We incorporated several revisions into GDP for the September 2014 quarter, which we discuss here. The tables below show which sources of revision affected each GDP component.
Improvements to national accounts
We have introduced the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008SNA) this quarter. This is also the first quarterly GDP release to include changes from the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th edition, which was first introduced in Balance of Payments and International Investment Position: June 2014 quarter. We updated the base year for fixed price weights from 1995/96 to 2009/10, to better reflect the underlying structure of the economy. Additionally, volume series are re-expressed in 2009/10 prices, a more relevant year for expressing recent changes in economic activity.
See Preview of 2014 national accounts improvements for more information on these changes.
Quarterly series reconciled to new annual balanced data
Reconciling quarterly constant price series to balanced annual series is an integral process in compiling national accounts. We do this in the September quarter of each year, and incorporate data from the annual national accounts releases. Incorporating this data helps maintain the quality of the quarterly series over time.
The new annual data incorporated into this release come from National Accounts (Industry Benchmarks): Year ended March 2012 and National Accounts (Income and Expenditure): Year ended March 2014, which were published on 21 November 2014.
Not all industries are reconciled to the annual national accounts data. The methods we use to calculate the annual contribution to GDP by industry varies, with some industries using only some annual national accounts data, while others use other data sources entirely. More information on the methods used for calculating each industry of GDP, and component of the expenditure measure of GDP, is in Quarterly gross domestic product: Sources and methods (fourth edition). However, all industries and components are affected by an update in the weights used for chain-linking, which allows the relative size of each lower-level series to be reflected in the industry and component aggregates.
Improvements to systems and methods
We reviewed a number of components while implementing the improvements to national accounts. Changes made to components include:
- Improving calculation methods
- Correcting system errors
- Re-calculating back series.
Calculation of exports and imports from low level
Exports and imports are now calculated from low-level data from June 1990 onwards. Previously, we calculated these series from June 2000 onwards, then linked to high-level back series for earlier periods (see Quarterly GDP Revisions – Information paper (September 2005)). We needed to calculate from low-level series to properly implement new international standards, and ensure consistency across our releases. Low-level national accounts groupings for exports and imports of goods are now available on Infoshare for June 1990 onwards.
Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Updated input data for financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) have resulted in revisions to financial and insurance services in the production measure of GDP, and household consumption expenditure, private non-profit consumption expenditure, central and local government final consumption expenditure, and exports and imports of services in the expenditure measure of GDP.
Updated source data
Updated or revised input data caused revisions across a number of industries and components.
GDP by industry
This table summarises the factors causing significant revisions to each industry.
Industry |
Introduction of 2008SNA |
Update of fixed base-year price weights |
Update of annual benchmarks and weights for chain linking |
Improvements to systems or methods |
Updated source data |
AA Agriculture, forestry, and fishing |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
BB Mining |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
CC Manufacturing |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
DD Electricity, gas, water, and waste services |
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
EE Construction |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
FF Wholesale trade |
|
|
|
|
|
GH Retail trade and accommodation |
|
|
|
|
|
II Transport, postal, and warehousing |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
JJ Information media and telecommunications |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
KK Financial and insurance services |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
LL Rental, hiring, and real estate services |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
MN Professional, scientific, technical, administrative, and support services |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
OO Public administration and safety |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
PP Education and training |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
QQ Health care and social assistance |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
RS Arts, recreation, and other services |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
Components of expenditure on GDP
This table summarises the factors causing significant revisions to each component.
Component |
Introduction of 2008SNA |
Update of fixed base-year price weights |
Update of annual benchmarks and weights for chain-linking |
Improvements to systems or methods |
Updated source data |
Household consumption expenditure |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Non-profit institutions serving households |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
Central government final consumption expenditure |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Local government final consumption expenditure |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Residential building investment |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Non-residential building investment |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Other construction |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Land improvements |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
Investment in intangible assets |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Plant, machinery, and equipment |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Transport equipment |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Weapon systems |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Change in inventories |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Exports |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Imports |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Revisions table
The following table shows the previously published and revised quarterly movements for GDP and expenditure on GDP.
Quarter
|
GDP |
GDE |
Percentage change from previous quarter
|
Previously published
|
Revised
|
Previously published |
Revised |
September 2008
|
-0.2
|
-0.2
|
-0.5 |
-0.4 |
December 2008
|
-0.6
|
-0.5
|
-0.1 |
-0.2 |
March 2009
|
-1.1
|
-1.2
|
-0.2 |
-0.6 |
June 2009
|
-0.2
|
0.1
|
1.3 |
1.3 |
September 2009
|
0.6
|
0.4
|
0.8 |
0.9 |
December 2009
|
1.5
|
1.0
|
0.6 |
1.3 |
March 2010
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
1.1 |
1.0 |
June 2010
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
0.3 |
0.4 |
September 2010
|
-0.3
|
-0.5
|
-1.3 |
-1.6 |
December 2010
|
-0.4
|
-0.4
|
-0.2 |
-0.6 |
March 2011
|
0.9
|
1.1
|
0.3 |
1.2 |
June 2011
|
0.8
|
0.7
|
1.0 |
0.7 |
September 2011
|
0.9
|
0.8
|
1.2 |
1.0 |
December 2011
|
0.6
|
0.4
|
0.8 |
1.0 |
March 2012 |
0.8
|
0.7
|
-0.0 |
0.0 |
June 2012 |
0.3
|
0.3
|
0.9 |
0.9 |
September 2012 |
0.2
|
0.3
|
0.4 |
0.8 |
December 2012 |
1.1
|
1.3
|
1.1 |
1.1 |
March 2013 |
0.5
|
0.0
|
0.6 |
0.3 |
June 2013 |
0.6
|
0.4
|
0.1 |
0.3 |
September 2013 |
1.1
|
1.0
|
0.7 |
1.0 |
December 2013 |
1.0
|
0.6
|
0.7 |
0.4 |
March 2014 |
1.0
|
0.9
|
1.4 |
1.1 |
June 2014 |
0.7
|
0.7
|
0.5 |
0.2 |