Media Release

Barossa, Mid-North, Riverland and Yorke Peninsula ranks second in regional confidence

South Australia’s Mid-North and Riverland region is the second most confident rural area in the State, behind the West and North, the latest BankSA State Monitor survey shows.

Comprising the Barossa, Mid-North, Riverland and Yorke Peninsula, the region’s overall business and consumer confidence remained at a similar level to the last State Monitor in June and showed a slight drop of 0.9 of a point, to 104.1 index points.

This compares to 106.3 index points for the West and North, and 94.6 points for the Southern region.

The September 2014 BankSA State Monitor is the 55th in a series that has tracked consumer and business confidence in the State for more than 15 years.

Business confidence in the Mid-North and Riverland fell 3.9 index points since the last survey in June to 100.3 points in the September survey, while consumer confidence reported a lift of 5.8 index points to 107.9 points.

A closer look at results for the Mid-North and Riverland region shows:

Business confidence: a total of 41% said they were worried about the current business situation, up from 38% in the previous survey, while 41% reported they were worried about the downturn in business turnover, down from 53% in the previous survey.

Consumer confidence: a total of 71% of consumers reported feeling positive about their current household situation, a 4% rise compared to the last survey, and 27% felt they could change to a better job if required, compared to 22% in the previous survey.

Overall, the September BankSA State Monitor shows that confidence levels among consumers in rural South Australia have experienced a modest lift of four index points to 100.2. However, the same rebound is not reflected among rural business owners, where confidence has fallen 1.4 points to 103.9 index points since the last survey in June.

BankSA State Monitor is an ongoing independent survey conducted three times a year on South Australian consumer and business confidence. The survey commenced in November 1997 and surveys 300 consumers and 300 business owners across the State.