Business turnover up for service industry: ABS

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, all industries except for the retail trade and construction industries (which fell by 2 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively) recorded increases to turnover in seasonally adjusted terms.

Of those industries, the largest rises in monthly turnover were observed in arts and recreation services, up by 9.7 per cent, electricity, gas, water, and waste services by 9.5 per cent and other services (which includes personal care services and selected repair and maintenance activities) by 5.2 per cent.

In annual terms, all industries recorded increases in business turnover in March 2023 when compared to March 2022. The increases were led by accommodation and food services (19.7 per cent), administrative and support services (19.4 per cent), and arts and recreation services (18.4 per cent).

ABS head of business indicators Robert Ewing said: “Strong ground attendance at AFL events and an earlier start to the NRL season over March contributed to the rise in business turnover for arts and recreation services.”

This increase in business turnover for the services industry followed the release of the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the March quarter that revealed services annual inflation recorded its largest annual rise since 2001.

Annual services inflation rose from 5.5 per cent in the December quarter to 6.1 per cent in the March quarter, primarily driven by higher prices for holiday travel, medical services, rent, and restaurant meals.

The decline in retail turnover was attributed to lower turnover for motor vehicles and household goods, according to the ABS.

This followed goods annual inflation easing following two years of steady increases (9.5 per cent to 7.6 per cent), due to discounting on furniture that fell by 4.6 per cent, major and small appliances (3.8 and 3.6 per cent), and clothing (3.2 per cent) during the March quarter.

ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said at the time of the CPI release: CPI inflation slowed in the March quarter, with the quarterly rise being the lowest since December 2021.

“While prices continued to rise for most goods and services, many of these increases were smaller than they have been in recent quarters.”

Premium members of The Adviser can find out more about the SME business space in the May edition of The Adviser magazine, out now!

[RELATED: Small rewards for small business in budget 2023/24]

Written by Adrian Suljanovic

Last Updated: 11 May 2023

Published: 12 May 2023