Australian Industry

Note: COVID-19 government support payments, such as JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers, are included in Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) but excluded from Industry Value Added (IVA) and Sales and service income. For more information see the Treatment of COVID-19 government support payments section.

• Mining, while showing continued growth in all key data items, slowed from the previous year. EBITDA growth of 14.2% ($19.4b) slowed from 29.9% ($31.3b) in 2018-19. IVA also slowed from 24.4% ($36.3b) in 2018-19 to 11.7% ($21.6b) in 2019-20. 
• Health care and social assistance reported EBITDA growth of 23.5% ($6.4b) following moderate growth of 6.1% ($1.6b) in 2018-19. IVA continued similarly to the previous year's 6.4% ($5.8b) growth and increased by 6.5% ($6.3b). 
• Retail trade, following a 1.6% (-$363m) decline in EBITDA in 2018-19, grew by 27.4% ($6.3b) in 2019-20. IVA growth was relatively flat at 1.0% ($819m) slowing from a 2.4% ($1.9b) rise in 2018-19.
• Accommodation and food services EBITDA fell 2.7% (-$271m) following growth of 1% ($98m) in the previous year. IVA declined significantly by 13.1% (-$5.6b), compared to a 3.0% ($1.3b) rise in 2018-19.
• Construction EBITDA grew by 6.0% ($3.0b), similar to 2018-19 (7.1%, $3.3b) and IVA decreased by 1.9% (-$2.4b), a large fall compared to the 3.1% ($3.9b) growth in 2018-19.
• The largest contributors to the decline in Employment, down 172,000 people (-1.5%), were industries that were significantly impacted by COVID-19. Accommodation and food services reduced Employment by 66,000 people (-6.4%) and the Administrative and support services industry reduced Employment similarly by 59,000 people (-6.2%).

For more industry information please see the Industry Analysis section.

Australian Industry estimates report on the performance of selected industries compiled from the annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS), which excludes most of the General government sector (except for Subdivision 28 Water supply, sewerage and drainage services) and entities classified to Division K Financial and insurance services. For more information about the scope and coverage of EAS please refer to the Explanatory notes in the Methodology section.

• Estimates in this issue cover the performance of selected industries compiled from the annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS) and from Business Activity Statement (BAS) data reported to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) expressed in current prices.
• Employment is reported at the end of June 2020.
• Financial items are reported for the financial year ending June. However, estimates are not adjusted for situations where businesses report to the ABS on an off-June reporting year and can be impacted by price fluctuations. This particularly impacts estimates for the Mining industry (see below). For a limited range of estimates adjusted to a June financial year basis, see the 'Off-June adjusted estimates by subdivision' data cube in the Data Downloads. For more information about the impact of off-June year reporting on estimates, see the Methodology section on Estimation Methodology: Off-June adjusted estimates.
• COVID-19 government support payments, such as JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers, are included in EBITDA but excluded from IVA and Sales and service income. For more information see the Treatment of COVID-19 government support payments section. 
• For more information about the scope and coverage of EAS please refer to the Explanatory notes in the Methodology section.

Estimates for the Mining industry largely reflect calendar year reporting for 2019 and are unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mining industry experienced moderate growth in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19, across all key data items: 

• EBITDA grew 14.2% ($19.4b), mainly driven by the 8.7% ($26.2b) rise in Sales and service income offset by growth in expenses (excluding Interest expenses and Depreciation and amortisation) of 5.6% ($9.3b).
• Mining earnings growth was driven by Metal ore mining and constrained by Coal mining.
• The Export Price Index for Mining grew 3.5% between 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, and 17.9% between calendar years 2018 and 2019. 
• Large export growth benefitted the Metal ore mining subdivision with EBITDA increasing by 40.8%. 
• The positive EBITDA result for the Metal ore mining subdivision was driven mainly by the Iron ore mining class, which rose 46.3% ($21.9b).
• Reduced coal prices influenced the 28.0% (-$8.4b) lower EBITDA for Coal mining as shown by the 5.6% reduction in the Export Price Index for the Coal mining subdivision between calendar years 2018 and 2019. The Export Price Index reduction was more extreme between 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, falling 20.1%.
• Employment for the Mining industry increased by 9,000 people (5.1%) driven by growth in the Metal ore mining subdivision which increased Employment by 7,000 people (10.0%). Employment growth was reported in both the Iron ore mining class (4,000 people, 11.9%) and the Gold ore mining class (2,000 people, 12.1%).

