Breathing room in household budgets, spending up in June

News.com.au

7 hours ago

Australian households are finding breathing room in their budgets, with the latest data showing an increase in household spending.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday shows spending on furnishings and household equipment, clothing, footwear and food have driven a 0.5 per cent household spending rise for June.
The data shows people are making more discretionary purchases and spending more often.
The 0.5 per cent bump follows a 1 per cent rise in May and is 4.8 per cent higher than June last year.
'Goods spending rose 1.3 per cent, as households spent more on food, new vehicles, and electronics,' ABS executive Robert Ewing said.
'Meanwhile, spending on services fell by 0.5 per cent after two months of growth.
'People buying more goods drove the overall rise in household spending in June.'
Looking at the three months to June, discretionary spending volumes (the actual dollar value spent) rose because of a 1.8 per cent increase in recreation and cultural activities, plus a 1.6 per cent rise in cafes and restaurants. The volume increase shows people are going out for dinner less often but spending more.
This discretionary bump is part of an overall spending volume increase of 0.7 per cent for the June quarter.
'Household spending volumes rose for the third consecutive quarter, reflecting a steady improvement in consumer confidence as price pressures eased over the past year,' Mr Ewing said.
Western Australia was the only state or territory where spending fell. The Northern Territory, NSW and then Tasmania had the largest spending increases over the past year.
In the NT, the spending increases were driven by health, transport and recreation outlays. In NSW, clothes, shoes, furnishings and food were the largest drivers.