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 September quarter 2021:

• Company gross operating profits rose 4.0% seasonally adjusted 
• Wages and salaries fell 0.8% seasonally adjusted 

Chain volume estimates for the September quarter 2021:

• Inventories fell 1.9% seasonally adjusted

• Total new capital expenditure fell by 2.2%
• Buildings and structures fell by 0.2%
• Equipment, plant and machinery fell by 4.1%
• Estimate 4 for 2021-22 is $138.6b. This is 8.7% higher than Estimate 3 for 2021-22

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

• Falls in 8 of the 13 published industries in September 2021
• The largest decreases were in Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-8.2%) and Construction (-3.7%)
• Accommodation and food services recorded the largest rise (2.2%) following four months of consecutive falls
• Mining fell slightly (-0.3%) although showed a strong increase through the year to September 2021 (40.1%)

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)