For more detailed financial performance information on the Mining industry please refer to the 'Mining industry' data cube in the Data Downloads.

The Health care and social assistance industry experienced continued growth across all key data items:

• EBITDA grew 23.5% ($6.4b), driven by the Medical and other health care services subdivision which increased by 19.6% ($4.6b), noting that this industry includes Pathology and diagnostic imaging services which were involved in COVID-19 testing. 
• Health care and social assistance was one of the few divisions that recorded a positive Employment movement with an increase of 54,000 people (4.1%). 
• Driving Employment growth were the Social assistance services and Residential care services subdivisions, increasing by 29,000 people (6.7%) and 13,000 people (4.1%) respectively. 

• Retail trade saw 27.4% ($6.3b) growth in EBITDA, driven by a 3.1% ($14.1b) growth in Sales and service income, and further supported by $3.7b in Funding from government for operational costs, of which 96.4% ($3.6b) was from COVID-19 government support payments. 
• The Food retailing subdivision recorded Sales and service income growth of 7.2% ($9.9b) between 2018-19 and 2019-20, with supermarket scanner data confirming that higher levels of revenue reflected more food being prepared and consumed at home during the reference period due to COVID-19 social distancing and shutdown measures.
• COVID-19 social distancing measures also impacted the Other store-based retailing subdivision, which saw Sales and service income growth of 2.4% ($4.2b). Household goods retailing increased 24.2% ($1.1b) between June 2019 and June 2020 as consumers spent more on home improvements and recreational goods.  
• Conversely, the Fuel retailing subdivision was the only one to experience a decline in Sales and service income, down 6.4% (-$2.7b) in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
• IVA for Retail trade was relatively flat at 1.0% ($819m) growth without COVID-19 government support payments.
• Employment declined 2,000 people (-0.2%). Although the Other store-based retailing subdivision had an increase in Sales and service income, Employment decreased by 15,000 people (-2.2%), with not all employees eligible for government support payments such as JobKeeper. 
• Offsetting the decline from Other store-based retailing was the Food retailing subdivision where Employment increased by 20,000 people (4.7%).

• Construction EBITDA grew 6.0% ($3.0b), driven by the Construction services subdivision which saw EBITDA increase by 6.1% ($1.7b) and the Building construction subdivision which experienced slowing EBITDA growth of 5.6% ($971m) compared to 7.4% ($1.2b) in 2018-19. 
• EBITDA growth in this division was driven by the 788.6% ($6.5b) increase in Funding from government for operational costs, with $5.8b of this value coming from JobKeeper, Boosting Cash Flow and other COVID-19 government support payments. 
• IVA for Construction fell 1.9% (-$2.4b), driven by the 3.3% (-$14.2b) decline in Sales and service income, offset by a fall of 6.3% (-$11.6b) in Purchases of goods and materials.
• COVID-19 negatively impacted the demand for new houses and apartments, reflected in the 3.4% decrease in the value of building work done in Australia from 2018-19 to 2019-20.

• EBITDA for Accommodation and food services fell 2.7% (-$271m), with the 1,627.0% ($4.0b) increase in Funding from government for operational costs not enough to achieve positive EBITDA growth in this industry.
• The increase in government funding was entirely driven by COVID-19 government support payments.
• Both the Accommodation and Food and beverage services subdivisions contributed to the decrease in EBITDA, decreasing by 4.3% (-$109m) and 2.2% (-$162m) respectively. 
• Accommodation and food services IVA fell 13.1% (-$5.6b), driven by a 9.3% (-$10.2b) decline in Sales and service income. 
• Employment in the Accommodation and food services industry decreased by 66,000 people (6.4%). There was a drop of around one in three paid jobs in this industry from mid-March to mid-April due to COVID-19.

