Tradies and teens drive Australia’s wage boom as white-collar growth slows

Australia’s labour market is being reshaped by a surprising new workforce trend. Construction workers, teenagers and casual employees are now leading the country’s strongest wage gains, while traditional white-collar sectors begin to lose momentum.

Recent findings from Employment Hero’s April Jobs Report, based on data from more than 350,000 businesses, reveal a labour market increasingly powered by flexibility, hands-on skills and younger workers entering employment earlier.

The report shows that while employment growth remains strong overall, early signs of a slowdown are beginning to emerge as hours worked decline across much of the country.

Wage surge

Median hourly wages climbed to $44.30 in April, marking a 5.9% rise year-on-year and a 1.8 % increase month-on-month.

Employment growth also remained solid at 6.0% year-on-year. However, month-on-month growth slipped by 0.1%, hinting that labour market momentum may be easing.

At the same time, average hours worked stayed flat annually and dropped 1.7% compared with the previous month, raising fresh concerns around productivity and efficiency.

Tradies ahead

Construction & Trade Services emerged as the country’s fastest-growing sector for wages, recording an 8.0% annual jump. The industry also posted 7.0% employment growth year-on-year, outperforming sectors traditionally associated with high salaries, including Science & Technology.

New South Wales delivered the biggest annual wage gains in the sector at 9.7%, while Queensland recorded the strongest monthly increase at 2.1%.

Ben Thompson, CEO, Employment Hero, said the latest figures highlight a major shift in where economic growth is coming from.

“It’s a good time to be a young person entering the job market. Gen Z is in high demand, especially for casual and flexible roles, and employers are willing to pay for it.

What’s striking is that blue-collar industries like construction are now outpacing traditional white-collar sectors in both wage and job growth. The highest pay rises are happening on job sites not in tech labs or office towers. But while wages are rising, average hours worked are holding flat or falling, which raises questions.

If people are earning more but working less, are we seeing the early signs of AI-driven efficiency gains? It’s still early days, so this may be a red flag that businesses are paying more for less.

Either way, this divergence is something policymakers and business leaders should watch closely.”

Young workforce

Teenagers and young adults emerged as the biggest winners in the latest labour market shift.

Workers aged 14 to 17 recorded wage growth of 13.4% year-on-year, alongside a remarkable 28.2 % rise in employment. The figures suggest more young Australians may be entering the workforce earlier as cost-of-living pressures intensify.

Meanwhile, workers aged 18 to 24 saw wages rise 8.9% annually, with employment increasing 16.4%.

Unlike the broader workforce trend, both younger age groups also logged significant increases in hours worked.

Casual demand

Casual employees remained the strongest-performing employment category, with wages rising 7.3% year-on-year. The increase was boosted by Easter-driven demand across retail and tourism.

However, despite stronger pay, casual workers saw a decline in hours worked over the quarter, highlighting concerns that greater flexibility may also bring less stability.

Part-time roles recorded wage growth of 6.1%, while full-time positions rose 5.2%.

Productivity concerns

The gap between rising wages and declining work hours is beginning to attract attention from employers and policymakers.

South Australia and Tasmania experienced some of the steepest falls in average hours worked, declining 1.8% and 0.9% respectively. Queensland was the only state to post a small annual increase in hours worked at 0.6%.

The trend could create mounting pressure for businesses already navigating tighter economic conditions and higher labour costs.

State leaders

Queensland continued to lead the nation for employment growth, posting a 6.5% annual increase.

South Australia recorded the fastest wage growth at 6.7% year-on-year.

Western Australia lagged behind other states, reporting the weakest wage growth at 4.6% and slower employment growth of 3.7%.

Thompson said the data challenges long-held assumptions about what drives economic growth.

“This data challenges a lot of old assumptions about where growth comes from. The biggest wage gains aren’t being driven by seniority or degrees – they’re being driven by mobility, flexibility, and hands-on skills.

We need to rethink how we value work, where we invest in training, and how we support the parts of the workforce that are actually driving the economy forward.”