Methodology
 The PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Business Barometer is prepared every six months based on a survey conducted by leading market researchers and analysts East & Partners. For this October 2009 round of the Private Business Barometer, East & Partners interviewed a representative sample of 758 businesses turning over A$10 million-A$100 million per annum. The researchers commenced formal fieldwork for this Private Business Barometer in August 2009, with some interviews conducted during September 2009. The interview questionnaire primarily comprised set questions, but also featured one-off topical questions to capture issues of the moment. The sample composition was skewed towards businesses turning over A$10 million–A$50 million per year, with 63.2 per cent of respondents in this range. Responding businesses turned over an average of A$49.5 million per year. Nearly two-thirds of businesses (61.5 per cent) reported an overall staff headcount of less than 100 employees. However, the average headcount stood at 191 employees. More than 61 per cent of the businesses interviewed in this round of the Private Business Barometer were based in New South Wales and Victoria. Queensland businesses made up 12.1 per cent of the sample, while Western Australian businesses comprised 8.3 per cent. Manufacturing (19.8 per cent of respondents), business services (18.2 per cent) and retail (16.4 per cent) were the largest industry sectors represented. Most of the direct interviews were conducted with business owners and CEOs. | | Figure 1: Geographical distribution of businesses – Aug/Sep 09 Figure 2: Distribution of interviewees by business title – Aug/Sep 09  Table 1: Distribution of businesses by industry – Aug/Sep 2009 |