Household spending up 4.9% in last 12 months: Australia

Household spending was 4.9 per cent higher when compared to a year ago, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “Spending on transport remained high in September, rising 18.4 per cent over the year.

“This contributed to a 9.2 per cent rise in spending on non-discretionary goods and services, with households spending more on fuel as well as food and health services.

“In contrast, discretionary spending rose 0.3 per cent over the year. Less spending on discretionary goods like furniture has been offset by increased spending on discretionary services like recreation and culture.”

As well as spending more on transport, the overall rise in household spending compared to September last year was driven by increases in health (+10.1 per cent), food (+4.2 per cent), and hotels, cafes and restaurants (+3.4 per cent).

Compared to the same time last year, household spending rose in all states and territories.

Western Australia had the largest rise in spending (+9.5 per cent), led by transport (+21.9 per cent) and health (+15.2 per cent).

When comparing this month to last month, Victoria was the only state or territory to record a higher spending growth rate. The Northern Territory had the largest fall in growth, dropping from +5.3 per cent in August to +0.5 per cent in September.