An estimated 40 per cent of employers expect economic conditions to be weaker this year, as business chiefs predict the most anaemic growth rates since the end of the mining boom more than a decade ago.

A survey of 320 members of the Australian Industry Group from across the economy and employers large and small shows they believe Australia is entering an economic period similar to the stagflation of the 1970s, with persistent inflation, rising unemployment and weak consumer demand, even if an official recession is avoided.