- Good Time: 61% (down 19%)
- Bad Time: 39%
Victoria:
- Good Time: 44% (down 20%)
- Bad Time: 56%
Other States:
- Good Time: 41% (down 30%)
- Bad Time: 59%
The total number of responses was 98. This isn’t a huge number, but it’s still a decent sample size. We’ll be working hard to increase the numbers next quarter.
We’ve broken down some further results below, that do not affect the index as such, but do give an insight into who is participating in the survey:
Which of the following categories does the majority of your work fall into?
- New builds: 44%
- Maintenance: 15%
- Renovations – Major: 17%
- Renovations – Minor: 23%
Total percentage of responses that were positive, ranked by state:
- QLD: 59% (down 17%)
- NSW: 57% (down 19%)
- Other: 52% (down 9%)
- VIC: 50% (down 23%)