Note: Sales and service income and IVA for 2019-20 excluded COVID-19 government support payments, while EBITDA, OPBT and Total income included them. Wages and salaries and Total expenses included employee JobKeeper payments paid through the payroll. For more information see the Treatment of COVID-19 government support payments section. 

Micro businesses (those with 0-4 employees) are more likely than other businesses to be sole proprietors and partnerships, and also include a large number of non-employing businesses. These businesses have low or nil wages, and the owner operators pay themselves out of business profits rather than receiving a wage or salary. This can have a distorting effect on some indicators, reducing their share of Wages and salaries, but increasing their OPBT and EBITDA when compared to other key indicators and business sizes.

• In 2019-20, micro businesses contributed a 12-25% share of the overall total of most key data items, with the exception of OPBT (39.3% of the overall total) and EBITDA (32.9%). 

In 2019-20, compared to 2018-19, micro businesses reported increases in all key data items, with substantial increases for most and with the Construction industry being the biggest contributor to growth for a number of these items.

• Employment increased by 74,000 people (2.6%), with private sector Health care and social assistance Employment rising by 39,000 people (19.7%) and Accommodation and food services rising by 36,000 people (22.2%).
• Wages and salaries grew 18.5% ($12.4b), with Construction up 25.6% ($3.2b) and Professional, scientific and technical services also growing 24.5% ($2.9b).
• IVA increased 7.4% ($19.0b), driven by 13.8% ($6.3b) Construction growth and 19.0% ($4.7b) private sector Health care and social assistance growth.
• EBITDA increased 12.5% ($20.9b), driven by 19.3% ($5.7b) Construction growth and 25.8% ($4.6b) private sector Health care and social assistance growth. 

• Small businesses (those with 5-19 employees), contributed a 10-20% share to the overall total of most key data items in 2019-20, aside from EBITDA, where small businesses contributed only 8.4% of the overall total.

In 2019-20, compared to 2018-19:

• As with micro businesses, Construction was the biggest contributor to the overall movement in the small business sector, the difference being that while micro businesses experienced growth, small businesses declined for most indicators.
• The second biggest contributor to the decline of small businesses was the Accommodation and food services industry. 
• IVA decreased 7.1% (-$11.2b), with Construction falling 19.3% (-$4.9b) and Accommodation and food services falling 33.9% (-$3.5b). Both industries were heavily impacted in the final quarter of 2019-20 by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sales and service income fell 5.6% (-$24.7b), driven mainly by a 14.2% (-$11.7b) fall in Construction and a 26.6% (-$6.7b) fall in Accommodation and food services.
• Employment fell by 101,000 people (-5.4%), with the largest declines shown in Accommodation and food services (down 53,000 people or 18.3%) and Construction Services (down 27,000 people or 10.8%).
• Accommodation and food services businesses were affected by decreased demand for industry services due to wide-scale international and domestic border closures and temporary closures of food establishments. This industry was the most heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during the final quarter of the 2019-20 financial year, with around one third of employees losing their jobs between mid-March and mid-April.  

• Medium businesses (those with 20-199 employees) contributed a 20-30% share to the overall total of most data items, with the exception of OPBT (12.9%) and EBITDA (13.9%). 

In 2019-20, compared to 2018-19:

• Employment declined by 156,000 people (-5.4%) driven by Retail trade (down 46,000 people or 14.0%), Accommodation and food services (down 41,000 people or 12.3%) and Administration services (down 41,000 people or 16.4%).
• Sales and service income fell 4.8% (-$42.6b) driven by Wholesale trade and Retail trade which declined 14.2% (-$27.9b) and 15.8% (-$19.2b) respectively.
• The 2.7% (-$7.6b) fall in IVA was mainly driven by Retail trade, Accommodation and food services and Administrative and support services.

