Business turnover for the Retail and Wholesale trade industries fell in December (-3.3 per cent and -3.1 per cent respectively), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “Overall, eight of the 13 industries had falls in business turnover in December, led by the Retail and Wholesale trade industries.
“The fall in Retail trade turnover can be attributed to consumers bringing forward spending into November, as reported in Retail Trade data released recently.
“Lower turnover across multiple categories contributed to the 3.1 per cent fall in the Wholesale trade industry.”
Compared to December 2022, eight of the 13 industries had higher turnover in December 2023. The industries that saw the biggest annual rises were Construction (+13.9 per cent), Other services (+6.9 per cent), and Accommodation and food services (+6.1 per cent).
Annually, the largest falls were in Mining (-6.6 per cent), and Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-3.6 per cent).
| November 2023 to December 2023 (%) | December 2022 to December 2023 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and recreation services | 2.3 | 5.8 |
| Accommodation and food services | 0.8 | 6.1 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 0.5 | -3.6 |
| Construction | 0.5 | 13.9 |
| Mining | 0.1 | -6.6 |
| Administrative and support services | -0.7 | 2.8 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | -0.9 | -1.6 |
| Information media and telecommunications | -1.0 | 2.6 |
| Other services | -1.2 | 6.9 |
| Manufacturing | -1.8 | -0.2 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -2.2 | 3.6 |
| Wholesale trade | -3.1 | -2.7 |
| Retail trade | -3.3 | 0.5 |
The ABS would like to thank the Australian Tax Office and the businesses whose data helped produce these statistics.
