1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003

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Contents >> Service Industries >> Overview

The service industries sector is the largest component of the Australian economy in terms of number of businesses, employment and gross value added.

Of the estimated 1,164,100 private sector businesses in Australia in 2000-01, some 833,100 (72%) were in the service industries sector. For small businesses (those with less than 20 employees), the proportions are virtually the same, with service industries accounting for 71% of the 1.1 million small businesses in Australia (table 21.1).

21.1 BUSINESSES - 2000-01
Industries	Units	Small businesses	Other businesses	Total

Goods producing	’000	322.3	8.7	331.0
Service	’000	799.7	33.4	833.1
Total	’000	1,122.0	42.1	1,164.1
Businesses in service industries as a percentage of all businesses	%	71.3	79.3	71.6

Source: Small Business in Australia, 2000-01 (1321.0).

The service industries sector accounted for 68% of the gross value for all industries in 2000-01, and also showed the greatest increase in output in chain volume terms (measuring 'real' output unaffected by price change), with an increase of 26% over the period from 1995-96 to 2000-01 (table 21.2). In comparison, the goods producing industries recorded an increase of 13% over the same period.

21.2 GROSS VALUE ADDED(a), Chain volume measures(b)
Industries		Units	1995-96	2000-01

Goods producing
	Agriculture, forestry and fishing	$m	16,820	19,376
	Mining	$m	24,123	29,738
	Manufacturing	$m	65,632	74,240
	Electricity, gas and water	$m	14,408	15,988
	Construction	$m	27,911	29,534
	Total	$m	148,894	168,876
Service
	Wholesale trade	$m	26,348	32,332
	Retail trade	$m	27,330	32,901
	Accommodation, cafes and restaurants	$m	11,557	14,679
	Transport and storage	$m	27,741	31,432
	Communication services	$m	12,396	20,362
	Finance and insurance services	$m	31,445	40,417
	Property and business services	$m	51,507	73,829
	Government administration and defence	$m	22,268	24,829
	Education	$m	24,960	27,540
	Health and community services	$m	30,751	35,191
	Cultural and recreational services	$m	9,534	12,105
	Personal and other services	$m	11,645	15,415
	Total	$m	287,482	361,032
Total(c)		$m	436,376	529,908
Service industries as a percentage of all industries		%	65.9	68.1

(a) At basic prices, which include subsidies, but are before any taxes on products. (b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 1999-2000. (c) Excludes ownership of dwellings.
Source: Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0).

The largest contributor to the service industry sector in 2000-01 was the property and business services industry, which accounted for 20% of the gross value added of the service industries sector and 14% of the gross value added of all industries. The next largest within the service industries sector was finance and insurance services, which accounted for 11% of the gross value added of the sector.

In the five-year period 1995-96 to 2000-01, the gross value added of the services industries increased by an average annual rate of 5%, while that of the goods producing industries recorded an average annual growth rate of 3%.

From within the service industries sector, the communication services industry recorded the largest percentage increase in output in the five-year period, of 64% in real terms, which is the equivalent of an average annual growth rate of 10%. The next highest growth rate was recorded in the service industries by the property and business services industry, with a 43% increase in output over the five-year period, and an average annual growth rate of 8%. The lowest growth in real terms in the period 1995-96 to 2000-01 was in the goods producing sector, where the construction industry recorded only a 6% increase. In comparison, the lowest increase in real terms in the service industries sector over this same period was by the education industry with an increase of 10%.

In terms of employment the service industries sector is dominant, accounting for 74% of total employment for all industries in 2000-01 (table 21.3). Total employment in the service industries sector in 2000-01 was 6,702,800 persons.

21.3 EMPLOYED PERSONS

Industries		Units	1995-96(a)	2000-01(a)

Goods producing
	Agriculture, forestry and fishing	’000	419.3	429.1
	Mining	’000	85.0	78.3
	Manufacturing	’000	1,113.7	1,131.3
	Electricity, gas and water	’000	80.6	65.7
	Construction	’000	602.4	683.2
	Total	’000	2,301.1	2,387.6
Service
	Wholesale trade	’000	500.8	439.1
	Retail trade	’000	1,230.5	1,335.3
	Accommodation, cafes and restaurants	’000	381.8	470.7
	Transport and storage	’000	389.3	421.8
	Communication services	’000	159.0	182.6
	Finance and insurance	’000	317.0	337.6
	Property and business services	’000	799.4	1,082.6
	Government administration and defence	’000	379.3	366.2
	Education	’000	586.3	621.6
	Health and community services	’000	759.5	876.6
	Cultural and recreational services	’000	188.4	225.9
	Personal and other services	’000	315.8	343.0
	Total	’000	6,006.8	6,702.8
Total		'000	8,307.9	9,090.4
Service industries as a percentage of all industries		%	72.3	73.7

(a) Annual average.
Source: Labour Force, Australia (6203.0).

In the five-year period from 1995-96, employment in the service industries increased by 696,000 persons or 12%, representing an average annual growth rate of 2%. In the same period the goods producing industries recorded an increase in employment of 86,500 persons. This represented an increase of 4%, an average annual growth rate of just over 0.7%.

Within the service industries, the major employing industry was retail trade with employment in 2000-01 of 1,335,300 persons, accounting for 15% of all employment and 20% of employment in the service industries sector. Other large employing service industries were property and business services (1,082,600 persons), health and community services (876,600 persons), and education (621,600 persons). The industries showing the greatest employment growth in the five-year period since 1995-96 were property and business services, with a 35% increase from 799,400 persons to 1,082,600 persons, accommodation, cafes and restaurants with an increase of 23% in the period, and health and community services with an increase of 15%. In contrast, employment in the wholesale trade and the government administration and defence sectors fell by 12% and 4% respectively over this period.