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New data from Xero shows small businesses in February recorded their ninth consecutive month of revenue growth.
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Small business revenue bounces back to pre-pandemic levels
31 March 2021
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The dataset, comprising anonymised and aggregate data from the records of hundreds of thousands of Xero customers, revealed that, year-on-year, small business revenue growth for February was up 4 percentage points from January.
Year-on-year, small business revenue rose by 5.1 per cent in February — after a 1 per cent rise in January — from 4.6 per cent last year.
For February, the arts and recreation industries remain the weakest, with data recorded emerging before recent support programs were announced for each sector by the federal government in March — each recording an 8 per cent fall in revenue in February.
The rental, hiring and real estate industries led February’s revenue, with 15 per cent jumps each, closely followed by manufacturing, which recorded a 13 per cent boost, year-on-year.
Trent Innes, managing director at Xero Australia and Asia, said the figures emerge as a reminder of the small business sector’s resilience in the wake of the pandemic, while noting that some industries have been more “fortunate than others”.
“Pausing to reflect on it being one year since COVID-19 restrictions were first enforced,” Mr Innes said, “it is remarkable to see the Australian small business sector enter its ninth consecutive month of revenue growth.”
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“As the JobKeeper program has drawn to a close, for industries including arts and recreation, hospitality and tourism, it will be critically important for Australians to get behind them in any way they can. With Easter approaching, it’s another good excuse to support small business when you shop or travel.”
The data also showed that small business jobs rose by 0.5 of a percentage point from a seasonal fall recorded in January, in line with a national boost to February employment data, which saw unemployment fall to 5.8 per cent.
Employment across the small business sector is now 1.6 per cent higher than it was in March 2020, according to the figures.
Among the industries leading the employment surge since March last year were healthcare and manufacturing, each recording a rise of 6 per cent; construction, at 4 per cent; retail trade, at 3 per cent; and professional services, which recorded a jump of 2 per cent. Casual employment is now 1.2 per cent higher than it was in March 2020.
The only states to see dips in employment among small businesses were Western Australia and Victoria, which each saw job falls of 0.3 of a percentage point and 0.7 of a percentage point, respectively, following extended lockdown periods.
Revenue recorded by both states suffered, too, as Western Australia recorded 3.7 per cent growth, while Victoria recorded just 2 per cent year-on-year growth, despite a national average of 5.1 per cent.
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