Falls in income and expenses were largely offset, leading to rises in profit measures for medium businesses:

• OPBT rose 4.8% ($2.6b), driven by rises in Wholesale trade ($1.3b; 17.4%), and Administration and support services ($1.3b; 123.2%).
• EBITDA rose 12.4% ($8.8b), driven by Professional, scientific and technical services and Transport, postal and warehousing, which rose 73.0% ($2.5b) and 45.4% ($1.8b) respectively, while Construction EBITDA constrained growth with a fall of 29.9% (-$2.0b).

• Large businesses (those with more than 199 employees) contributed a 40-45% share to the overall total of most data items, with the exception of  IVA (46.1%) and OPBT (37.8%), which dropped from 43.2% in 2018-19.

In 2019-20, compared to 2018-19, most data items increased for large businesses overall.

• EBITDA and IVA increased 8.2% ($19.4b) and 2.7% ($15.6b) respectively, driven mainly by Mining which recorded a 17.6% ($18.2b) rise in EBITDA and a 15.1% ($21.4b) rise in IVA.
• Sales and service income increased by 3.2% ($48.9b), driven by Mining (up 11.9% or $26.2b) and Retail trade (up 10.1% or $22.1b). 
• OPBT fell 13.8% (-$27.0b), with the biggest contributors to the decline being Transport, postal and warehousing, down 96.2% (-$6.1b), Manufacturing, down 28.7% (-$5.7b) and Electricity, gas, water and waste services, down 39.9% (-$5.4b).

For more information and estimates classified by business size refer to Table 5 'Business size by industry division' in the 'Australian Industry by division' data cube.

In 2019-20, east coast states New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland accounted for the largest share of each of the three key state economic indicators: Sales and service income, Employment and Wages and salaries.

The key economic indicators for most states and territories were comparable to the population distribution in the Estimated Resident Population. New South Wales had the largest population share at 31.8%, corresponding to the largest share of total Sales and services income at 31.9%. Northern Territory had the smallest population share at 1.0% which corresponded to the smallest share in total Sales and service income at 0.9%.

In 2019-20, when compared to 2018-19:

• Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory were the only state and territory to experience growth in all three key economic indicators.
• Western Australia's $34.6b contribution to total Sales and service income growth ($38.1b) was driven by the Mining industry ($30.4b), while Victoria's growth of $17.7b was driven by Retail trade ($8.0b), Health care and social assistance ($2.8b), Manufacturing ($2.5b) and Rental, hiring and real estate services ($2.5b).
• New South Wales Sales and service income fell 1.1% (-$12.3b), with falls reported across most industry divisions.
• New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia saw growth in Wages and salaries while Employment decreased. Wages and salaries represent the full financial year 2019-20, whereas Employment is a point in time estimate at end of June 2020. Between the week ending 14 March 2020 (when Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case) and the week ending 27 June 2020, payroll jobs in Australia decreased by 5.7% and total wages paid decreased by 3.2%.
• Health care and social assistance saw the most Employment growth in most states and territories.
• Employment in Accommodation and food services and Administrative and support services decreased in most states and territories. 

In 2019-20:

• New South Wales had the largest share of Sales and service income at 31.9% ($1,138.9b), followed by Victoria at 25.2% ($897.7b).
• Wholesale trade was the largest industry for New South Wales and Victoria.
• Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory contributed the least to overall Sales and service income, each respectively accounting for 1.4% ($50.1b), 1.3% ($47.1b) and 0.9% ($33.3b).
• Retail trade and Wholesale trade were the top contributing industries to Sales and service income for South Australia and Queensland.
• The Mining industry contributed $186.7b (35.0%) to Sales and service income for Western Australia.

In June 2020:

• New South Wales had the largest share of national Employment at 3.8 million people (33.3%), followed by Victoria at 3.0 million people (26.4%) and Queensland at 2.2 million people (19.1%).
• The Retail trade and Health care and social assistance industries were the two largest employers for Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
• For New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Professional, scientific and technical services and Health care and social assistance were the highest employing industries.
• In the Northern Territory, the Construction industry contributed the most to Employment.

