8622.0 - Retail and Wholesale Industries, Australia, 2005-06  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/08/2007   
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Image: Retail IndustryRETAIL INDUSTRY

Summary of Operations
Employment Size
States and Territories

SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS

At the end of June 2006 there were 156,668 businesses operating in the retail industry. These businesses employed over 1.2 million persons and generated total income of $292.3b.

During 2005-06 retail sales of goods accounted for 75.9% ($221.9b) of total income, while wholesale sales represented 16% ($46.8b) of total retail industry income.

Total industry value added by retail businesses was $49.7b which represented 5.6% of Australian industry gross value added for 2005-06.

Food retailing accounted for 17.8% of businesses, 31.3% of employment, 26.6% of income and 28.3% of retail industry profit.

EMPLOYMENT SIZE

During 2005-06, the retail industry was dominated by small businesses with 96.1% (150,497 businesses) of which 67,832 were non employing businesses. These small businesses accounted for 36.9% (453,728 persons) of industry employment and 34% ($99.3b) of total income. In contrast, the largest businesses (those employing 100 persons or more) accounted for 0.4% of all businesses and 44.8% of industry income.

STATES AND TERRITORIES

New South Wales accounted for 32% of total retail industry employment and 32.8% of income from sales of goods and services, which was in line with New South Wales' proportion (33.1%) of the Australian population. Victoria was the second largest contributor with 25.9% of employment and 25.5% of income from sales of goods and services, which was also similar to its share (24.7%) of the Australian population.