Nearly half of Canberra businesses say they did not meet their sales targets in the last quarter, while confidence among business owners also fell, new survey results have shown.
The Canberra Business Chamber's survey found 51 per cent of businesses reported meeting their own targets in the December quarter, down from 61 per cent in the September quarter.
More than a quarter of respondents said they expected their business would shrink over the next 12 months, up from 13 per cent who said the same in the September quarter.
The chamber's survey of hundreds of local businesses found 36 per cent of respondents expected their businesses would grow over the next year, a drop from 46 per cent in the previous quarter.
Greg Harford, the chamber's chief executive, said businesses had faced increased costs in the last quarter, and were challenged when attracting and retaining skilled staff.
"Business owners are also grappling with tough decisions about putting prices up in response to the rising costs of doing business," Mr Harford said in a statement on Thursday.
"Reduced customer demand was the single biggest issue this quarter for 17 per cent of business owners in Canberra. This may signal that we will continue to see inflationary pressures feeding through into consumer pricing over the next few months."
Mr Harford warned industrial relations and compliance was a specific concern for businesses, while operators who worked for the Commonwealth government would continue to be affected by the lower reliance on consultants and contractors.
