Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Experimental indicator of household spending using bank transactions data

Reference period
June 2022
Released
9/08/2022

Key statistics

  • Household spending increased 10.2% through the year, current price, calendar adjusted.
  • Through the year, household spending increased for both services (+15.9%) and goods (+5.0%).
  • Through the year, both discretionary (+10.8%) and non-discretionary (+9.8%) 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. 

Through the year spending

Through the year household spending increased in all nine spending categories. The largest increases were in:

  • transport (+22.7%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+17.1%)
  • clothing and footwear (+16.3%).

Goods and services spending

Through the year, household spending on:

  • services rose 15.9%, driven by increased spending on transport and recreational services. 
  • goods rose 5.0%, driven by rises in clothing and footwear. 

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

Through the year: 

  • discretionary household spending rose 10.8%, driven by spending in recreation and culture. 
  • non-discretionary household spending rose 9.8%, driven by spending on transport. 

State and territory spending

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

  • Queensland (+12.4%)
  • Victoria (+11.8%)
  • Tasmania (+10.8%).

In Queensland, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+25.6%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+25.5%)
  • clothing and footwear (+24.0%).

In Victoria, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • transport (+29.4%)
  • clothing and footwear (+23.2%)
  • recreation and culture (+23.0%). 

In Tasmania, the strongest household spending categories through the year were:

  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+27.0%)
  • transport (+25.1%)
  • furnishings and household equipment (+20.0%). 

 

State household spending through the year by category, current price, calendar adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food1.70.92.77.2-0.17.8-11.9-3.2
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco1.5-5.39.12.33.0-0.69.8-14.3
Clothing and footwear11.023.224.02.421.84.27.6-12.3
Furnishings and household equipment-6.02.63.013.42.020.09.9-17.5
Health2.50.4-1.61.42.6-7.34.5-6.9
Transport17.029.423.221.223.725.126.419.3
Recreation and culture16.023.012.36.89.04.210.19.4
Hotels, cafes and restaurants9.222.025.617.610.427.0-2.56.4
Miscellaneous goods and services8.78.625.514.119.612.423.215.6
Total7.711.812.410.19.710.87.63.1
State household spending through the year by goods/services, current price, calendar adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Goods2.75.37.77.05.64.8-0.5-6.3
Services12.919.517.313.314.117.113.411.4
State household discretionary/non-discretionary spending, through the year, current price, calendar adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Discretionary7.012.914.59.49.99.39.90.2
Non Discretionary8.410.610.610.89.512.35.35.5

Data downloads

Monthly Household Spending Indicator Data Cubes

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

Data files

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.

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