MEDIA RELEASE

New Xero data reveals continued small business jobs growth despite a pause in revenue recovery

Xero Small Business Insights December data shows jobs are above pre-crisis levels, with casual

employment rising significantly

Melbourne - 28 J anuary, 2021 -Xero, t he global small business platform, today released new data on the health of Australia's small business sector in December 2020 from its Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) program, in partnership with research firm AlphaBeta (part of Accenture).

Based on anonymised and aggregated data of hundreds of thousands of customer records, the latest XSBI analysis shows small business jobs continue to grow above pre-crisis levels. This is despite revenue declining amid a more subdued Christmas period compared with 2019.

Jobs growth continues beyond pre-COVID-19 levels

Small business jobs grew 1.9% month-on-month in December to be 3% above pre-crisis levels. These gains were helped by casual employment,​ ​up 36.8% since the trough in April which now sees them 3.8% above pre-crisis levels.

Hospitality recorded a 5.3% month-on-month rise in small business jobs, and is now 1% above pre-crisis levels, marking the first time jobs have been above March 2020 levels for this sector.

Manufacturing (+8%), retail trade (+7%), health care (+7%), and construction (+4%) also all recorded jobs above March 2020 levels.

The 5.6% fall in South Australian jobs during November 2020, coinciding with a three-day lockdown in Adelaide, was reversed in December. Victoria has also recorded a strong post-lockdown small business jobs growth, now up 13.9% from the second lockdown trough.

Trent Innes, Managing Director Australia and Asia, Xero said: "The latest Xero Small Business Insights figures underscore the resilience of the small business sector and its crucial contribution to the economy as the country's number one employer. It is encouraging to see the continued upward trajectory in small business recovery as the sector records another month of jobs growth. It's especially pleasing to see jobs in hospitality in positive territory, having been one of the hardest-hit industries."

"The decline in revenue growth is a reminder that the road to recovery isn't linear and that small businesses will be navigating through peaks and troughs. With revenues dipping while the sector is still hiring, small businesses will need ongoing support," added Innes.

Pause in revenue recovery following six months of positive growth

Small business revenues in December 2020 were 2.7% lower than a year ago. The industry breakdown of this result points to a more subdued Christmas period for small businesses than in 2019. The three sectors with the closest links to this period all recorded year-on-year revenue declines - retail trade (-5%), hospitality (-17%) and arts and recreation (-22%).

Western Australia was the only state to record year-on-year revenue growth in December (+0.8%).

Victoria recorded a 4.3% year-on-year revenue decline, but this is now only 1.5% points below the national result as the state catches up with the rest of the country after its second lockdown.

"Business conditions have vastly improved for most industries but small businesses are still facing uncertainty over the year ahead as we await the national vaccine roll-out. As witnessed in Adelaide and then in Sydney, disruptions caused by short-notice lockdowns can impact both trading conditions and general confidence. It will be important for small businesses to keep a close track of their cash flow position throughout 2021 and to work closely with their advisor," concluded Innes.

For further information on the December metrics, please refer to the XSBI Updatehere.

ENDS

Media Contact

Xero Australia Jessica Brophy +61 431 268 549jess.brophy@xero.com

About Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform for small businesses with 2.45 million subscribers

globally. Through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data any time, anywhere and on any device. Xero offers an ecosystem of over 800 third-party apps and 200 plus connections to banks and other financial partners. In 2020, Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and recognised byIDC MarketScape as a leader in its worldwide SaaS and cloud-enabled small business finance and accounting applications vendor assessment.

About Xero Small Business Insights

The Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) program provides analysis on the sector's health, with its metrics based on anonymised, aggregated data drawn from hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

The result is a picture of business conditions that's more accurate than most private surveys, which typically have a far smaller sample size, and more frequently updated than much of the data on small business. Xero is currently producing a series of specialised monthly metrics, providing a view of the impact of COVID-19.

About AlphaBeta Australia (part of Accenture)

AlphaBeta Australia (part of Accenture) is a research firm with offices in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It specialises in combining advanced analytical techniques and innovative data to generate new insights and fresh perspectives on the challenges facing business and government.

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Disclaimer

Xero Limited published this content on 28 January 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 26 February 2021 02:26:01 UTC.