Registered business by industry shows how many businesses there are Australia within each industry sector using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Business Register which itself is derived from the GST register held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Businesses are included if they are registered with the ATO, with an ABN used within the previous two financial years. Businesses are split up between employing and non-employing businesses. Non-employing businesses may include sole traders and registered ABNs which are part of larger enterprises.
The distribution of businesses may reflect the industry structure of the area, or may differ significantly. For instance, the largest industry in an area may consist of one very large business, with a large number of employees, while a sector with a lower value added could have a lot of small and micro businesses.
The number of businesses in Australia should be viewed in conjunction with Employment by industry (Total) and Value added datasets to see the relative size of industries, and with Employment locations data to see where business employment occurs within the area.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics – Business register – originally sourced from ATO data
Number of employees:
Current area:
Comparison year:
| Registered businesses by industry | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - total registered businesses | 2024 | 2023 | change | ||||||
| Industry | Number | % | % Australia BM | Number | % | % Australia BM | 2023 to 2024 | ||
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 171,987 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 174,196 | 6.7 | 6.5 | -2,209 | ||
| Mining | 8,557 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 8,429 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +128 | ||
| Manufacturing | 90,356 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 89,779 | 3.5 | 3.4 | +577 | ||
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 8,755 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 8,518 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +237 | ||
| Construction | 452,749 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 443,810 | 17.1 | 17.0 | +8,939 | ||
| Wholesale Trade | 81,978 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 81,947 | 3.2 | 3.1 | +31 | ||
| Retail Trade | 156,851 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 157,186 | 6.1 | 5.9 | -335 | ||
| Accommodation and Food Services | 111,625 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 110,349 | 4.3 | 4.2 | +1,276 | ||
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 237,468 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 218,838 | 8.4 | 8.9 | +18,630 | ||
| Information Media and Telecommunications | 24,885 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 24,659 | 1.0 | 0.9 | +226 | ||
| Financial and Insurance Services | 129,008 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 123,091 | 4.8 | 4.8 | +5,917 | ||
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 298,699 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 290,159 | 11.2 | 11.2 | +8,540 | ||
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 344,316 | 12.9 | 12.9 | 335,553 | 13.0 | 12.9 | +8,763 | ||
| Administrative and Support Services | 124,002 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 120,815 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +3,187 | ||
| Public Administration and Safety | 7,644 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 7,520 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +124 | ||
| Education and Training | 42,015 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 40,892 | 1.6 | 1.6 | +1,123 | ||
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 199,735 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 185,421 | 7.2 | 7.5 | +14,314 | ||
| Arts and Recreation Services | 38,456 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 37,680 | 1.5 | 1.4 | +776 | ||
| Other Services | 131,049 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 127,987 | 4.9 | 4.9 | +3,062 | ||
| Industry not classified | 1,835 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2,029 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -194 | ||
| Total Businesses | 2,662,998 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,589,873 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +73,125 | ||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits. Note: Non-employing businesses includes sole proprietors where the proprietor does not receive a wage or salary separate to the business income. .id (informed decisions) Please refer to specific data notes for more information | |||||||||
