The steady flow of strong economic data has continued, with retail sales figures today showing that the value of Victoria’s retail sales grew faster than the national average and the equal highest among the states in November 2017.

Today’s figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that in the year to November 2017, Victorians spent a record $78.9 billion on retail sales.

Victoria’s retail sales increased by 4.9 per cent over the year which compared to a national increase of just 2.9 per cent.

For the month of November, Victorian retail sales came in at $6.8 billion, more than a quarter of total Australian retail sales for the month and underlining the strength of Victoria’s economy and our jobs growth.

Driving growth in the month was ‘other retailing’ (which includes pharmaceutical and recreational goods), department stores, and household goods.

The ‘cafes, restaurants and takeaway food’ subsector grew by 1.6 per cent in the month, and 4.8 per cent over the year to November, both stronger than the national average.

These results follow news this week that Victoria recorded the strongest growth in building approvals across the nation in November – a 28.5 per cent boost – bolstering housing supplies and making an important contribution to the State’s economy.

Quotes attributable to Treasurer Tim Pallas

“This is yet another key indicator that Victoria is a great place to do business, supported by a strong economy and healthy consumer sentiment.” 

“Peter Dutton should take note of these figures – which shows that our cafes and restaurants are in fact booming, with growth that is stronger than the rest of the nation – creating jobs and a stronger economy in the process.”

“With 319,100 jobs created since November 2014, more than anywhere else in the nation over the same period, Victoria’s economy remains the envy of the nation.”