In the latest Monthly Business Turnover Indicator for October 2023, ABS has revealed a notable downturn in business turnover, with seven of the 13 industries surveyed reporting decreases in turnover.
According to Robert Ewing (pictured above), head of business statistics at ABS, industries heavily reliant on consumer spending witnessed the most significant declines.
“Arts and recreation services reported the largest monthly drop in business turnover, falling 6%,
while travel agents and event ticketing businesses contributed to the 3.6% fall for administrative and support services,” Ewing said. “Lower petrol prices and motor vehicle sales drove the 1.4% fall for retail trade turnover.”
In a year-on-year comparison with October 2022, nine out of the 13 industries demonstrated positive growth, countering the monthly declines. Construction saw a substantial rise of 16.4%, along with other services (+9.9%) and professional, scientific, and technical services (+5.6%).
However, certain sectors experienced annual decreases, with mining witnessing the largest fall at -14.3%, followed by electricity, gas, water, and waste services, which saw a decline of -7.3%. These declines were influenced in part by lower commodity prices, particularly for coal and natural gas, over the past 12 months.
See Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, October 2023 for more details.
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