Confidence in Tauranga business has dropped, according to a new survey.
Nearly 300 businesses in the central North Island and Northland indicated that while there was a continuing high level of confidence, there were also warnings.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dave Burnett said that increased interest rates, difficulties finding staff with the right skills and cash flow issues all seemed to be creating a drag on what most had hoped was a recovering economy.
Key findings included a total 57 per cent of firms believed the general situation would improve over the next six months compared to the record 69 per cent of this view in February this year.
Other findings were that 30 per cent of businesses were having difficulty finding the right employees with the right skills - an increase of 5 per cent since February - and 87 per cent of respondents expected interest rates to rise over the next 12 months.