New indicator shows business turnover rising in January

Media Release
Released
13/03/2024

Business turnover rose 0.2 per cent (trend terms) in January, according to a new 13-industry aggregate indicator released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Lauren Binns, ABS head of business statistics, said “This month our new 13-industry indicator offers a timely read on high-level economic activity, while new subdivision indexes allow a deeper dive into the turnover data – giving us better insight into what’s driving the turnover this month.

“Looking at the 13-industry aggregate in trend terms, business turnover has risen for the past six months to the highest level since the series began in 2010.”

In seasonally adjusted terms, the 13-industry aggregate showed a 1.0 per cent rise in business turnover, and eight of the 13 industries also rose in January.

“Electricity, gas, water and waste had the largest seasonally adjusted rise of 5.8 per cent, as warmer temperatures over summer contributed to higher electricity demand.

“Transport, postal and warehousing had the second largest rise of 4.1 per cent, and was mainly driven by the Transport support services subdivision.

“Arts and recreation services saw the largest percentage fall. The new subdivision indexes show that this is because lower turnover for Sports and recreation activities offset a rise in Gambling activities,” Ms Binns said.

More information on the new data insights, including the available ANZSIC subdivisions, can be found in this month’s feature article New insights into the economy using business turnover data.

Media notes

  • The Monthly Business Turnover Indicator is derived using Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Business Activity Statement (BAS) data from monthly remitters.
  • Monthly BAS reporting covers businesses with GST annual turnover of $20 million or more and a proportion of smaller businesses that report on a voluntary basis.
  • The indicator includes 13 of the 19 industry divisions classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006, and provides timely and frequent insights into economic activity, which complement the longstanding quarterly measures.
  • The extra leap year day in 2024 is unlikely to impact seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for February 2024 and March quarter 2024. This is because the impact of an additional leap year day is analysed as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For further information please refer to this note
  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
  • Subscribe to our media release notification service to get notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.
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