The Arts and recreation services industry recorded the largest percentage increase in business turnover in March, rising 9.7 per cent, according to monthly figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Robert Ewing, ABS head of business indicators, said: “Strong ground attendance at AFL events and an earlier start to the NRL season over March contributed to the rise in business turnover for Arts and recreation services.”
Electricity, gas, water and waste services recorded the second largest monthly rise in turnover (+9.5 per cent), followed by Other services (+5.2 per cent) which includes personal care services and selected repair and maintenance activities.
Retail trade saw the largest fall (-2.0 per cent), due to lower turnover for motor vehicles and household goods. This was followed by Construction, which fell 0.7 per cent, with weakness seen across building construction firms.
All 13 selected industries recorded year-on-year increases, led by Accommodation and food services (+19.7 per cent), Administration and support services (+19.4 per cent) and Arts and recreation services (+18.4%).
| February 2023 to March 2023 (%) | March 2022 to March 2023 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and recreation services | 9.7 | 18.4 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 9.5 | 8.2 |
| Other services | 5.2 | 12.5 |
| Mining | 4.3 | 15.9 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 1.9 | 12.8 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1.9 | 9.9 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 1.0 | 10.6 |
| Manufacturing | 0.7 | 8.0 |
| Accommodation and food services | 0.7 | 19.7 |
| Administrative and support services | 0.5 | 19.4 |
| Wholesale trade | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| Construction | -0.7 | 13.8 |
| Retail trade | -2.0 | 3.2 |
The ABS would like to thank the businesses whose data helped produce these statistics.
