Household Spending Rises To Start 2025: Australia

Household spending rose 0.4 per cent in January, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This follows a 0.2 per cent rise in December and a 0.8 per cent rise in November.

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: 'Household spending rose 0.4 per cent to start the new year, growing for the fourth straight month.

'While spending on Goods pushed up overall spending in late 2024, a 1.5 per cent rise for Services drove the January growth. This came as households spent more on health services, air travel, and sports and physical recreation services.

'Goods spending fell 0.6 per cent in January, after rising for three months in a row. The fall comes after households took advantage of promotional activity like Black Friday sales, which drove strong Goods spending at the end of 2024.'

There were mixed results across the spending categories in January.

Health had the largest rise (+2.5 per cent), as households spent more on health services like doctor and hospital visits.

Transport spending rose 1.1 per cent, driven by air and sea transport, as households booked in their travel plans for the year ahead. Spending on the operation of vehicles, like petrol and motor vehicle repairs, also contributed to the rise. Meanwhile, lower spending on new vehicle purchases reduced overall growth in household spending.

Also partly offsetting these rises were 1.5 per cent falls for Furnishings and household equipment and Clothing and footwear. This follows a string of consecutive monthly rises for both categories at the end of 2024.

Household spending was 2.9 per cent higher than the same time last year, with Health (+8.5 per cent) and Transport (+2.2 per cent) making the largest contributions to this rise. Services spending was 5.3 per cent higher than January 2024, while Goods spending was only up 0.9 per cent.

Household spending grew in all states and territories. The highest percentage rises were seen in the Northern Territory (+1.8 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (+0.6 per cent), while New South Wales (+0.1 per cent) had the smallest rise.