Experimental estimates of household spending
In July 2024, household spending:
A media statement on Thursday 23 November 2023 announced that the ABS would be enhancing the Monthly Household Spending Indicator (MHSI), and ceasing the Retail Trade publication after the June 2025 reference period. A number of changes were introduced in the June 2024 MHSI publication. For more information, please see MHSI enhancements below or visit the Future cessation of the Retail Business Survey and Retail Trade Publication webpage.
| Jul-24 ($ millions) | Jun-2024 to Jul-2024 (% change) | Jul-2023 to Jul-2024 (% change) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 70,181.2 | 1.4 | 3.2 |
| Seasonally Adjusted | 70,768.3 | 0.8 | 2.9 |
| Trend | 70,394.9 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending on goods rose 0.1% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on motoring goods, purchase of vehicles, food and medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending on services rose 0.9% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on air passenger and sea transport, motor vehicle repair, maintenance and miscellaneous expenditure and total health services.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, discretionary spending rose 0.9% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on air passenger and sea transport, catering services and purchase of vehicles.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, non-discretionary spending rose 1.4% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on motor vehicle repair, maintenance and miscellaneous expenditure, total health services and motoring goods.
In calendar adjusted, current price terms household spending increased through the year for five of the nine spending categories. The largest increases were in:
In calendar adjusted, current price terms, household spending increased through the year for all states and territories. The strongest increases were in:
In Western Australia, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:
In Queensland, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:
In the Northern Territory, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 2.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 2.5 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | -10.7 | -11.9 | -8.7 | -9.5 | -1.3 | -3.4 | -7.9 | -2.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | -2.9 | -7.8 | 0.6 | -1.9 | 2.4 | -0.2 | -2.0 | -2.7 |
| Furnishings and household equipment | 1.4 | -1.1 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 8.6 | 3.5 | 7.6 | -1.8 |
| Health | 6.8 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 9.9 | -0.6 | -8.3 | 2.0 |
| Transport | -8.9 | -3.4 | 3.6 | -1.1 | 4.6 | 3.1 | -0.2 | 1.2 |
| Recreation and culture | 3.6 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 6.0 | 7.6 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Hotels, cafes and restaurants | -2.3 | 0.4 | 1.1 | -0.6 | 3.6 | -4.4 | 5.1 | 0.7 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 7.8 | 5.4 | 10.4 | 7.5 | 13.1 | 9.3 | 16.8 | 10.1 |
| Total | -0.2 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods | -0.1 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.0 |
| Services | 0.1 | 0.2 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 7.0 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary | 0.0 | -0.3 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 5.6 | 2.1 |
| Non Discretionary | 0.4 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 3.0 | -1.0 | 2.5 |
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Monthly Household Spending Indicator - Monthly and quarterly percentage changes and household spending estimates, January 2019 onward
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has collaborated with key data users to enhance the Monthly Household Spending Indicator (MHSI) and better address their needs. Based on user feedback, enhancements to MHSI were introduced in the June 2024 reference period publication. These improvements provide a more comprehensive view of household consumption, including:
Prior to Retail Trade ceasing, the ABS will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to further enhance the MHSI and provide users with suitable timely data to support their needs. More Information about this transition can be found on the Future cessation of the Retail Business Survey and Retail Trade Publication webpage or through contacting us at household.spending@abs.gov.au.
The ABS would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the participating banks that have enabled the ABS to produce these statistics.
Data is available for:
Aggregated, de-identified bank card transactions data provided to the ABS from participating banks. Also collected are supermarket transactions and Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) VFACTS data
Participating banks send transactions data soon after the end of each calendar month. Supermarkets send weekly transactions files, and VFACTS is received as a monthly delivery from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Household consumption is categorised to COICOP Divisions. Outputs from 9 COICOPs and all states are published. Data is benchmarked to annual HFCE and adjusted using public RBA data to cover data gaps such as cash spending and non-participating banks
June 2024: