While Australian manufacturing has bounced back due to easing COVID-19 restrictions, the recovery faces another major hurdle, labour and material shortages on a scale not seen in almost 50 years. An Australian Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (ACCI)—Westpac survey (pdf) revealed that business conditions modestly improved in the early stages of 2022 despite supply chain constraints with increasing consumer demand in response to easing pandemic restrictions has contributed to the uptick. “Consumers have embraced fewer restrictions, spending more freely, providing a boost to manufacturers,” Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan said in a media release. “Output expanded as new orders posted a moderate increase, with a net 14 percent of respondents reporting that orders were up. This rise in activity was largely facilitated by working additional overtime, as well as a modest increase in employment numbers.” Hanlan said. However, current growth is well below the highs of 2017 and 2018 when …