Monthly Business Turnover Indicator

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Experimental indicator of business turnover derived from monthly Business Activity Statements

Reference period

September 2021

Released

10/11/2021

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Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms, the monthly business turnover indicator showed:

Falls in 8 of the 13 published industries in September 2021
The largest decreases were in Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-8.2%) and Construction (-3.7%)
Accommodation and food services recorded the largest rise (2.2%) following four months of consecutive falls
Mining fell slightly (-0.3%) although showed a strong increase through the year to September 2021 (40.1%)

This experimental indicator is derived from Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Business Activity Statements (BAS) turnover data from monthly BAS remitters. It includes 13 of the 19 industry divisions classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006.
Monthly BAS reporting covers businesses with GST annual turnover of $20 million or more and a proportion of smaller businesses that report monthly on a voluntary basis.
The estimated monthly changes in business turnover are aligned as closely as is feasible to the Australian System of National Accounts concept of market output. Users should exercise caution in comparing the indicator to other ABS economic outputs due to differences in scope, coverage, and methods.
For further information see Methodology.

Business turnover indicator, monthly change, seasonally adjusted
	August 2021 to September 2021 (%)	September 2020 to September 2021 (%)
Mining	-0.3	40.1
Manufacturing	0.7	14.6
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-8.2	5.7
Construction	-3.7	13.0
Wholesale trade	-2.2	11.5
Retail trade	-0.6	7.6
Accommodation and food services	2.2	-4.0
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.1	19.8
Information media and telecommunications	1.4	14.7
Professional, scientific and technical services	1.6	11.8
Administrative and support services	-1.7	12.1
Arts and recreation services	-2.7	11.7
Other services	1.7	8.8

Business turnover indicator, monthly change, seasonally adjusted

["","August 2021 to September 2021","September 2020 to September 2021"]

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Industry

Total turnover differs between industries and this should be considered when analysing month-to-month movements to contextualise insights on overall economic activity. The chart below shows the monthly movements in the turnover indicator for September 2021 (represented by colour) and the selected industries' estimated share of total turnover for the 2019-20 financial year (represented by circle size).

Image

Chart showing the monthly movements in the turnover indicator for August 2021 (represented by colour) and the selected industries' estimated share of total turnover for the 2019-20 financial year (represented by circle size).

Description

The chart has 13 circles, one for each industry division included in the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator. The size of each circle represents the share of total business turnover for the 2019-20 financial year for that industry. Circles are also given a colour shading to represent the monthly change in the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator for the current reference month. Industries with negative movements are coloured orange, those with little or no movement are grey, and positive movements are blue. The largest circles are for Wholesale trade, Retail trade, Manufacturing, Construction, and Mining. Of these five industries, Construction and Wholesale trade are orange indicating a moderate negative movement. Retail trade, Manufacturing and Mining are all close to grey indicating small monthly movements. The industry with the largest monthly fall is Electricity, gas, water and waste services, which is a small- to medium-sized industry based on its share of turnover from 2019-20. The industry with the largest monthly rise is Accommodation and food services, a relatively small industry based on turnover share.

Business turnover differs from the National Accounts concept of output. For example, the value of goods sold by wholesalers and subsequently retailers are reflected in turnover for both industries while National Accounts output measures the margins gained by each industry.

Industry analysis and charts

Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-8.2%) recorded the largest fall in September 2021 in seasonally adjusted terms, followed by Construction (-3.7%). In the year to September 2021, both industries have recorded an overall rise in business turnover.

Accommodation and food services recorded the largest rise (2.2%) following four months of consecutive falls. COVID-19 restrictions continued to significantly impact operations in this industry and the index remained well below pre-pandemic levels.

Mining was relatively unchanged in September 2021 (-0.3%), maintaining elevated levels from strong growth in previous months linked to commodity prices.

Mining

Business turnover indicator, Mining, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	98.6	-1.5
Oct-19	92.9	-5.8
Nov-19	92.6	-0.4
Dec-19	93.7	1.2
Jan-20	94.3	0.6
Feb-20	87.3	-7.4
Mar-20	96.3	10.4
Apr-20	101.7	5.5
May-20	88.2	-13.3
Jun-20	88.0	-0.3
Jul-20	81.9	-6.9
Aug-20	85.6	4.5
Sep-20	88.9	3.8
Oct-20	93.9	5.7
Nov-20	93.0	-0.9
Dec-20	97.7	5.0
Jan-21	100.9	3.3
Feb-21	102.1	1.2
Mar-21	103.1	1.0
Apr-21	109.9	6.7
May-21	117.4	6.8
Jun-21	119.5	1.8
Jul-21	125.3	4.9
Aug-21	124.9	-0.3
Sep-21	124.5	-0.3

