Business indicators

• In June, 27% of businesses reported having difficulty finding suitable staff to fill jobs.

• Almost one in five (19%) businesses did not have enough staff based on current operations.

• Nearly a quarter (23%) of businesses expect to increase staff numbers over the next three months.

Current price estimates for the June quarter 2021:

• Company gross operating profits rose 7.1% seasonally adjusted 
• Wages and salaries rose 2.0% seasonally adjusted 

Chain volume estimates for the June quarter 2021:

• Inventories rose 0.2% seasonally adjusted

• Total new capital expenditure rose by 4.4%
• Buildings and structures rose by 4.6%
• Equipment, plant and machinery rose by 4.3%
• Estimate 3 for 2021-22 is $127,701m. This is 12.5% higher than Estimate 2 for 2021-22

In seasonally adjusted terms, the monthly business turnover indicator showed:

• Moderate increases for most selected industries in August 2021.
• The largest rises were in Transport, postal and warehousing (2.8%) and Professional, scientific and technical services (2.7%).
• Accommodation and food services fell 6.5% in August 2021, following a 16.6% fall in July 2021. 
• Mining was relatively unchanged in August 2021 (up 0.1%), after a 4.6% rise in July 2021. 

At June 30 2021 there were 2,402,254 actively trading businesses in the Australian economy.

In 2020-21 there was a: 

• 3.8%, or 87,806, increase in the number of businesses.
• 15.8% entry rate, with 365,480 entries.
• 12.0% exit rate, with 277,674 exits.

Information on quarterly experimental counts of Australian businesses for the 5 quarters ending June 2021 can be found below and in the associated data cube. 

Describes economic measurement within Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Government Finance Statistics and National Accounts

This release contains summary management and organisational capabilities data for Australian businesses

Business characteristics statistics summary for five growth sectors as collected by the 2013-14 Business Characteristics Survey (BCS)