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The communication services industries encompass telecommunication services, and postal and courier services. These industries comprise the Communication Services Division of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).
The Australian national accounts provide some statistics about the communication services industries including a measure of its overall contribution to the total level of economic activity in Australia, gross domestic product (GDP). These are presented in table 23.1. The chain volume measure of gross value added by the communication services industries increased by 3.0% from 2000-01 to 2001-02, which was an improvement over the previous year's small increase of 0.8%. However, these recent annual increases are substantially below those experienced in earlier years, which were regularly showing around 10% annual growth.
23.1 COMMUNICATION SERVICES INDUSTRIES, Gross value added(a)
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 | | Units | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 |
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| At current prices(b) | | | | | | | |
| Value | $m | 15,615 | 17,157 | 18,087 | 18,129 | 19,236 | 19,412 |
| Change from previous period | % | 7.1 | 9.9 | 5.4 | 0.2 | 6.1 | 0.9 |
| Chain volume measures(c) | | | | | | | |
| Value | $m | 14,536 | 16,093 | 17,844 | 19,087 | 19,236 | 19,814 |
| Change from previous period | % | 10.3 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 7.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 |
| Contribution to GDP | % | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
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(a) The value of output at basic prices minus the value of intermediate consumption at purchasers' prices. Basic prices valuation of output removes the distortion caused by variations in the incidence of commodity taxes and subsidies across the output of industries.
(b) Estimates valued at the prices of the period to which the observation relates.
(c) Estimates revalued to remove the direct effects of changes in prices over time. The reference year for chain volume measures is 2000-01. |
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| Source: Australian System of National Accounts, 2001-02 (5204.0). |
Total factor income is that part of the cost of producing the GDP which consists of gross payments to factors of production (labour and capital) and is equal to the sum of compensation of employees, gross operating surplus and gross mixed income. Examination of the total factor income for the communication services industries shows changes in the share of income accruing to labour (i.e. compensation of employees) compared with the share accruing to capital (i.e. profits). Graph 23.2 shows how the shares accruing to wages and to profits for the communication services industries have changed since 1995-96.
Table 23.3 shows key measures of industry structure and performance for the communication services industries, compiled from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) annual Economic Activity Survey of employing businesses. The main features are:
- The number of communication services businesses continued to grow, reaching 4,389 businesses at 30 June 2001. The number of businesses increased by 5% in the year to 30 June 2001, following a 7% increase in the year to 30 June 2000.
- Employment reached a peak in 1995-96 (137,000 persons) and fluctuated within a narrow range over the next few years. In the year to 30 June 2001, employment increased by 0.4% to 120,000 persons.
- Gross operating surplus increased by 5% between 1999-2000 and 2000-01, turning around the decrease of 1% between 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
- Operating profit before tax increased by 5% between 1999-2000 and 2000-01, following a fall of less than 1% between 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
- Net worth grew by 10% in 2000-01, replicating a 10% rise in 1999-2000.
- Capital spending has fluctuated over the years, but increased by 80% between 1999-2000 and 2000-01, following an increase of 30% between 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
23.3 COMMUNICATION SERVICES INDUSTRIES, Structure and performance
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| | Units | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
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| Industry structure | | | | | | | |
| Businesses at 30 June | no. | 2,363 | 3,049 | 3,540 | 3,899 | 4,172 | 4,389 |
| Employment at 30 June | ’000 | 137 | 125 | 118 | 119 | 119 | 120 |
| Income statement | | | | | | | |
| Sales of goods and services | $m | 21,631 | 23,691 | 24,696 | 29,432 | 32,696 | 34,407 |
| less Cost of sales | $m | 9,271 | 11,135 | 9,827 | 13,548 | 17,077 | 17,469 |
| equals Trading profit | $m | 12,360 | 12,556 | 14,869 | 15,884 | 15,619 | 16,938 |
| plus Interest | $m | 179 | 171 | 140 | 155 | 137 | 180 |
| plus Other operating income | $m | 624 | 77 | 19 | 252 | 886 | 894 |
| less Labour costs | $m | 6,273 | 6,605 | 6,122 | 5,548 | 5,578 | 6,071 |
| less Depreciation | $m | 2,791 | 3,026 | 2,961 | 3,354 | 3,787 | 3,640 |
| less Other operating expenses | $m | 142 | 442 | 426 | 399 | 373 | 1,037 |
| equals Earnings before interest and tax | $m | 3,957 | 2,731 | 5,520 | 6,989 | 6,904 | 7,264 |
| less Interest expenses | $m | 723 | 742 | 916 | 836 | 798 | 858 |
| equals Operating profit before tax | $m | 3,234 | 1,989 | 4,603 | 6,153 | 6,105 | 6,406 |
| Total assets | $m | 34,373 | 37,964 | 36,358 | 40,608 | 45,798 | 55,898 |
| Total liabilities | $m | 17,729 | 23,713 | 21,196 | 22,530 | 25,882 | 34,039 |
| Net worth | $m | 16,643 | 14,251 | 15,162 | 18,079 | 19,916 | 21,858 |
| Capital expenditure | $m | 6,217 | 5,365 | 5,304 | 6,173 | 8,004 | 14,373 |
| Gross operating surplus | $m | 6,615 | 8,351 | 9,585 | 11,558 | 11,447 | 11,994 |
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| Source: Business Operations and Industry Performance, Australia, 2000-01 (8140.0). |
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