Business Turnover Dips Slightly in May as Arts Sector Slumps

Manufacturing and retail trade slumped in May, but gains in electricity, gas, water, waste services, and wholesale trade helped soften the overall decline.

A construction worker wearing a face mask stands near machinery on a construction site in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney on March 27, 2025. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images

Monthly business turnover dipped 0.1 percent in May 2025, marking the first decline since October last year, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said the arts and recreation sector experienced the sharpest decline, falling 5.5 percent.

“The drop was largely driven by an 11.2 percent fall in the gambling activities sector, reversing the gains recorded in April,” Ewing said.

Other industries showing weaker performance included manufacturing, which fell by 1.3 percent, and retail trade, down 0.8 percent.

However, the decline was partially offset by increases in sectors such as electricity, gas, water and waste services, which rose by 1.7 percent, and wholesale trade, up by 1.1 percent.

Yearly Trends Remain Positive

Despite the monthly dip, the broader annual picture remains positive.

In May 2025, business turnover was 3.3 percent higher compared to the same month last year. Ten of the 13 industries tracked in the monthly indicator showed year-on-year growth.

Accommodation and food services led the gains with an 11.9 percent rise, followed by manufacturing, which recorded an 8.5 percent increase over the year.

The mining sector, however, fell 4.6 percent compared to May 2024, while arts and recreation services dropped by 3.7 percent on an annual basis.

On a trend basis, business turnover across all industries showed a modest 0.1 percent lift in May.

Business Groups Call for R&D Focus

Amid signs of softening business activity, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) has renewed its call for boosting research and development (R&D) investment to improve productivity.

BCA Chief Executive Bran Black said businesses are ready to lead growth by stepping up investment.

“Supercharging research and development investment in Australia presents a significant opportunity for business and the government to lift productivity and raise living standards for all Australians,” he said in a press release.

He urged the federal government to make R&D a national priority, recommending private and public investment rise to 3 percent of GDP and proposing a 10-year national strategy to drive innovation.

Black’s comments come after Treasurer Jim Chalmers used his National Press Club address to warn of persistent structural challenges—highlighting an unsustainable budget, weak productivity, and a lack of economic resilience.

These issues will be central to Labor’s reform discussions at the Productivity Roundtable scheduled for August.

So far, the Treasury has invited several stakeholders in the upcoming Productivity Roundtable.

These include Danielle Wood, chair of the Productivity Commission; Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil, secretary and president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU); Bran Black, CEO of the Business Council of Australia; and Andrew McKellar, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.