Household spending rose 17.8 per cent in January compared to the same time last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Robert Ewing, ABS head of business indicators, said: “Household spending remained high to start the new year, with increases across eight of the nine spending categories compared to January 2022.
“These increases were led by spending on transport (up 41.5 per cent), hotels, cafes and restaurants (38.5 per cent) and clothing and footwear (20.9 per cent),” Mr Ewing said.
“Spending on services recorded a 28.2 per cent through-the-year increase in January 2023, which was stronger than the 8.6 per cent rise in goods spending,” Mr Ewing said.
“This can be credited to the post-COVID recovery in spending categories such as transport, hotels, cafes and restaurants and recreation and culture. Spending on these services was more affected by COVID restrictions, and 2022 has seen a recovery to a more normal share of total spending. From the low point in April 2020, spending on services has risen 145.5 per cent compared to 35.8 per cent for goods,” Mr Ewing said.
| Goods (%) | Services (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan-20 | 4.8 | 9.6 |
| Feb-20 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Mar-20 | 10.9 | -20.1 |
| Apr-20 | -6.9 | -53.8 |
| May-20 | 10.5 | -44.4 |
| Jun-20 | 10.0 | -32.9 |
| Jul-20 | 14.7 | -27.9 |
| Aug-20 | 6.6 | -31.1 |
| Sep-20 | 6.4 | -25.0 |
| Oct-20 | 4.8 | -22.9 |
| Nov-20 | 15.2 | -15.1 |
| Dec-20 | 8.5 | -12.8 |
| Jan-21 | 7.1 | -17.8 |
| Feb-21 | 8.3 | -10.6 |
| Mar-21 | 0.6 | 19.7 |
| Apr-21 | 17.3 | 105.7 |
| May-21 | 0.8 | 69.6 |
| Jun-21 | 1.0 | 35.9 |
| Jul-21 | -3.9 | 14.7 |
| Aug-21 | -0.2 | 11.6 |
| Sep-21 | 2.6 | 8.4 |
| Oct-21 | 7.3 | 11.5 |
| Nov-21 | 6.3 | 13.0 |
| Dec-21 | 3.3 | 8.0 |
| Jan-22 | 6.3 | 8.0 |
| Feb-22 | 10.0 | 13.4 |
| Mar-22 | 8.1 | 11.4 |
| Apr-22 | 12.2 | 12.1 |
| May-22 | 9.2 | 15.2 |
| Jun-22 | 8.2 | 23.4 |
| Jul-22 | 11.9 | 37.1 |
| Aug-22 | 14.0 | 46.9 |
| Sep-22 | 14.4 | 45.8 |
| Oct-22 | 9.4 | 36.8 |
| Nov-22 | 4.4 | 25.1 |
| Dec-22 | 5.3 | 23.3 |
| Jan-23 | 8.6 | 28.2 |
Compared to pre-pandemic data from January 2020, spending on services has increased by 13.8 per cent, while goods spending is up 23.7 per cent over the same period. By spending category, clothing and footwear (+32.2 per cent) and recreation and culture (+25.2 per cent) have seen the largest percentage rises over this period, with price increases likely to be contributing to this growth (see Consumer Price Index, Australia