Manufacturing

Business turnover indicator, Manufacturing, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	102.5	1.1
Oct-19	102.2	-0.3
Nov-19	102.1	-0.1
Dec-19	103.7	1.5
Jan-20	103.6	0.0
Feb-20	101.8	-1.7
Mar-20	106.2	4.3
Apr-20	95.8	-9.8
May-20	92.7	-3.3
Jun-20	97.4	5.2
Jul-20	97.8	0.3
Aug-20	97.4	-0.4
Sep-20	95.8	-1.7
Oct-20	99.1	3.5
Nov-20	100.4	1.4
Dec-20	102.4	1.9
Jan-21	105.9	3.4
Feb-21	104.1	-1.7
Mar-21	100.4	-3.6
Apr-21	104.1	3.7
May-21	104.8	0.6
Jun-21	106.1	1.2
Jul-21	107.4	1.2
Aug-21	108.9	1.4
Sep-21	109.7	0.7

Electricity, gas, water and waste services

Business turnover indicator, Electricity, gas, water and waste services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	103.2	2.6
Oct-19	100.6	-2.6
Nov-19	103.2	2.6
Dec-19	99.8	-3.3
Jan-20	98.6	-1.2
Feb-20	108.5	10.0
Mar-20	100.8	-7.1
Apr-20	96.9	-3.8
May-20	90.6	-6.6
Jun-20	91.2	0.7
Jul-20	91.3	0.1
Aug-20	91.8	0.5
Sep-20	89.9	-2.0
Oct-20	90.1	0.2
Nov-20	89.4	-0.8
Dec-20	94.2	5.4
Jan-21	89.5	-5.0
Feb-21	89.2	-0.3
Mar-21	86.7	-2.8
Apr-21	92.7	7.0
May-21	95.6	3.2
Jun-21	102.5	7.2
Jul-21	103.9	1.3
Aug-21	103.5	-0.3
Sep-21	95.0	-8.2

Construction

Business turnover indicator, Construction, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	105.0	-0.6
Oct-19	104.5	-0.5
Nov-19	109.1	4.4
Dec-19	101.6	-6.9
Jan-20	102.7	1.1
Feb-20	102.0	-0.7
Mar-20	104.4	2.4
Apr-20	103.8	-0.5
May-20	103.4	-0.4
Jun-20	97.2	-6.0
Jul-20	99.0	1.8
Aug-20	97.7	-1.3
Sep-20	93.9	-3.9
Oct-20	97.8	4.2
Nov-20	98.9	1.1
Dec-20	106.5	7.7
Jan-21	107.4	0.9
Feb-21	106.6	-0.7
Mar-21	114.5	7.3
Apr-21	109.8	-4.1
May-21	110.6	0.8
Jun-21	113.1	2.3
Jul-21	110.0	-2.8
Aug-21	110.1	0.2
Sep-21	106.1	-3.7

Wholesale trade

Business turnover indicator, Wholesale trade, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	100.4	-1.2
Oct-19	99.7	-0.7
Nov-19	100.8	1.1
Dec-19	99.4	-1.5
Jan-20	98.7	-0.6
Feb-20	100.2	1.5
Mar-20	100.9	0.7
Apr-20	85.2	-15.6
May-20	89.1	4.6
Jun-20	98.4	10.5
Jul-20	98.1	-0.4
Aug-20	96.3	-1.8
Sep-20	96.7	0.5
Oct-20	97.7	1.0
Nov-20	100.0	2.4
Dec-20	102.1	2.1
Jan-21	104.6	2.4
Feb-21	104.8	0.2
Mar-21	105.3	0.5
Apr-21	107.7	2.3
May-21	107.3	-0.3
Jun-21	108.4	1.0
Jul-21	108.9	0.4
Aug-21	110.3	1.3
Sep-21	107.9	-2.2

Retail trade

Business turnover indicator, Retail trade, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	101.7	0.5
Oct-19	101.0	-0.6
Nov-19	102.4	1.4
Dec-19	101.5	-0.9
Jan-20	102.8	1.2
Feb-20	101.3	-1.4
Mar-20	107.1	5.6
Apr-20	82.4	-23.0
May-20	98.3	19.3
Jun-20	103.8	5.6
Jul-20	106.6	2.7
Aug-20	102.7	-3.7
Sep-20	102.5	-0.2
Oct-20	103.1	0.6
Nov-20	111.5	8.2
Dec-20	111.9	0.3
Jan-21	112.1	0.2
Feb-21	111.6	-0.5
Mar-21	114.0	2.2
Apr-21	114.0	0.0
May-21	116.6	2.2
Jun-21	112.6	-3.4
Jul-21	110.6	-1.7
Aug-21	111.0	0.3
Sep-21	110.3	-0.6

