Firms are shaking off their pessimism about the looming recession and even the near-term employment picture improved markedly in ANZ Bank's preliminary July business outlook survey.
A net 6.8 per cent of firms now expect lower activity for their own business in the year ahead, 19.1 points higher than in the June survey.
Headline business confidence also improved, with a net 29.8 per cent of firms predicting a downbeat economy versus net 34.4 per cent pessimism in the prior survey.
On the employment front, a net 15.3 per cent of firms expect to cut jobs, versus 34.7 per cent last month and a net 21.4 per cent of firms report having fewer staff than in the same month a year ago versus 37.4 per cent in the June survey.
The results are somewhat at odds with the gloomier view reported in this week's NZ Institute of Economic Research quarterly survey of business opinion, whose measurements were made earlier than ANZ's early July sample, which is a 'flash' reading that does not constitute a final result for the month.