As of June 30, the Australian economy is home to 2,589,873 actively trading businesses, marking a 0.8% increase, or 19,973 businesses, from the previous year, according to fresh figures from ABS.
The 2022-23 financial year saw a vibrant activity with a 15.8% entry rate, equating to 406,365 new businesses, and a 15% exit rate, with 386,392 businesses closing down.
The health care and social assistance sector led the growth with a 6.1% increase, followed by financial and insurance services at 2.7%, and transport, postal, and warehousing at 2.4%.
On the flip side, the administrative and support services and retail trade sectors experienced the largest decreases, at 1.6% and 1.4% respectively.
Queensland boasted the largest net business increase of 11,031, while Victoria was the only region to see a decline, with 7,606 businesses exiting the market.
The financial year also highlighted a 5.1% growth in financial corporations and a 3.3% rise in non-financial corporations, to a total of 96,082 and 1,109,777 businesses, respectively. Conversely, household-based businesses decreased by 1.4% to 1,381,741.
Households represented 53.4% of all businesses, making them the largest segment among institutional sectors.
Companies experienced the most significant net growth among legal organisations, with a 4% increase to 1,094,465 total. Additionally, there was a 3.8% decrease, amounting to 8,790, in partnerships, bringing the total to 223,048 and a 1.7% reduction, or 42,246, in sole proprietorships, totalling 784,744.
There was a 2.3% increase in non-employing businesses, while businesses with 20-199 employees and those with 200+ employees grew by 8.8% and 8%, respectively. However, the number of businesses with one to four employees saw a 3.5% decrease.
In terms of turnover, businesses with less than $2 million dominated, though there was a significant movement of surviving businesses to higher turnover ranges.
The December quarter showed a slight 0.2% decrease in business numbers but revealed interesting industry subdivision trends with increases in postal and courier services and social assistance services.
Seasonally adjusted data for the same quarter indicated a 1.1% increase in the total number of businesses, suggesting a resilient and dynamic Australian business environment despite seasonal fluctuations.
For a deeper dive into the complexities of the Australian business sector, including detailed analyses of industry movements, institutional sectors, and employment size trends, visit the ABS website.
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