In 2019-20:

• New South Wales accounted for the largest share of Wages and salaries at 33.5% ($212.7b), followed by Victoria at 25.9% ($164.2b) and Queensland at 18.6% ($118.4b).
• The industry with the largest share of Wages and salaries for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory was Professional, scientific and technical services.
• For Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Mining and Construction were the industries with the largest share of Wages and salaries.
• For South Australia and Tasmania, Health care and social assistance and Manufacturing respectively contributed the most to total Wages and salaries.
• Tasmania had the lowest average Wages and salaries per person employed at approximately $47,000, while Northern Territory had the highest Wages and salaries per person employed at approximately $60,500.

Note that average wages and salaries were calculated using Wages and salaries for the full financial year 2019-20 and exclude the drawings of working proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses, whereas Employment is a point in time estimate at June 2020 and includes working proprietors and partners, so the ratio should be used with caution.

For more information and estimates classified by state and territory refer to Table 6 'States and territories by industry division' in the 'Australian industry by division' data cube.

For information about the method used to derive state and territory estimates, please refer to the Methodology section on Estimation Methodology: State and Territory estimates

The response from Australian governments to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was developing in the latter part of 2019-20 with an expanding number of broad and targeted stimulus packages, the two most significant being JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers.  EAS collected JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers separately as well as some other COVID-19 payments under Funding from federal, state and/or local government, enabling these components to be treated differently where required.

COVID-19 stimulus included in Funding from government

The Australian Industry concept of Industry Value Added (IVA) is conceptually comparable to Gross Value Added (GVA) released in the Australian System of National Accounts, prior to the inclusion of Government units and adjustment for inventory holdings and financial intermediary services, insurance services, prices, taxes and subsidies on products. 

The ABS has classified a number of COVID-19 government support payments, including JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers, as 'other subsidies on production', which according to the System of National Accounts, 2008 are excluded from Output and therefore, the calculation of IVA and GVA.

As a result, within the Australian Industry publication, 2019-20 estimates:

• continue to include the regular funding from government for operational costs in the derivation of IVA as these are not considered subsidies on production
• exclude JobKeeper, Boosting Cash Flow for Employers and other COVID-19 support payments and subsidies from the derivation of IVA
• include JobKeeper, Boosting Cash Flow for Employers and other COVID-19 support payments and subsidies in the derivation of Total income, Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and Operating profit before tax (OPBT).

The impact of this change can be seen in the IVA and industry performance tables, which for time periods prior to 2019-20 contain the same data item for Funding from government for operational costs, but for 2019-20 each contain a different measure:

• The IVA table (table 3) in the division, subdivision, Mining and Auxiliary finance and insurance services data cubes will contain Funding from government for operational costs (excl. COVID-19 support payments)
• The industry performance table (table 4) in the division, subdivision, Mining and Auxiliary finance and insurance services data cubes will contain Funding from government for operational costs (incl. COVID-19 support payments)

This release strategy ensures the increase in Funding from government for operational costs due to COVID-19 payments can be seen, whilst also ensuring the IVA measure remains comparable with the measure of GVA.

JobKeeper

Commencing on 30 March 2020, JobKeeper payments were introduced by the Australian Government to support eligible employers. The payments were made by the Australian Taxation Office directly to eligible sole traders and employers who had direct responsibility for ensuring that eligible employees received a wage of at least $1,500 per fortnight. These payments impacted the last quarter of the 2019-20 EAS. 

Payments by eligible employers were made through their payroll to eligible employees, within the conditions of their existing employer-employee relationships. All payments to employees were reported through the tax system and are included in Wages and salaries, Selected labour costs, Total labour costs and Total expenses. Payments to eligible sole traders are included in OPBT and EBITDA.

Boosting Cash Flow for Employers

From 28 April 2020, the Australian Government provided temporary cash flow support to small and medium businesses and not-for-profit organisations that employed staff during the economic downturn associated with COVID-19. This was done through two sets of cash flow "boosts" during 2020. The first "boost" was delivered following lodgement of Business Activity Statements (BAS) for March, April, May and June 2020 (monthly lodgers) and for the March and June Quarter 2020 (quarterly lodgers). 