Accommodation and food services

Business turnover indicator, Accommodation and food services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	99.6	-1.3
Oct-19	97.9	-1.7
Nov-19	97.5	-0.4
Dec-19	100.9	3.5
Jan-20	102.7	1.8
Feb-20	102.0	-0.7
Mar-20	81.3	-20.3
Apr-20	49.9	-38.6
May-20	50.7	1.5
Jun-20	68.4	34.9
Jul-20	82.7	20.9
Aug-20	79.7	-3.6
Sep-20	80.7	1.2
Oct-20	82.2	1.9
Nov-20	83.1	1.1
Dec-20	93.5	12.4
Jan-21	94.8	1.4
Feb-21	93.3	-1.6
Mar-21	98.3	5.3
Apr-21	105.3	7.2
May-21	102.5	-2.7
Jun-21	98.2	-4.2
Jul-21	81.5	-17.0
Aug-21	75.7	-7.0
Sep-21	77.4	2.2

Transport, postal and warehousing

Business turnover indicator, Transport, postal and warehousing, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	101.4	1.6
Oct-19	102.0	0.6
Nov-19	99.4	-2.6
Dec-19	102.0	2.6
Jan-20	102.0	0.0
Feb-20	100.2	-1.7
Mar-20	87.9	-12.3
Apr-20	79.4	-9.7
May-20	71.5	-10.0
Jun-20	79.0	10.5
Jul-20	79.3	0.4
Aug-20	76.3	-3.8
Sep-20	78.0	2.1
Oct-20	78.0	0.0
Nov-20	79.6	2.1
Dec-20	87.0	9.3
Jan-21	85.0	-2.3
Feb-21	87.7	3.2
Mar-21	88.3	0.7
Apr-21	89.9	1.8
May-21	93.7	4.2
Jun-21	95.3	1.8
Jul-21	91.9	-3.6
Aug-21	94.5	2.8
Sep-21	93.4	-1.1

Information media and telecommunications

Business turnover indicator, Information media and telecommunications, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	102.0	4.7
Oct-19	98.2	-3.7
Nov-19	95.0	-3.3
Dec-19	86.5	-8.9
Jan-20	93.1	7.7
Feb-20	87.1	-6.4
Mar-20	87.1	0.0
Apr-20	85.9	-1.4
May-20	84.7	-1.4
Jun-20	85.3	0.7
Jul-20	86.9	1.8
Aug-20	90.3	3.9
Sep-20	86.4	-4.3
Oct-20	91.4	5.8
Nov-20	92.7	1.5
Dec-20	94.9	2.3
Jan-21	94.4	-0.5
Feb-21	93.3	-1.1
Mar-21	93.6	0.3
Apr-21	96.6	3.1
May-21	96.6	0.1
Jun-21	97.6	1.0
Jul-21	97.3	-0.3
Aug-21	97.8	0.4
Sep-21	99.1	1.4

Professional, scientific and technical services

Business turnover indicator, Professional, scientific and technical services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	98.3	-1.1
Oct-19	100.5	2.3
Nov-19	99.7	-0.8
Dec-19	95.5	-4.2
Jan-20	101.2	5.9
Feb-20	100.0	-1.1
Mar-20	101.0	1.0
Apr-20	99.1	-1.9
May-20	91.9	-7.2
Jun-20	95.9	4.3
Jul-20	96.3	0.4
Aug-20	91.9	-4.5
Sep-20	94.5	2.9
Oct-20	92.8	-1.8
Nov-20	94.2	1.5
Dec-20	95.4	1.3
Jan-21	92.3	-3.3
Feb-21	96.3	4.3
Mar-21	97.5	1.3
Apr-21	99.2	1.7
May-21	94.7	-4.5
Jun-21	102.5	8.3
Jul-21	101.1	-1.4
Aug-21	104.1	3.0
Sep-21	105.7	1.6

Administrative and support services

Business turnover indicator, Administrative and support services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	99.5	-1.1
Oct-19	100.7	1.2
Nov-19	98.5	-2.2
Dec-19	98.7	0.2
Jan-20	97.1	-1.6
Feb-20	93.6	-3.6
Mar-20	83.9	-10.4
Apr-20	70.2	-16.2
May-20	71.1	1.3
Jun-20	71.6	0.7
Jul-20	72.2	0.8
Aug-20	72.0	-0.3
Sep-20	73.5	2.1
Oct-20	73.3	-0.2
Nov-20	75.0	2.3
Dec-20	77.0	2.6
Jan-21	77.5	0.7
Feb-21	75.4	-2.7
Mar-21	80.3	6.6
Apr-21	81.3	1.2
May-21	84.4	3.8
Jun-21	84.4	0.0
Jul-21	82.6	-2.1
Aug-21	83.8	1.4
Sep-21	82.4	-1.7

