Hours, wages plummeted in December

Hours worked and median wages fell at the end of last year, new research has revealed.

According to its research, The Employment Hero Jobs Report, HR tech company Employment Hero analysed data from 300,000 businesses and 1.5 million employees served by the platform to explore trends surrounding hours worked and median wages.

Slower hiring in December 2025

The tech company found that over the years, hours worked usually experience a decline in January after the new year, while December usually delivers higher hours “buoyed by holiday demand”; however, last year’s figures told a different story.

Last December, hours worked experienced a “sharp and unexpected drop”, a reversal of typical end-of-year trends. According to its data, hours worked fell 1.5 per cent month on month, 1 per cent quarter on quarter, and 1.3 per cent year on year.

Employment Hero spokesperson Tasman Page (pictured) said: “It seems the Aussie job market went on holiday early in 2025, with December’s pattern looking more like the figures we associate with January.”

This is contrasted by an increase in hours worked back in December 2024 – up 0.9 per cent month on month and 1.1 per cent year on year.

In December last year, even retail and hospitality – industries often driving end-of-year demand – recorded a 1.7 per cent month-on-month decline in hours worked.

For young workers between 18 and 24, the findings revealed that average hours worked in December 2025 dropped 6.1 per cent month on month and 4.5 per cent year on year. In the study, young workers aged 25 to 34 were also found to have experienced a decline, with a 1.9 per cent month-on-month and 1.4 per cent year-on-year average drop in hours during the same period.

The report suggested that cost pressures and cautious consumer spending were likely causes of a reduction in hours.

‘Compounding pressure on young Australians’

Employment was found to have increased 6.5 per cent year on year but experienced a 0.2 per cent decline month on month. Further, the findings revealed that wages fell month on month for Australians under 45, falling 2 per cent for 18- to 24-year-olds, 1.3 per cent month on month for 25- to 34-year-olds, and 0.2 per cent month on month for 35- to 44-year-olds.

The tech company said that this drop in wages “compound[ed] pressure on young Australians who rel[ied] on December shifts and seasonal income”.

“Our data suggests employers braced for a softer festive season, pulling back hours, pausing hiring, and tightening pay growth rather than leaning into the usual December demand,” Page said.

“Businesses entered December more cautious than usual, managing higher wage bills and thinner margins, while households reined in discretionary spending.”

“The result was fewer shifts and smaller wage bumps at a time of year that typically provides a buffer heading into a seasonal cooldown. The environment is tough, but business owners are doing the best they can with the cards they’ve been dealt.”

“The fallout was sharpest for younger workers, who rely heavily on end-of-year shifts; many saw their hours and earnings drop just as costs peak.”