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Current price estimates - quarterly

Compensation of employees

28.51 Quarterly estimates of COE, which are prepared for all industries combined, are derived as the sum of State estimates of the components described for the national estimates in Chapter 19. The method used to compile COE by quarter is also described there. The following data sources are used for quarterly State estimates of wages and salaries.

28.52 Wages and salaries paid in cash to employees of the private and civilian government sectors are based on the Survey of Employment and Earnings (SEE), and the Labour Force Survey. Defence force salaries and allowances are available by State from annual information supplied by the Department of Defence. Quarterly estimates for the latest incomplete year are available for Australia from the Commonwealth Department of Finance and Administration Ledgers, and are allocated to States using the State distribution for the previous year. Quarterly rural wages and salaries are allocated by State using annual data from the Agricultural Finance Survey. Benchmark data for State estimates of the value of fringe benefits paid to private sector employees are available from the periodic Survey of Major Labour Costs. Quarterly estimates for the latest incomplete year are trended. For the value of fringe benefits paid to government employees, annual State estimates are divided into quarters using wages data from SEE as the indicator. For the latest incomplete year the quarterly estimates are derived on trend. Payments to the staff of Australian embassies and consulates overseas are allocated to the Australian Capital Territory.

28.53 Adjustments for labour income to and from overseas are allocated separately to States. Labour income earned by residents working abroad for non-resident employers is allocated across States each quarter using total earnings in each State as the indicator. Labour income earned by residents working for non-resident employers in Australia is allocated to States using fixed proportions. Labour income earned by non-residents working for the resident official sector abroad is allocated to the Australian Capital Territory. Labour income earned by non-residents working for the resident non-official sector in Australia is allocated to States using SEE data as the indicator.

28.54 Employer social contributions, which comprise employer contributions to superannuation and workers' compensation premiums, are generally allocated to quarters separately for the private and public sectors in line with movements in wages and salaries. However, specific adjustments have been required over recent years to allow for the impact of the Superannuation Guarantee Levy on the timing of payments in respect of employer contributions to superannuation.

Household final consumption expenditure

28.55 Quarterly estimates of HFCE by State are calculated by dissecting the Australian estimate for each of the components described in Chapter 14. For some components, such as food, clothing and footwear, housing, furnishings and other household equipment, the data sources used to calculate the quarterly Australian estimates contain State data, e.g. the monthly Retail Survey and the publication Consumer Price Index (Cat. no. 6401.0). For other components such as cigarettes and tobacco, and communication services, no quarterly State data are available and State dissections are based on the latest annual State distribution derived from other sources including the periodic Household Expenditure Survey.

28.56 State data are available from the monthly Retail Survey for most of the goods components of HFCE. Imputed rent of owner-occupied dwellings is prepared using the same data sources as for the national estimates.

Private gross fixed capital formation

28.57 State estimates are derived largely from the same sources as used for the Australian estimates, although a higher degree of approximation is required. Estimates of private gross fixed capital formation on dwellings and other buildings and structures are derived using data from the ABS quarterly surveys of Building Activity and Engineering Construction, while expenditure on machinery and equipment is derived from the quarterly Survey of Private New Capital Expenditure. State estimates of livestock are based on annual data from Agriculture, Australia (Cat. no. 7113.0) and Livestock Products, Australia (Cat. no. 7215.0). Annual estimates are allocated evenly over the quarters of each financial year.

28.58 Intangible fixed assets include: computer software; entertainment, literary or artistic originals; and mineral exploration. State estimates for computer software are currently based on State splits of income for the information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) industries. It is expected that future estimates will be based on IT&T industry expenditure and/or employment data. State estimates for music originals are based on data supplied by the Australian Recording Industry Association. State estimates for other entertainment and artistic originals are based on annual totals for Australia, allocated to State by population and other indirect indicators. State details for mineral and petroleum exploration expenditure are available from Mineral and Petroleum Exploration, Australia (Cat. no. 8412.0). Ownership transfer costs are derived from stamp duty data supplied by the various State governments, and various other data such as the number of real estate property transfers by State. Essentially, these are the same as the data sources used to prepare the Australian estimates.

National general government final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation

28.59 The COE component of national general government final consumption expenditure is directly apportioned to States using data from the ABS Survey of Employment and Earnings and information supplied by the Department of Defence. Expenditures on goods and services classified to defence are allocated according to population, while non-defence purchases are allocated on the basis of national general government employment by State and Territory.

State and local general government final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation

28.60 State and local general government final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation are allocated directly by State, using data from the ABS Public Finance Section, on the assumption that their activities were confined to within their own State.

Public financial and non-financial corporations' gross fixed capital formation

28.61 Quarterly estimates of gross fixed capital formation for Commonwealth non-financial corporations are allocated by State using the proportions derived for the latest annual benchmark (see paragraph 28.50). Quarterly estimates for Commonwealth financial corporations are compiled using data from the quarterly Public Financial Corporations Survey of Capital Expenditure, benchmarked to the corresponding annual estimates. Quarterly estimates for State and local gross fixed capital formation for non-financial corporations are allocated directly by State on the assumption that their activities are confined to within their own State, using data from the ABS Public Finance Section. Quarterly estimates for State and local financial corporations are compiled using data from the quarterly Public Financial Corporations Survey of Capital Expenditure, benchmarked to the corresponding annual estimates.