Arts and recreation services

Business turnover indicator, Arts and recreation services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	106.3	1.4
Oct-19	97.6	-8.2
Nov-19	100.8	3.3
Dec-19	94.7	-6.0
Jan-20	100.7	6.2
Feb-20	92.2	-8.4
Mar-20	84.6	-8.2
Apr-20	45.8	-45.9
May-20	46.8	2.3
Jun-20	57.5	22.8
Jul-20	78.2	36.0
Aug-20	77.9	-0.4
Sep-20	76.6	-1.6
Oct-20	82.8	8.1
Nov-20	86.8	4.8
Dec-20	92.5	6.5
Jan-21	93.9	1.6
Feb-21	95.9	2.1
Mar-21	104.3	8.8
Apr-21	118.6	13.7
May-21	116.4	-1.9
Jun-21	97.7	-16.0
Jul-21	100.8	3.2
Aug-21	88.0	-12.7
Sep-21	85.6	-2.7

Other services

Business turnover indicator, Other services, seasonally adjusted
	Business turnover index (pts)	Monthly percentage change (%)
Sep-19	100.1	1.6
Oct-19	101.0	0.9
Nov-19	101.4	0.4
Dec-19	99.7	-1.7
Jan-20	100.3	0.6
Feb-20	101.5	1.2
Mar-20	101.0	-0.5
Apr-20	88.4	-12.5
May-20	85.9	-2.8
Jun-20	90.9	5.8
Jul-20	94.1	3.5
Aug-20	96.7	2.8
Sep-20	94.9	-1.9
Oct-20	97.2	2.4
Nov-20	98.4	1.2
Dec-20	100.5	2.1
Jan-21	105.8	5.3
Feb-21	101.8	-3.8
Mar-21	103.0	1.3
Apr-21	107.2	4.0
May-21	110.4	3.0
Jun-21	110.7	0.2
Jul-21	107.5	-2.8
Aug-21	101.5	-5.6
Sep-21	103.3	1.7

Data downloads

ABS will progressively transition to releasing Excel files in .XLSX format from 3 December 2021. The time series spreadsheets in the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator will use the new format from the October 2021 issue, released on 10 December 2021. Users may need to update their automated processes for downloading and reading the data. Previously released time series spreadsheets will remain in .XLS format.

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Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Table 01: Business turnover indicator, Mining - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [153.5 KB]
Table 02: Business turnover indicator, Manufacturing - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [153 KB]
Table 03: Business turnover indicator, Electricity, gas, water and waste services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 04: Business turnover indicator, Construction - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 05: Business turnover indicator, Wholesale trade - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 06: Business turnover indicator, Retail trade - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 07: Business turnover indicator, Accommodation and food services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 08: Business turnover indicator, Transport, postal and warehousing - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 09: Business turnover indicator, Information media and telecommunications - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 10: Business turnover indicator, Professional and scientific services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 11: Business turnover indicator, Administrative and support services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 12: Business turnover indicator, Arts and recreation services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]
Table 13: Business turnover indicator, Other services - Monthly percentage change and index
Download xls [154 KB]

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website.

Business Turnover Indicator - Monthly percentage changes and indexes, January 2010 onwards

Methodology

Monthly Business Turnover Indicator methodology, September 2021

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APA

Monthly Business Turnover Indicator

APA

Key statistics

Industry

Industry analysis and charts

Mining

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, water and waste services

Construction

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Accommodation and food services

Transport, postal and warehousing

Information media and telecommunications

Professional, scientific and technical services

Administrative and support services

Arts and recreation services

Other services

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Table 01: Business turnover indicator, Mining - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 02: Business turnover indicator, Manufacturing - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 03: Business turnover indicator, Electricity, gas, water and waste services - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 04: Business turnover indicator, Construction - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 05: Business turnover indicator, Wholesale trade - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 06: Business turnover indicator, Retail trade - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 07: Business turnover indicator, Accommodation and food services - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 08: Business turnover indicator, Transport, postal and warehousing - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 09: Business turnover indicator, Information media and telecommunications - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 10: Business turnover indicator, Professional and scientific services - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 11: Business turnover indicator, Administrative and support services - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 12: Business turnover indicator, Arts and recreation services - Monthly percentage change and index

Table 13: Business turnover indicator, Other services - Monthly percentage change and index

Data Explorer datasets

Methodology

Media releases

Business turnover falls in most industries in September

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