Jones said while businesses continued to find economic conditions difficult, they could see light at the end of the tunnel and were making plans to “springboard for that growth”.

Almost two-thirds of businesses planning to grow were looking to invest in hiring, retaining and training staff, with many focused on the latter two. With unemployment rising to 4.2 per cent in July and expected to peak at 4.6 per cent, according to NAB, employers were still expressing a desire to retain staff.

Dean Pearson, the head of behavioural and industry economics at NAB, said organisations were more likely to cut employees’ hours than making them redundant, fuelling concerns of rising underemployment.

“There’s no doubt that when unemployment rises, job mobility will be slow,” Pearson said. “They’ll be more concerned about keeping their job, and that gives employers more bargaining power that was diluted during the pandemic [when many employees were switching jobs and companies].”

NAB reported equipment finance to small business was up 11 per cent on the June quarter, while CBA this month said its lending balance in the 2024 financial year grew 11 per cent to $145 billion.

CBA’s business bank posted a cash profit of $3.8 billion, up 4 per cent. NAB will release its full-year results in November.

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