Australia's SME market (and every market!) has experienced a quarter that no one else has experienced before. Coming off the back of two quarters dominated by the bushfires, the 4th quarter of the 2020 FY saw nationwide lockdowns to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The initial wave of lockdowns put everyone in the same boat, with the majority of businesses significantly reducing their trading, or moving towards working from home. The uncertainty of the timeline meant that many businesses looked to drastically reduce their overheads to simply stay afloat. The introduction of the JobKeeper and Cashflow Boost for Employers during the period has helped significantly in reducing the unemployment rate. By just how much, we will have to wait until JobKeeper 1.0 finishes at the end of September and JobKeeper 2.0 finishes at the end of March 2021.
To find out exactly how businesses are fairing, download the HR Coach Q4 Quarterly Index:
In building this report, we review data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Sensis Business Index, the National Australia Bank Small Business Report, as well as our own data.
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