Household spending rises again in September
Household spending continued to rise in September 2022, increasing by 28.0 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Jacqui Vitas, ABS head of macroeconomic statistics, said September 2022 saw the 19th consecutive month of increases through the year in total household spending, with increases in all spending categories.
“There continued to be strong increases coming off the back of last year’s COVID-19 Delta lockdowns. Spending in Clothing and footwear (up 73.1 per cent), Hotels, cafes and restaurants (up 60.6 per cent), and Transport (up 53.0 per cent) all saw strong increases due to reduced spending from lockdowns in these categories.”
In contrast, spending categories not as impacted by the lockdowns, such as Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 4.0 per cent) and Food (up 3.3 per cent) saw only small rises compared with September 2021.
Pre-pandemic comparison
Compared to pre-pandemic September 2019, total household spending was 19.8 per cent higher in current price, calendar adjusted terms.
The largest increases over this period were in Clothing and footwear (up 35.1 per cent), Recreation and culture (up 31.4 per cent), and Furnishings and household equipment (up 24.7 per cent). Food also saw increased spending, with a rise of 17.6 per cent.
This line graph shows the household spending index numbers in current price, calendar adjusted terms.
State results
All states and territories saw increases in household spending in September 2022, compared to September 2021, with the Australian Capital Territory (up 71.4 per cent), Victoria (up 38.6 per cent), and New South Wales (up 37.7 per cent) recording the highest increases in spending through the year. All three jurisdictions experienced COVID-19 lockdowns this time last year.
Compared to pre-pandemic September 2019 estimates, all states showed rises in household spending with Queensland (up 25.4 per cent), Western Australia (up 24.2 per cent), and South Australia (up 23.1 per cent) showing the strongest rises.
This bar graph shows the change in total household spending for all the states and territories when comparing the September 2022 to the September 2021 and 2019 (pre-pandemic) estimates.
The September quarter 2022
Total household spending increased in each month of the September quarter 2022 when compared to the September quarter 2021, with the month of August having the highest increase (29.1 per cent). Spending on Alcoholic beverages and tobacco in July was the only category to record a decrease with a fall of 0.4 per cent.
Compared to September quarter 2021, total household spending was 27.1 per cent higher in current price, calendar adjusted terms.
This graph shows the TTY monthly and quarterly changes in household spending across all the COICOP categories covered by the indicator throughout the September quarter 2022.
MHSI – News Grabs
Grab 1
So, the year to September, we've seen the 19th consecutive increase in monthly household spending. And in September that's a 28% increase compared to September last year and that's across all the spending categories. So, nothing declined. It was all increases.
Grab 2
So, the largest increase was in clothing and footwear. So that went up 73.1%. And then big increases in things like hotels, cafes, and restaurants and, also transport. But then we saw smaller increases in things like food and alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Grab 3
So, when we talk about pre-pandemic levels, what I'm going to do is compare it to September 2019. So here we saw the strongest increases in clothing and footwear. So just over 35% increase. And then other areas, things like recreation and culture and, also furnishing and household equipment. And compared to September 2019, total household spending was 19.8% higher.
Grab 4
So, in September this year, compared to September last year, all states and territories saw increases in household spending, the highest increase was in ACT. It's just over 71%, followed by Victoria and New South Wales. Now these states and territories, they all had really big impacts in terms of delta lockdowns last year. So, we're comparing it to kind of a lockdown period.
Grab 5
So, September quarter, 2022. So, we're talking here about the months of July, August, and September. So, when we compared those three months compared to the same three months a year ago, what we saw was total household spending was 27.1% higher. Now, in the three months, the biggest increase in household spending we saw was in August, and that's compared to August last year. And we only had one spending category in those three months where we saw a decrease, and that was for alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Media notes
The indicator is produced using aggregated and de-identified card and bank transactions from banking and financial institutions.
The indicator includes nine of the 13 key divisions classified according to the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).
The indicator is produced in current price original and current price calendar adjusted terms only.
Until the indicator is seasonally adjusted it is advised to focus on through the year comparisons (e.g. September 2022 compared to September 2021).
Significant events such as COVID-19 can lead to very strong through the year rises. Care should be given when comparing periods with these events.
Care should be given when comparing Household Spending Indicator estimates with other ABS products.
When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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