Statistics

How do you fit in? 

Small businesses continue to dominate the Australian economy, with 99.8% of all Australian businesses considered small to medium enterprises.

 98% of all Australian businesses employ less than 20 people. 

The distressing statistics though are that of the more than 2 million businesses operating in Australia 4 years ago, one in three were unprofitable and have gone bust (36%).

Of the 2.3 million plus businesses, 93% have an annual turnover of less than $2 million.

Source: https://mccrindle.com.au/

Counts of Australian Businesses – Key statistics

States and territories – ACT, NSW, NT and SA

In 2020-21 there was a:

5.8% increase in the number of businesses in the Australian Capital Territory, the largest percentage growth in any state/territory, with an increase of 1,732 to 31,499 total.

4.0% increase in the number of businesses in New South Wales, with an increase of 31,245 to 817,648 total.

2.8% increase in the number of businesses in the Northern Territory (407 to 14,947 total), and South Australia (4,085 to 149,404 total) the joint lowest percentage growth of any state/territory.

Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/business-indicators/counts-australian-businesses-including-entries-and-exits/latest-release 

States and territories – QLD

 In June 2020, there were 452,989 small businesses actively trading in Queensland, over 7,000 more than in June 2019 (445,883). This represents 19.2% of all businesses in Australia. 

Small businesses are the predominant type of business actively trading in Queensland (97.4%), similar with their share nationally (97.5%). 

Industry composition of small business in Queensland

Looking at the top ten industries for small business in Queensland in June 2020, the construction industry represented the largest share of small businesses (16.7%), followed by the professional, scientific and technical services (11.7%) (Figure 1). Of the top ten industries, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry had the largest difference in share than that recorded at the national level (1.6 percentage points higher). Together, the top ten industries accounted for more than four out of five small businesses in Queensland (84.4%). 

Source: Queensland Government Statistician’s Office  https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ©

The State of Queensland (Queensland Treasury) 2021 Small business in Queensland, June 2020