<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australian businesses are becoming more cautious about hiring </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/jobs" rel="" target="" title="staff"><span>staff</span></a><span>, preferring to use casual workers, new research has revealed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Workplace platform Employment Hero's latest jobs report showed employment growth stalled in April, as employers navigate ongoing economic pressure and rising operating costs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report also found employment growth dipped slightly to -0.1 per cent month-on-month in April, ending a three-month run of workforce expansion.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WORLD:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/ebola-outbreak-who-declares-global-health-emergency-over-outbreak-in-congo-and-uganda/ff09de90-acae-434b-a102-87eea224d46f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Health experts 'very alarmed' as deadly virus breaks containment</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the same time, casual work continued to surge, growing 11 per cent year-on-year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's more than double the growth rate of full-time employment and significantly ahead of part-time employment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report is based on aggregated payroll data from more than 23,000 businesses and 1.7 million employees.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/economy-casual-work-booms-fulltime-jobs-fall-as-economy-squeezed/88b61033-2027-4110-9482-b0d250c45fb7" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-politics-live-updates-donald-trump-iran-deal-may-18-iran-israel-middle-east-war-blog-rolling-updates/d6095f36-8d4c-426c-894f-cb7c5216861c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Senator says Trump 'stupid enough' to fight Israel's war</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Employment Hero Asia-Pacific managing director James Keene said the data pointed to a labour market that overall remained resilient overall, but businesses were becoming far more measured in their approach to hiring.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Businesses are still hiring, but the pace of growth has clearly slowed as employers become more cautious about expanding their workforce," Keene said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"After several years of rapid hiring and intense competition for workers, many businesses are now focused on protecting margins, managing costs carefully and building more flexibility into their workforce models.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WATCH:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/fighter-jets-collide-us-air-force-base-air-show-idaho/27e0ff43-7d41-4a9a-b810-a82dd0b0ffe4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Horror moment fighter jets collide mid-air</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The continued strength in casual employment highlights that employers still need access to talent, but they increasingly want the ability to scale workforces up or down depending on demand."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite the monthly stagnation, annual employment growth remains strong at 8.4 per cent year on year, the company said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, wages posted their strongest monthly increase in more than six months, rising 1.6 per cent month on month, the research found.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Median hourly wages now stand at $46.30 nationally.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Keene said businesses are balancing the need to attract and retain workers with mounting pressure on profitability.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Wages are continuing to rise, which is positive news for workers, but it also adds to the cost pressures many businesses are already carrying."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a 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