Mining turnover continues to fall: Australia

The Mining industry reported the largest fall in business turnover of the 13 selected industries in May (-6.0 per cent), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business indicators, said: “Mining turnover fell 6.0 per cent in May, following a 12.1 per cent fall in April, as demand and prices for commodities such as iron ore and coal come off recent highs.

“Increased monthly turnover was seen in 11 of the 13 selected industries in May, after most industries saw falls in turnover in the previous month. Electricity, gas, water and waste services recorded the largest monthly percentage rise, increasing 12.8 per cent, after falling 7.5 per cent in April.”

In year-on-year terms, 12 of the 13 selected industries recorded rises. Increases were led by Construction (+17.6 per cent) while Electricity, gas, water and waste services had the smallest rise (+0.1 per cent).

Through the year to May, the only industry recording a fall in turnover was Mining (-13.5 per cent), the largest negative year-on-year fall for the industry since August 2020 (-14.6 per cent).

Business turnover index, change in turnover, seasonally adjusted

April 2023 to May 2023 (%)May 2022 to May 2023 (%)
Electricity, gas, water and waste services12.80.1
Information media and telecommunications6.56.6
Administrative and support services3.412.2
Other services3.115.7
Professional, scientific and technical services2.914.2
Transport, postal and warehousing2.21.7
Construction2.117.6
Wholesale trade1.85.6
Arts and recreation services1.16.9
Retail trade0.54.4
Manufacturing0.34.6
Accommodation and food services-0.311.2
Mining-6.0-13.5

The ABS would like to thank the businesses whose data helped produce these statistics.

/ABS Public Release. View in full here.