ABS data showed nearly 60 per cent of all construction and manufacturing businesses were likely to increase their prices,while more than half of electricity,gas,water and waste services,and wholesale trade businesses expected to pass on higher costs in the next three months.
The cost of living is likely to be front of voters’ minds in the upcoming election campaign - Australian shoppersexpect inflation to reach 6 per cent this year and economists expect it to reach 5 per cent,although some worry the $8.6 billion in pre-election handoutscould stoke the inflation genie further.
Timothy Hibbert,principal economist for BIS Oxford Economics said floods and the conflict in Europe were adding to mounting cost pressures and delays in construction particularly.
“Surging construction costs continue to show through,with the average cost of approved houses now up a huge 22 per cent nationally over the year to February 2022,” he said.
Construction is one of several industries that has seen a more than 100 per cent increase in job vacancies since the beginning of the pandemic. Job vacancies for accommodation and food services and arts and recreation services exploded by more than 200 per cent over the same period.
KPMG partner Sarah Hunter said it was a positive time for workers,withunemployment at a 14-year low and the participation rate at an all-time high.