Small and medium business operators are preparing to slash staff numbers in the next 12 months as the effects of the global financial crisis continue to spread throughout the economy.
A SmartCompany poll of 91 entrepreneurs revealed that 40.9% are planning to cut staff numbers in the next 12 months.
Almost a third of respondents said they would cut their staffing levels by between 6% to 10%, while 27% said they would be forced to cut between 11% to 20%.
Given small businesses employ around four million Australians, these poll results have enormous implications for the wider Australian economy and support analysis from economists who have predicted that 200,000 jobs would be lost in the next 12 months, with unemployment rising from 4.3% to 6%.
The results also underline the urgent need to the Federal Government to include SMEs in its economic relief measures, which has so far focused on low and middle income earners and the banking sector.
The survey also reveals that many entrepreneurs have taken action to reduce labour costs ahead of the downturn, which 38.6% of respondents revealing they cut staff in the last 12 months.
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