Household spending rises again in July

Media Release
Released
6/09/2022

Household spending rose 18.4 per cent in July 2022, compared to the same time last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Jacqui Vitas, head of macroeconomic statistics at the ABS, said July saw the 17th consecutive month of through-the-year increases in total household spending, with increases in all spending categories. 

“There were particularly strong increases in spending on clothing and footwear (up 45.0 per cent), transport (up 35.4 per cent) and hotels, cafes and restaurants (up 34.9 per cent).  These increases were coming off the back of the COVID-19 Delta lockdown impacts that we saw last year, when there was reduced spending in these spending categories due to lockdowns.”   

In contrast, spending categories not so impacted by lockdowns, such as food (up 2.0 per cent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 1.2 per cent) and furnishings and household equipment (up 0.8 per cent) saw only moderate rises. 

Pre-pandemic Comparison

Compared to pre-pandemic July 2019 estimates, total household spending was 11.9 per cent higher in current price, calendar adjusted terms.

The strongest increases over this period were in furnishings and household equipment (up 22.4 per cent), clothing and footwear (up 22.3 per cent) and recreation and culture (up 21.6 per cent).

This line graph shows the household spending index numbers in current price, calendar adjusted terms.

State Results

All states and territories saw increases in household spending in July 2022, compared to July 2021, with New South Wales (up 33.2 per cent) and South Australia (up 23.3 per cent) recording the highest increases in spending through the year. Both states experienced lockdowns due to the Delta wave this time last year.

Compared to pre-pandemic July 2019 estimates, all states showed rises in household spending with Queensland (up 19.1 per cent), South Australia (up 16.9 per cent) and Tasmania (up 16.4 per cent) showing the strongest rises.

This bar graph shows the changes in total household spending for all the states and territories when comparing the July 2022 estimates to the July 2021 and July 2019 (pre-pandemic) estimates. 

Media notes

  • The indicator is produced using aggregated and de-identified card and bank transactions from several banking and financial institutions.
  • The indicator includes 9 of the 13 key divisions classified according to the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).
  • The indicator is produced in current price original and current price calendar adjusted terms only.
  • Until the indicator is seasonally adjusted it is advised to focus on through the year (e.g. July 2022 compared to July 2021) comparisons. 
  • Significant events such as COVID-19 can lead to very strong through the year rises. Care should be given when comparing periods with these events.
  • Care should be given when comparing Household Spending Indicator estimates with other ABS products.
  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
  • Subscribe to our media release notification service to get notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.
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