In its latest Business Conditions and Sentiments Report, the ABS found that large businesses were three times as likely to report these absences (65 per cent) compared to small businesses (20 per cent) and for businesses with staff absent.
The most common reasons for this were self-isolation or quarantine requirements (82 per cent) and staff having COVID-19 symptoms or illness (73 per cent).
The results were calibrated from data collected between 27 January and 4 February and showed, almost half of all businesses experienced supply-chain disruptions in January 2022 (47 per cent).
Rental, hiring and real estate services (36Â per cent) were the most likely to report staff shortages in January 2022. This was considerably higher than June 2021 (14 per cent) for this industry.
According to the report the unavailability of staff was influenced by a number of factors including an inability to find suitable staff (69 per cent); uncertainty due to COVID-19 (62 per cent); availability of existing employees to work (53 per cent); affordability of additional staff (44 per cent); international border closures (44 per cent); domestic border closures (33 per cent); and difficulty retaining staff (30 per cent).
ABS head of industry statistics, John Shepherd said in January, more businesses were impacted by supply-chain disruptions compared to April 2021, where 30 per cent of businesses experienced supply-chain issues.
The data also found that in January, half of businesses with supply-chain disruptions responded by changing ordering processes (50 per cent).
The second most common response to the disruptions was for the businesses to increase the price of their goods or services (42 per cent).
The information around supply-chain disruption was last collected in April 2021 and in comparison, the ABS revealed that in January 2022, nearly half (47 per cent) of all businesses are currently experiencing supply-chain disruptions, an increase compared to April 2021 (30 per cent).Â
More than 36 per cent of businesses were affected to a great extent that was having a significant impact on revenue.
Small businesses were more likely than medium and large businesses to report being affected by supply-chain disruptions to a great extent (36 per cent compared with 32 per cent and 31 per cent).Â
The industries with the greatest proportion of businesses experiencing supply-chain disruptions in January 2022 were wholesale trade (75 per cent), retail trade (71 per cent) and manufacturing (65 per cent).