July 07, 2011 – According to survey, house builders are apprehensive that once the Federal Government stimulus programs ends, there will not be enough private sector jobs available.
Home builders are concerned that jobs will dry up as stimulus programs end.
Survey data reveals that in the June quarter work on builders’ books bearing up reasonably well, it is still a question of how long this can continue provided that stimulus projects are winding down and people’s less than positive outlook for new work.
Chief economist Peter Jones, releasing the latest Master Builders Australia (MBA) national survey, has also alerted Australians of the anecdotal evidence of uncertainty in the industry due to the government’s proposed carbon tax.
During the peak of the global financial crisis, building stimulus measures were introduced that included the school halls and social housing projects.
Likewise, according to the survey, it indicates that there was no sign of an upswing in residential building conditions.
An index of 48.4 points in the June quarter, which is down from 51.4 in the previous quarter and below the 50 mark, implies a potential slight softening of the residential building conditions in the next six months than the previous six months.
Similarly, a slackening off of the index representing builders’ own current business conditions was being observed.
However, it held above the 50 satisfactory market, moving to 55.7 in the June quarter from 56.3 in the March quarter.
Meanwhile, builder’s sentiment continues to keep up at 56 points.
However, profitability fell and sales stayed feeble, while in the period ahead, hiring plans suggest that workforce is likely to remain essentially unchanged.
The survey also discovered that 26.6 per cent of respondents were worried about the availability of finance having a constraining effect on their business, only a modest improvement on the previous quarter.
