Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Experimental indicator of household spending using bank transactions data

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Reference period
April 2023
Released
6/06/2023
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Key statistics

  • Household spending increased 6.0% through the year on a current price, calendar adjusted basis.
  • Through the year, household spending increased for both services (+8.4%) and goods (+3.6%).
  • Through the year, both non-discretionary (+11.6%) and discretionary (+0.4%) spending increased.

Index reference period January 2019 = 100.0

Indicator estimates are produced in current price original and current price calendar adjusted terms. Calendar adjusted estimates account for trading day impacts and length of month. As the indicator time series lengthens, seasonally adjusted estimates will become available. Until such time, it is advised to focus on the through the year movements. Through the year movements measure change in the current month compared to the same month in the previous year. 

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.

Temporary suspension of Alcoholic beverages and tobacco series

In this release, data for the Alcoholic beverages and tobacco category has not been published for the most recent four months, and the most recent quarter. This category is subject to significant revisions after the spending indicator is benchmarked to Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE), especially in the March quarter, due to differing seasonal patterns in the two series. The data will be available in the May 2023 Monthly Household Spending Indicator release, after the March quarter National Accounts release. The ABS is continuing to assess and refine the methodologies for the spending indicator.

Through the year spending

Through the year household spending increased in all spending categories except miscellaneous good and services (-0.8%). The largest increases were in:

  • transport (+15.5%)
  • hotels, cafes, and restaurants (+13.4%)
  • food (+10.7%)

Goods and services spending

Through the year, household spending on:

  • services rose 8.4%, driven by increased spending on transport, catering services and health.
  • goods rose 3.6%, driven by rises in food, goods for recreation and culture and furniture, floor coverings and household goods.

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

Through the year: 

  • discretionary household spending rose 0.4%, driven by goods for recreation and culture and furniture, floor coverings and household goods.
  • non-discretionary household spending rose 11.6%, driven by spending on transport services and food. 

State and territory spending

Household spending increased through the year for all states and territories. The strongest increases were in:

  • Western Australia (+9.6%)
  • Australian Capital Territory (+8.9%)
  • South Australia (+7.8%).

In Western Australia, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • transport (+27.4%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+14.0%)
  • health (+10.1%).

In the Australian Capital Territory, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • transport (+19.2%)
  • food (+12.5%)
  • recreation and culture (+9.6%).

In South Australia, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • recreation and culture (+15.0%)
  • clothing and footwear (+14.6%)
  • transport (+13.6%).

 

State household spending through the year by category, current price, calendar adjusted (%)

 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food11.312.49.210.39.18.16.212.5
Clothing and footwear4.81.81.514.60.00.0-5.3-3.4
Furnishings and household equipment6.4-1.7-5.06.09.012.9-6.81.2
Health3.60.38.04.310.10.010.04.8
Transport13.714.814.213.627.411.76.019.2
Recreation and culture-0.32.37.915.05.3-2.48.29.6
Hotels, cafes and restaurants13.716.611.510.514.015.40.09.0
Miscellaneous goods and services-3.00.0-0.81.03.5-10.4-2.48.0
Total5.45.16.17.89.63.52.78.9
State household spending through the year by goods/services, current price, calendar adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Goods4.52.62.95.94.11.62.34.4
Services6.37.89.39.815.35.13.312.6
State household discretionary/non-discretionary spending, through the year, current price, calendar adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Discretionary-0.8-0.50.85.13.0-1.5-2.54.0
Non Discretionary11.810.911.210.415.57.97.912.9

Data downloads

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Monthly Household Spending Indicator Data Cubes

Includes index numbers, monthly percentage changes and through the year percentage changes. 

Data files

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

For more information about Data Explorer, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Monthly Household Spending Indicator - Monthly percentage changes and indexes, January 2019 onward

Revisions and future development

Updates to source data have resulted in some revisions to the outputs. 

The new experimental monthly household spending indicator uses new and innovative methodologies to produce indicators of household spending based on bank transactions data.

The ABS is continuing to assess and refine the monthly household spending indicator methodologies and welcomes comments on the usefulness of these estimates. 

The ABS is able to provide technical advice on using the monthly household spending indicator estimates, and its coherence with other ABS estimates such as Monthly Retail Trade and the National Accounts.

The ABS welcomes comments on the usefulness of these estimates. If you would like to provide feedback or request technical advice, please email national.accounts@abs.gov.au.

Acknowledgement

The ABS would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the participating banks that have enabled the ABS to produce these statistics.

Methodology

Monthly Household Spending Indicator methodology, April 2023

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