Home topics news Credit: Annie Spratt News News Sales growth weakest in 3 years, wages flatline Yajush Gupta March 5, 2024 Xero has unveiled its latest insights into Australia’s small business economy through Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI), spanning the period from October to December 2023. Despite navigating through challenging macroeconomic conditions in 2023, the data from XSBI suggests a moderation in sales and wages growth, leading to a subdued performance. Key findings for the three-month period ending in December include: Sales growth averaging 5.1% year-over-year for the December quarter, down from 6.8% year-over-year in the September quarter. Wages growth averaging 3.0% year-over-year for the December quarter, compared to 2.8% year-over-year in the September quarter. Jobs growth averaging 3.5% year-over-year for the December quarter, up from 2.7% year-over-year in the September quarter. Small businesses experiencing an average payment wait time of 22.7 days in the December quarter, consistent with the 22.7 days in the September quarter. Small Business Index drops to pandemic-level low The Xero Small Business Index averaged 115 points in the December quarter, down 10 points from the September quarter. A significant shift was seen in December when the Index fell 37 points to 89 points, its lowest level since September 2020 and the first time in a year the Index has dropped below the 100 level. This is the largest single month decline since April 2020, when the economy was essentially closed down by the pandemic. Louise Southall, Xero Economist, said: “Multiple interest rate rises and higher-than-usual