A survey of more than 1,000 businesses across the state indicates that government needs to think very carefully about how it winds back JobKeeper come September.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
According to region's peak business organisation, the Illawarra Business Chamber the survey shows that only one in two businesses (51 percent) will be able to maintain their current hours and headcount when Jobkeeper payments stop.
Executive director of the Illawarra Business Chamber Adam Zarth sad that one in three businesses don't have a plan to manage this.
"We have been saying for some time that September is going to be the month where the true impacts of the epidemic hit home, with JobKeeper set to end and a number of deferral measures the banks initiated at the start of the pandemic also due to expire," he said.
Mr Zarth said that Treasury statistics, released earlier in June, contribute to understanding the extent to which businesses are relying on wage subsidies to stay afloat during the pandemic.
"This is why the Illawarra Business Chamber is supportive of a more targeted and tapered support package for business post September, especially for those dependent on international tourists," he said.
Mr Zarth said that efforts to quantify the impact on local jobs remained inherently difficult.
"As we have pointed out before, the impact of JobKeeper subsidies, in addition to the number of people who have stopped actively looking for work because of the depressed job market, is likely to be keeping unemployment figures artificially low," he said.