Xero today released its latest Small Business Index, which provides a health check into the Australian small business economy.
The data indicates SMBs had a strong start in the first quarter of 2024, rebounding from a tough end to 2023, highlighting their resilience. This momentum is driven by stronger growth in jobs, wages and sales.
Other insights from the Xero Small Business index, which is based on hundreds of thousands of small business transactions, include:
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The Xero Small Business Index averaged 120 points in the March quarter (Index dropped below 100 points in Dec last year).
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Sales are off to a good start in 2024. Sales growth rebounded significantly in January (+6.1% y/y) and February (+6.9% y/y) following a period of weak sales in December (+1.9% y/y).
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Jobs growth experiences largest rise since end of 2022. Small business hiring continued in the March quarter (+3.7% y/y) and was moderately higher than average jobs growth in 2023 and the long-term average for this series (3.0% y/y).
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Wages growth picks up. However, the pace of growth is still below inflation and small business pay rises are below the national average.
