The number of actively trading businesses in Australia has increased for the third year in a row, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Luisa Ryan, Director of the Business Register Unit at the ABS said there were more than 2.17 million actively trading businesses in Australia in June 2016, an increase of 2.4 per cent from June 2015, primarily driven by growth in small businesses (those with fewer than 20 employees).
"Counts of businesses increased across all States and Territories from June 2015 to June 2016 with NSW seeing the largest growth in business counts at 3.0 per cent," she said.
"The lowest growth in business counts was in Tasmania at 0.4 per cent, but this reverses a negative trend over the past few years."
Ms Ryan also noted that the entry rate of businesses also increased in 2016 to 14.6 per cent compared with 13.4 per cent in 2015. At the same time, fewer businesses were leaving across the year, with an exit rate of only 12.4 per cent at June 2016 compared with 14 per cent at June 2013.
Nationwide, the Construction industry accounted for the largest growth in business counts, increasing by 3.5 per cent (11,967 businesses) from June 2015 to June 2016. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing had the largest total decrease in the number of businesses (2,737 businesses).
The counts reveal that Health Care and Social Assistance businesses were the most likely to survive from June 2012 to June 2016, with a survival rate of 74.2 per cent. Accommodation and Food Services were the least likely to survive, with a survival of 53.3 per cent across these years.
