The holiday sales season has delivered Australian small businesses a welcome energy boost heading into the new year.

Exclusive data from Employment Hero’s November Jobs Report showed employment, hours and wages were all up, largely thanks to Black Friday-Cyber Monday. 

“Peak season has lit a spark that the labour market needed,” said Ben Thompson, Employment Hero Co-Founder and CEO, reflecting on what he referred to as a ‘brutal 2025.’  “I’m pleased to see the labour market remains more buoyant than anticipated”. 

National employment has grown 6.4 per cent year-on-year. Quarter-on-quarter and month-on-month figures reinforce the positive momentum, up 3.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively. 

“After a long stretch of caution, businesses are hiring again and giving staff more hours,” says Thompson. “Shoppers showed up in force for early Black Friday sales, and that spending has flowed straight into jobs, particularly for young Australians and casual workers.”

Young Workers Are Out In Force

The surge in youth employment was the strongest trend to emerge from the November data. The number of 14–17-year-olds with jobs was 23.6 per cent higher than at the same time last year and 3.9 per cent higher month-on-month. There was an even bigger jump in hours worked – skyrocketing 37.9 per cent above the figure for 2024’s sales period.

There was also a healthy uptick in employment among 18–24-year-olds, up 15.6 per cent on the same time last year, and 2 per cent higher month-on-month. This age bracket also returned the biggest monthly increase in hours worked, rising 3.4 per cent.

Casuals Carry The Peak-Season Surge

The data reflected the agility of the workforce, as workers met peak demand.

“Casuals carried much of the load this month,” says Ben Thompson. “It’s a strong sign of confidence heading into Christmas and Boxing Day trading.”

More employers appear to have had capacity to hire during the 2025 sales, with casual headcount 9.4 per cent higher than at the same time last year. People were also working longer – casual hours rising by 7.2 per cent month-on-month. This takes the average hours worked by casual employees to 87 per month.

Go West or North To Find Best-Performing States

Some states outperformed others in the labour market. Western Australia and Queensland remained the best annual performers, up year-on-year 6.8 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively. The holiday hiring spike was greatest in New South Wales, with employment up 1.2 per cent month-on-month.

Of the major cities, Brisbane was the standout, enjoying 7.2 per cent year-on-year job growth plus a 2.7 jump in hours. Workers were also in strong demand on the Gold Coast, with a 5.7 per cent boost in hours.

Jobs Growth Is Strongest In Star Sectors

With Black Friday sales in the mix, it was no surprise employment rose in retail and hospitality: up 7.1 per on the same period last year, along with a 3.6 per cent increase in hours worked.

But the real stars were administration and office support, reporting 18 per cent growth year-on-year, and engineering, which recorded an incredible 21.2 per cent spike. Banking, Finance & Insurance also performed well, up 9.1 per cent year-on-year, while Construction and Trade roles rose 8.3 per cent.

Although there was softness in the median wage in November, edging 0.1 per cent lower month-on-month, the annual figure was still up 4.9 per cent, sitting at $45.20.

Thompson said, overall, the November data signalled a meaningful shift in labour-market confidence.

“Households are still under pressure, but people are spending where it counts,” he said. “Businesses are responding with more roles and more hours. If this momentum holds through December, we’ll head into 2026 with a stronger foundation than expected.”