The second "boost" was delivered to monthly BAS lodgers following lodgement of their June, July, August and September 2020 activity statements. Delivery to quarterly lodgers occurred after lodgement of their June and September Quarter 2020 statements. Only payments received by businesses as part of the second "boost" which related to the June 2020 reporting period are included in scope of the EAS 2019-20 estimates. 

COVID-19 stimulus included in Service income

Some government stimulus packages would legitimately be reported under Service income rather than Government funding for operational use, and therefore would be included in Sales and service income and IVA. Examples of packages that fall under this classification are various aged care support payments announced during COVID-19:

• increase to benefits paid through the Aged Care Funding Instrument
• increase to the residential and home care Viability Supplements and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care program
• additional support to deliver Commonwealth Home Support Programme, and
• aged care support payment to all Commonwealth funded residential aged care providers to help cover additional costs of caring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Classification of COVID-19 government payments in ABS economic accounts

Referring to international manuals and guidance, the ABS considered how JobKeeper payments, Boosting Cash Flow for Employers and other COVID-19 support payments and subsidies were to be treated in ABS official economic statistics, including the EAS. The ABS determined that:

• these payments were to be classified as an 'other subsidies on production' paid from government to eligible employers
• employees whose employers were receiving the JobKeeper payment were to be classified as employed and in receipt of a wage
• self employed workers receiving JobKeeper payments were not to be classified as employees (but would still be classified as a working proprietor or partner and therefore contribute to employment) and the JobKeeper payments for these workers were not to be included in wage estimates as they would be paid out of profits.

For more information on the rationale for why the ABS classified and treated JobKeeper payments in ABS economic accounts as an 'other subsidy on production' see Economic measurement during COVID-19: Selected issues in the Economic Accounts.

In 2018-19, as part of the Economic Activity Survey (EAS), the ABS collected and published detailed information from Australian businesses/organisations classified to Division Q Health care and social assistance of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 2006 edition (ANZSIC). 

Businesses operating in the Health care and social assistance division receive government funding such as the Child Care Subsidy, Medicare Benefits payments, a number of aged care subsidies and supplements, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) payments and grants to pay staff wages and salaries.

The 2018-19 EAS questionnaire for the Health care and social assistance division provided explicit instructions on how businesses should report such government payments. This resulted in improved estimates of Sales and service income, Funding from government for operational costs, Profit margin and Sales and service income per person employed for 2018-19.

In 2020, with the introduction of COVID-19 government support payments such as JobKeeper and Boosting Cash Flow for Employers, the ABS referred to international manuals and guidance to determine the correct System of National Accounts classification of these Government funding schemes. While these payments were classified as 'other subsidies on production' further investigations led the ABS to re-classify some other types of government funding received by businesses in the Health care and social assistance division from 'other subsidies on production' to 'social benefits'.

Social benefits are 'received by household intended to provide for the needs that arise from certain events or circumstances', for example, sickness, unemployment, retirement, housing, education or family circumstances. Social benefits may be provided under social insurance schemes or by social assistance (System of National Accounts, 2008). The reclassification of these funding schemes meant that their treatment in the Australian Industry estimates changed from being captured within Funding from government for operational costs to being part of the Service income estimates. As a result of this re-classification, revisions were made to the 2018-19 Health care and social assistance industry data cube which has now been republished in the 2018-19 Australian Industry publication. 

Caution should be exercised when comparing 2018-19 Health care and social assistance industry estimates for the below items, which can be seen in the 'Australian industry by division' and 'Australian industry by subdivision' data cubes, with estimates from previous years as these estimates are not directly comparable:

• Sales and service income
• Funding from government for operational costs
• Profit margin
• Sales and service income per person employed.

2019-20 estimates seen in 'Australian industry by division' and 'Australian industry by subdivision' data cubes are comparable with 2018-19 estimates.

Improved questionnaire instructions will be continued in future EAS collections and subsequent reporting for the Health care and social assistance division is expected to be consistent with the 2018-19 and 2019-20 EAS.

From 2019-20 a new data cube will be published, containing the following data items by state and territory and by business size for Total selected industries:

• Employment
• Wages and salaries
• Sales and service income

This release previously used catalogue number 8155.0.