Services Boom Boosts Aussie Household Spending

Household spending rose 0.5 per cent in July, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This follows rises of 0.3 per cent in June and 1.0 per cent in May.

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: 'Household spending rose for the third month in a row in July, and has now gone up nine times in the last 10 months.

'Household spending is 5.1 per cent higher than the same time last year. This is the highest annual growth since November 2023.'

'Households spent more on health services, hotel accommodation, air travel, and dining out during July. This contributed to a 1.6 per cent rise for Services spending.

'In contrast, Goods spending fell 0.3 per cent after mid-year sales boosted spending by 0.9 per cent in June.'

Five of the nine spending categories rose in July. This was led by Health (+1.8 per cent), with Transport and Miscellaneous goods and services close behind at 1.5 per cent.

The largest falls in spending were for Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-1.9 per cent) and Furnishings and household equipment (-1.4 per cent).

Miscellaneous goods and services (+8.8 per cent) and Recreation and culture (+8.2 per cent) saw the largest percentage rises in the 12 months to July.

Services spending was 8.0 per cent higher than July 2024, while Goods spending was up 2.7 per cent.

Household spending grew in seven of the eight states and territories.

The Northern Territory (+2.2 per cent) and Western Australia (+1.6 per cent) had the largest percentage rises.

New South Wales was the only state where spending fell (-0.3 per cent).