Business indicators

• Almost a third of employing businesses (31%) are having difficulty finding suitable staff.
• Nearly half (46%) of all businesses experienced increases in their operating expenses.
• More than two in five businesses (41%) faced supply chain disruptions. This has remained steady since it peaked in January 2022 (47%).

Seasonally adjusted, current price estimates for:

• Company gross operating profits rose 0.5% 
• Wages and salaries rose 1.8% 

Seasonally adjusted, chain volume estimate for:

• Inventories rose 1.2% 

• Total new capital expenditure rose by 2.4%
• Buildings and structures rose by 1.3%
• Equipment, plant and machinery rose by 3.7%
• Estimate 2 for 2023-24 is $137.6b. This is 6.4% higher than Estimate 1 for 2023-24

In seasonally adjusted terms, the March 2023 monthly business turnover indicator showed:

• Rises in 11 of the 13 published industries 
• The largest rise was in Arts and recreation services (9.7%)
• The largest fall was in Retail trade (-2.0%)
• Through the year, rises were seen in all 13 published industries

At 30 June 2022 there were 2,569,900 actively trading businesses in the Australian economy.

In 2021-22 there was a: 

• 7.0% or 167,646 increase in the number of businesses, of which 140,102 were non-employing businesses
• 19.7% entry rate, with 472,731 entries
• 12.7% exit rate, with 305,085 exits

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)