Australia’s overall business turnover contracted slightly in May 2025, declining by 0.1% in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the latest release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The monthly dip is the first recorded since October 2024 and reflects sector-specific volatility that may inform insurers’ short-term assessments of business risk and claims exposure.
The arts and recreation services sector recorded the sharpest contraction, falling by 5.5%.
Within that category, gambling activity was particularly impacted, dropping 11.2% after posting gains the previous month.
Manufacturing and retail trade also declined, down 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively.
ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing noted that while some industries experienced a pullback, others recorded moderate growth. Turnover in electricity, gas, water, and waste services rose 1.7%, while wholesale trade grew by 1.1%.
Despite the monthly softening, annual comparisons show turnover was up by 3.3% across the 13 industries monitored.
The accommodation and food services sector posted the strongest year-on-year performance, with turnover rising 11.9%.
Manufacturing followed with an 8.5% increase.
Conversely, turnover in mining decreased 4.6% over the same period, while arts and recreation fell 3.7%.
In trend terms, overall business turnover showed a marginal 0.1% monthly increase, reflecting steady conditions.
Separately, Aon’s 2025 Asia-Pacific Skills Impact Survey found a growing trend toward formal skills-based frameworks among employers.
Of the 135 organisations surveyed, 68% had already implemented such models, with nearly 40% actively refining talent strategies in response to evolving workforce demands.
In a separate report, CommBank’s Household Spending Insights (HSI) Index showed a 0.3% increase in June, marking the third consecutive month of modest growth.
Utility spending led with a 2.9% increase, followed by education (1.1%) and digital and communications products (1.0%).
Declines were recorded in hospitality (-0.8%), motor vehicles (-0.1%) and recreation (-0.1%), offsetting broader consumer gains.
Belinda Allen, a senior economist at CommBank, noted that consumer confidence remains tentative.
“Household spending is starting to show signs of consistency month-on-month and should continue to pick up this year as consumers begin to loosen their purse strings. This recovery is taking longer than expected to occur, but there are green shoots emerging. The annual growth rate has picked up, but the recovery is not yet assured. Spending around sales events and new items show consumers are still deliberate on their spending decisions,” she said.
She added that consumers are continuing to prioritise savings and debt repayment. Following recent Reserve Bank rate cuts, only a small proportion of eligible home loan holders adjusted their repayments.
“Recent data from CBA showed that just 10% of eligible home loan customers chose to reduce their mortgage direct debit payments following the May interest rate cut,” Allen said.
Consumer spending patterns varied by housing status.
Homeowners with mortgages saw a 5.2% rise in annual spending, while renters increased spending by 4.2%. Households without mortgages showed a slower increase of 3.5%.
Regionally, New South Wales recorded the highest monthly spending growth in June, up 0.7%. Over the past year, the state also led the country with an 8.4% increase.
Queensland followed with a 7.3% gain, recovering from weather-related impacts earlier in the year.
