WA Household Spending Up 9.6% in a Year to $9.8 Billion, Beating Nation's 6.8%: ABS
WA household spending rose 9.6% to $9.84 billion in the year to September 2026, ABS data shows, beating the national 6.8%. Hospitality spending rose 10.7%.
WA household spending reached $9.84 billion in September 2026, up 9.6% on a year earlier, ABS figures released on 4 November show. That beat the national rise of 6.8%. Spending at WA hotels, cafes and restaurants grew 10.7% over the same year.
How much did WA households spend in September 2026?
WA households spent $9,836.6 million in September 2026, according to the ABS Monthly Household Spending Indicator. That is seasonally adjusted and in current prices. It was 1.1% more than in August and 9.6% more than in September 2025.
Nationally, household spending rose 0.6% in the month and 6.8% over the year. The ABS said spending increased in all eight states and territories in September. The largest monthly rises were in the Northern Territory (1.2%), WA (1.1%) and Victoria (1.0%).
Current-price figures include the effect of higher prices. The ABS volume measure strips that out. On that basis, WA spending grew 1.4% in the September quarter. Only the Northern Territory, at 2.0%, grew faster. The national figure was 0.7%.
Where is the extra money going?
Most of WA's growth came from services and discretionary spending. Services rose 11.1% over the year, while goods rose 8.3%. Discretionary spending rose 10.9%, compared with 7.6% for non-discretionary spending.
| WA spending category | Sep 2026 ($m) | Change in month | Change in year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | 2,147.0 | +2.3% | +15.6% |
| Recreation and culture | 1,424.6 | +2.8% | +12.4% |
| Hotels, cafes and restaurants | 1,192.5 | +1.8% | +10.7% |
| Health | 1,211.7 | +0.6% | +6.4% |
| Food | 1,533.9 | -0.3% | +4.7% |
| Clothing and footwear | 460.7 | -0.8% | +6.4% |
| Furnishings and household equipment | 616.9 | -1.1% | +5.9% |
| All categories | 9,836.6 | +1.1% | +9.6% |
Transport was the fastest-growing category, up 15.6% over the year. The ABS release doesn't break transport down by state. Nationally, it said fuel spending rose 5.4% in September while fuel volumes fell 2.2%. So households paid more for fuel but bought less of it.
Spending at hotels, cafes and restaurants rose 1.8% in September in WA. That was well above the national rise of 0.5% for the category. Recreation and culture rose 2.8% in the month.
Some goods categories went backwards in September. Food fell 0.3%, clothing and footwear fell 0.8%, and furnishings fell 1.1%.
What did the ABS say?
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said "household spending rose across essential and discretionary categories" in September. He said volumes "continued to grow in the September quarter, marking the fourth quarter in a row of growth." The ABS media release did not comment on individual states.
What it means for Perth job seekers
Strong spending on services usually supports jobs in hospitality, entertainment and retail. Our feed shows those sectors advertise few roles directly with employers. On 6 November, Jobs In Perth had 31 live direct hospitality and catering ads in Perth. Crown Perth posted 25 of them, including cooks, a sous chef, bar supervisors and butlers.
Of those 31 ads, 11 were casual, 10 full time, 8 part time and 2 fixed term. Only one quoted an annual salary. Five close within seven days.
Retail was thinner still. We had 7 live direct retail ads in Perth, and Kitchen Warehouse posted 5 of them for sales assistants in Rockingham, Osborne Park and Midland. There were 7 live direct chef and cook ads in Perth. Our chef salary guide covers typical pay.
Our feed counts only ads placed directly by employers. Many hospitality and retail roles are filled through recruiters, job boards or walk-ins, so these counts understate total hiring. For the wider picture, WA had 40,900 job vacancies in August, as we reported in our story on the ABS vacancy survey.
How we reported this
- WA spending figures come from the ABS Monthly Household Spending Indicator for September 2026, released on 4 November 2026, and its Table 7 for Western Australia. Figures are seasonally adjusted and in current prices unless stated.
- The quarterly volume figures and the state ranking come from the same ABS release. The ABS quotes come from its media release of the same date.
- Jobs In Perth figures are live direct-from-employer ads in our feed, observed on 6 November 2026. These are advertised vacancies, not people employed.
- Cover image: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of the event.
Sources
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Monthly Household Spending Indicator, September 2026 (4 November 2026)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Table 7, Estimates of Household Spending, Western Australia (4 November 2026)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Household spending rises 0.6% in September, media release (4 November 2026)
About this reporting
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