Monthly household spending has increased on both a month-by-month and year-by-year basis in September, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
On a month-to-month basis, spending in September increased by 0.2% from December and increased by 5.1% from the same time last year.
Spending also grew 0.2% for the quarter ending September.
The category with the largest increase was recreation and culture, growing 1.1% from last month, following two consecutive months of decreased spending in August and July.
Other categories that experienced an increase were health (0.7%), food (0.6%), and furnishings and household equipment (0.4%).
The largest decrease was in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which fell by 0.8% in September, marking a third consecutive month of decreased spending.
On a quarterly basis, the categories with the largest growth were health (1.8%), miscellaneous goods and services (1.2%), and food (1.1%)
The category with the sharpest decline in the quarter was alcohol, beverages, and tobacco, down 6.8%.
Monthly spending increased in four of the eight states and territories.
The state with the largest spending growth was New South Wales, where household spending rose by 0.8% in September, following two months of decreases.
The biggest spending categories for New South Wales were recreation and culture (1.8%), furnishing and household equipment (1.1%), and health (0.9%).
The Australian Capital Territory had the largest decrease of 2.4%, following a rise of 2.6% in August.
For the quarter, the states with the largest increase were South Australia (0.8%), Tasmania (0.6%) and Victoria (0.5%).
New South Wales had the largest decrease for the quarter at 0.2%.
