Household spending continued to rise in June: Australia

Household spending rose 10.2 per cent in June 2022, compared to the same time last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Jacqui Vitas, head of macroeconomic statistics at the ABS, said this was the 16th consecutive month of through-the-year increases in total household spending, with increases in all spending categories.

“This was off the back of consistent decreases in total household spending from March 2020 to February 2021, as responses to COVID-19 were experienced across the country.

“Spending categories most impacted from COVID-19 responses (transport, hotels, cafes and restaurants, and clothing and footwear) have now returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

In June 2022, transport spending increased by 22.7 per cent, driven by higher petrol prices and demand for air travel. Strong growth was also seen in spending on hotels, cafes and restaurants (up 17.1 per cent), clothing and footwear (up 16.3 per cent) and recreation and culture (up 15.5 per cent).

Not all spending categories saw strong growth, with health (up 0.8 per cent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 0.9 per cent) and food (up 1.8 per cent) recording only moderate rises.

Household spending on selected spending categories, current price, index, calendar adjusted

DateTransportHotels, cafes and restaurantsClothing and footwearRecreation and culture
Jan-19100100100100
Feb-19106.896.893.6100.4
Mar-19106.7100.8100.5100.7
Apr-19109.7107.8109.7103.4
May-19113.6102.3114.5102.2
Jun-19111105.7119.7108
Jul-19109.6108.9108.5105.2
Aug-19113.1108.6110.9106
Sep-19111.1109.5110.3110.9
Oct-19111.7110.7117.5111.9
Nov-19110.7109.3137.3122.7
Dec-19109.4115.1180.6137.7
Jan-20107.6107.7105.9111.1
Feb-20105.797.894.5103.4
Mar-2082.469.48088.4
Apr-2048.734.953.181.6
May-2057.542.297.288.7
Jun-2066.360.7109.590.6
Jul-2066.869.6107.799.1
Aug-2063.167.492.898.3
Sep-2068.974.3101.4104.2
Oct-2072.376.2109.2108.2
Nov-2081.883.5157.9132.4
Dec-208795.7187.9138.2
Jan-2175.288.5107.8107.5
Feb-2181.885.998.7107.1
Mar-2189.392.9110.6110.3
Apr-2190.298.2122.9113.9
May-2191.896.1125109.8
Jun-2190.794.9118.4110
Jul-2180.784.79299.1
Aug-217474.579.196.8
Sep-2177.381.186.2107
Oct-2182.890.1112118.9
Nov-2193.3103.8177.2143.9
Dec-2192.5112.3204147.1
Jan-2284.496.2117117.7
Feb-22101.699.3116.5121.2
Mar-22107.2102.9123.8122.1
Apr-22100.9113.7136.3123.8
May-22105.3106.1134.8120.8
Jun-22111.3111.1137.7127

The line graph above shows the household spending index numbers in current price, calendar adjusted terms for the following categories:

  • transport
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants
  • clothing and footwear
  • recreation and culture

All states and territories recorded increases in household spending in June 2022, compared to June 2021, with Queensland (12.4 per cent) and Victoria (11.8 percent) recorded the highest increases in spending through the year.

Household spending, current price, TTY, calendar adjusted, by state

Jun-22 (%)
NSW7.7
Vic.11.8
Qld12.4
SA10.1
WA9.7
Tas.10.8
NT7.6
ACT3.1

This bar graph shows all the through the year household spending changes in June 2022 for all the states and territories.

Total household spending increased in each month of the June quarter 2022, with the month of June having the highest increase (10.2 per cent). During the three months of the quarter, spending on health in April 2022 was the only category to show a decrease.

Household spending, current price, TTY, calendar adjusted, by month

Apr-2022 (%)May-2022 (%)Jun-2022 (%)
Food83.11.8
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco3.61.50.9
Clothing and footwear10.97.816.3
Furnishings and household equipment15.6101.1
Health-1.30.80.8
Transport11.914.722.7
Recreation and culture8.71015.5
Hotels, cafes and restaurants15.810.417.1
Miscellaneous goods and services16.512.914.4
Total9.6810.2

This graph shows the monthly changes in household spending across all the COICOP categories covered by the indicator in the June quarter 2022.

/ABS Public Release. View in full here.