Christmas job listings not meeting demand

A new report found that Christmas job advertisements are at a three-year low and down 0.6 per cent from last year.

Indeed’s latest report has revealed that, in early September, 2 per cent of Australian job postings mentioned Christmas in the job title – down from 2.6 per cent at the same time last year.

Despite job postings being on the decline, jobseeker interest in this same period was found to be unusually strong. “In early September, 1.6 per cent of jobseeker searches were for Christmas-related jobs, up from 1.2 per cent last year,” it said.

Holiday hiring at a low

According to Indeed research, the number of Christmas-related job postings is at its lowest this period compared with the last three years.

Job postings that featured “Christmas” or “Xmas” in their titles accounted for 2 per cent on 10 September compared to 2.4 per cent in 2023 and 2.6 per cent in 2024 in the same period.

Demand for workers during Christmas generally correlates with “the number of products you expect to sell and the number of customers you need to service,” said the jobs board; both of these climb throughout November and December, it found, which results in a spike in worker demand.

“The gap between this year and last has closed considerably in recent weeks, from 55 per cent in mid-August to 21 per cent by September 10,” it said.

Last year, Christmas hiring peaked in early October and declined sharply throughout November and December.

“Sluggish hiring may simply reflect delayed hiring rather than reduced hiring,” it said.

Applications coming earlier this year

This year, the report found that applicants are searching for Christmas work earlier than last year. It said: “On September 10, 1.6 per cent of searches on Indeed were for Christmas jobs, up from 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent in 2024 and 2023, respectively.”

Based on statistics from earlier years: “Searches for Christmas work usually peak later than job postings, often towards the end of November (compared to October for job postings).”

These figures are likely higher and earlier than normal, “due to the lingering impacts of Australia’s cost-of-living crisis and the recent increase in the unemployment rate”, it said.

Indeed said: “Christmas jobs often aren’t permanent, but they can provide a crucial cash injection for households during what is often the most expensive time of year.”

Retail sector dominates Christmas recruitment

According to tabulated data, the retail sector dominated Australian Christmas opportunities. Since the beginning of August 2025, The Reject Shop, Kmart, and Sunglass Hut have remained in the top three.

Although Christmas job opportunities are overwhelmingly represented by the retail sector, food service roles, youth-related roles, hospitality, and transport and logistics roles are also boosted by the holiday economy.

Growth in the holiday economy this year seems to be in contrast with the downward trend throughout 2023 and 2024.

In the June quarter, the volume of retail products sold was 1.5 per cent higher than a year ago, which may be a result of strong population growth, “which offset fewer volumes per household”, Indeed found.

It concluded: “In many respects, retail conditions leading into Christmas this year are brighter than we’ve seen in several years. And yet, hiring trends don’t reflect that optimism.”