Experimental estimates of household spending
In October 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. Some changes have taken effect in this month's publication. For more information, please see Changes in this release below or visit the Future cessation of the Retail Business Survey and Retail Trade Publication webpage.
| Oct-24 ($ millions) | Sep-2024 to Oct-2024 (% change) | Oct-2023 to Oct-2024 (% change) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 76,026.6 | 5.1 | 3.7 |
| Seasonally Adjusted | 73,929.3 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Trend | 73,681.6 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending increased for all nine spending categories. The largest percentage increases were in:
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending on goods rose 0.2% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on Clothing and footwear, Goods for recreation and culture, and Furniture, floor coverings and household goods.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending on services rose 1.5% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on Recreational and cultural services, Air Passenger and sea transport, and Total health services.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, discretionary spending rose 1.1% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on Recreational and cultural services, Air passenger and sea transport, and Catering services.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, non-discretionary spending rose 0.2% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on Total health services, Motor vehicle repair and maintenance, and Medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances.
In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending increased for all states and territories. The strongest percentage increases were in:
Seasonally adjusted estimates by State/territory and by COICOP category are not yet available. The paragraphs and tables below provide a summary of through the year change in spending by State/territory and by COICOP in calendar adjusted terms.
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 New South Wales, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 1.8 | -0.4 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | -11.5 | -12.3 | -9.5 | -9.2 | -4.2 | -7.6 | -3.0 | -5.1 |
| Clothing and footwear | -0.6 | -2.8 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| Furnishings and household equipment | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 8.9 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 0.6 |
| Health | 7.2 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 9.6 | 2.1 | -7.4 | 6.9 |
| Transport | 0.1 | -2.9 | -0.8 | -1.4 | 4.6 | -1.8 | 5.0 | -6.4 |
| Recreation and culture | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| Hotels, cafes and restaurants | 7.4 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 7.5 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 4.7 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 10.3 | 9.7 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 10.9 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 |
| Total | 3.1 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 5.9 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.4 |
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods | -0.3 | -0.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 4.5 | -0.6 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| Services | 8.5 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 9.0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 5.6 |
| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary | 3.5 | 2.4 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 2.6 |
| Non Discretionary | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 0.1 | -2.0 | 0.2 |
Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.
For more information about Data Explorer, see the Data Explorer user guide.
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 have been progressively rolled out. 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.
In this release, seasonally adjusted current price estimates have been introduced for total spending by State and territory.
MHSI estimates are benchmarked to annual household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) estimates. In this issue, an additional year of HFCE estimates has been incorporated. MHSI estimates are now benchmarked up to the 2022/23 financial year.
There has also been an update to the method for treating undercoverage in MHSI estimates. There is no longer a monthly adjustment to correct for undercoverage of customers whose card spending is not associated with financial institutions in the ABS' sample. The annual benchmarking process will address this type of undercoverage. An expected outcome of this change is less volatility and lower revisions to MHSI estimates in future issues.
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 new vehicle sales 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 (FCAI).
Household consumption is categorised to COICOP Divisions. Outputs from 9 COICOPs and all states and territories are published. Data is benchmarked to annual HFCE and adjusted monthly to cover data gaps such as cash spending.
October 2024: