There is plenty of optimism among business owners in Clutha.
Clutha Development Trust executive officer Linda Moore says nearly half of respondents to the trust's biannual confidence survey believe their business will improve in the year ahead.
A quarter of businesses surveyed say they are looking to expand in the next 12 months.
The survey also found 85% of employers increased salaries during the past year and 75% planned to do so during the coming year.
''Those [responses] would also suggest their level of confidence, not only in their own businesses, but in businesses across the district too.
''If you're investing in your own business, you're investing in the long term.''
The development trust formed in 2012 as a merger of Enterprise Clutha, the Clutha Agricultural Development Board, and the Clutha District Development Board.
It provides economic development services for the district's businesses, and though the previous confidence surveys of Enterprise Clutha provide some context, the current survey is not yet established enough to make historical comparisons.
But Ms Moore said the findings had reinforced business was good in the district.
The GDP per capita of the district led Otago, and business confidence was to be expected.
''We're the quiet movers and shakers of the region down here,'' Ms Moore said.
''We've still got big industry here, and we've got that agricultural base - that is our strength.''
But the trust's business development adviser noted that the expansion plans were not limited to the agricultural sector.
It was a robust economy in Clutha, Sarah Hayward said. Of those businesses planning to expand in the next 12 months, 22.9% were agriculture, 14.3% were in the accommodation and food services sector and 11.4% were in the retail sector.
This is the first time the survey has identified sectors within agriculture, fishing and forestry. The trust has also identified businesses that are unable to find suitable land available for their desired expansion.
Ms Moore told the Clutha District Councilit will facilitate a meeting of businesses to discuss the possibility of a ''business park'' to overcome that obstacle to growing business in the district.
The council's planning manager, David Campbell, said that with the district plan review under way and the direction from chief executive Steve Hill to look for ways to grow the ratepayer base, ''it's definitely on the radar''.
Zoning, which could create more land, is on the schedule and the work that the trust is doing will inform the process and could move it forward as a priority.
Ms Moore said that while the confidence of businesses in the area was a good sign of growth, the economic development of the district was not without issues.
''They're positives we can build on, but we've got to be aware of all the other stats that are out there,'' she said.
Finding skilled labour is one obstacle: 39.8% of employers are finding skilled positions harder to fill than last year.
The trust has begun working with a consultant to understand the motivations of those who choose to work in the district but live elsewhere.
Ms Moore said understanding that aspect of Clutha's business environment could provide insight into finding ways to grow the district's ratepayer base.
Positive outlook in Clutha
• 41.3% said their own business would improve.
• 25.9% of businesses plan to expand.
• 85% of employers increased employee salaries last year.
• 75% of employers plan to increase salaries this year.
• 39.8% of employers are finding skilled positions harder to fill than last year. Over the next six months, businesses expect to take on 85 full-time and 115 part-time employees.
Source: Clutha Development Trust
