CreditorWatch stories
Only 30% of firms with one to 19 staff plan to recruit in the next year, highlighting a widening gap with bigger employers.
Households are feeling the squeeze as higher fuel costs and the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest rate rise drove confidence down 4.7% in October.
A softer August reading may not spare borrowers, with CreditorWatch warning that broad-based price pressures still point to another RBA hike.
Fuel and other essentials kept Australian consumers under pressure in August, with flat spending and weaker non-fuel outlays pointing to caution.
Australia's labour market sent mixed signals in August, but inflation worries still leave the Reserve Bank likely to lift interest rates next week.
Australian households and debt-laden firms face further borrowing-cost pressure, with CreditorWatch seeing no chance of the RBA standing pat in September.
Many Australian firms are still using owners' personal money to prop up working capital, as cash reserves and trading confidence weaken.
Residential builders face rising defaults and insolvencies as Australia's AUD $150 billion data centre pipeline squeezes labour and materials.
Rising fuel and borrowing costs are squeezing Australian households and firms, bolstering expectations the Reserve Bank may lift rates again in September.
Data centre demand is keeping Australian builders busy and may prolong labour and materials shortages even as home approvals start to ease.
Higher household spending and stubborn inflation have strengthened the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift rates again in September.
Higher borrowing costs loom for Australian households after July's trimmed mean inflation reading came in well above the Reserve Bank's target path.
The deal should help restaurants steer phone orders towards higher-margin dishes while easing pressure on staff and margins.
The slight lift to 4.5% in July was mostly rounding, with labour demand still holding up enough to avoid signalling a broad slowdown.
Higher costs and weaker consumer spending have pushed Australia's hospitality sector into its worst strain in years, with arrears at record highs.
Persistent inflation and weak household finances leave the Reserve Bank of Australia facing another possible rate rise before year-end.
Softer core inflation has given households and businesses a reprieve, but the RBA says housing and wage pressures still threaten progress.
Higher borrowing costs for households and businesses may be back by November as inflation risks remain tilted to the upside, CreditorWatch says.
Rising unemployment and softer hiring demand may keep the Reserve Bank of Australia cautious as it weighs the labour market outlook.
More than 35,000 Australian businesses now face heightened failure risk as ATO debts above AUD $100,000 coincide with rising defaults.
