Consistent with recent monthly survey outcomes, business conditions remained strong across states and industries in Q3. Business confidence also strengthened to be back above average. Capacity utilisation reached a record of 86.3% and more than 90% of firms reported availability of labour as a constraint on output, reflecting the tightness of the labour market. Around half of firms continue to also report availability of materials as a constraint. These supply-side constraints continue to be reflected in labour and purchase costs growth, which were both running at 2.1% in the quarter. Underlying wage indicators also ... (full story)