Monthly business turnover fell 2.2 per cent in August (seasonally adjusted), according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said: 'This fall in turnover was the largest since April 2023 with drops across nine industries this month.
'The Electricity, gas, water and waste services division dropped 14.1 per cent as wholesale electricity and gas prices fell following strong rises in the previous month.
'Other notable industry falls were in Manufacturing, down 5.8 per cent, Information media and telecommunications, down 3.7 per cent, and Mining, down 1.9 per cent.'
| July 2025 to August 2025 (%) | August 2024 to August 2025 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | -14.1 | -1.0 |
| Manufacturing | -5.8 | 7.1 |
| Information media and telecommunications | -3.7 | 5.5 |
| Mining | -1.9 | -0.7 |
| Accommodation and food services | -1.8 | 6.7 |
| Wholesale trade | -1.5 | 4.3 |
| Other services | -1.2 | 3.2 |
| Retail trade | -0.6 | 4.3 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -0.3 | 7.0 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 0.6 | 7.2 |
| Administrative and support services | 1.2 | 6.5 |
| Arts and recreation services | 1.5 | 7.3 |
| Construction | 2.0 | 7.3 |
| 13-industry aggregate | -2.2 | 4.5 |
Business turnover was 4.5 per cent higher than in August 2024, with 11 of the 13 industries reporting rises over the last year.
The industries that saw the largest annual rises were Construction, Arts and recreation services (both +7.3 per cent), and Transport, postal and warehousing (+7.2 per cent).
The two industries with annual falls were Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-1.0 per cent) and Mining (-0.7 per cent).
In trend terms, the 13-industry aggregate for business turnover rose 0.3 per cent in August, the 12th consecutive month of growth.
The final release of the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator will be on 10 November 2025, referencing September 2025.
Existing releases will remain available on the ABS website.
