For the second quarter in a row the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce business survey is showing confidence at its lowest level for more than a decade.

Only 23 per cent of respondents to the survey in Tauranga believe business conditions will improve over the next six months.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce CEO Max Mason.

This is higher than the other regions in the northern economic zone, excluding Auckland, and when averaged into the greater zone, confidence is reading at just 15 per cent.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce CEO Max Mason says many businesses had expected to deal with a downturn over a period of about one year, but that this has now turned into two years and many businesses have battened down the hatches and gone into survival mode. Max says the general prediction is to ‘expect more casualties in the new year'.

'Many small and medium businesses were experiencing strong consumer reluctance to spend or make decisions.”

Another finding from the survey is related to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

It shows business expects to benefit from the 80,000 credit cards the Rugby World Cup will bring to New Zealand, but they also appreciate that much of the infrastructure spend has been made and that post RWC2011 there is little on the horizon domestically so the belief is that New Zealand business will remain at the mercy of the world economy.

A further signal from the survey is the growing indication that skilled staff are increasingly difficult to find.

In Tauranga, 18 per cent of businesses reported difficulty finding the right people with the right skills (up from 13 per cent in March).

In the Taupo – Northland economic zone, excluding Auckland, this was 23 per cent and Auckland recorded 18 per cent.

A further message from respondents to the survey suggested the most limiting factor to expansion is demand followed by finance – with many observing that despite the strong profit performance from the banking sector, getting bank support in difficult times is not easy.