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A pullback in consumer spending may be leading to a slowdown in headcount across smaller businesses, including in retail and tourism.
Human resources platform Employment Hero recorded a 0.1 per cent decline in average employment growth for small and medium-sized businesses in February.
Median hourly wages also sunk 1.5 per cent, leaving employees working for small and medium-sized businesses at $35.43 an hour.
Employment Hero chief executive Ben Thompson said it would be premature to call a slowdown but the soft results could signal the beginnings of a downward trend.
He said the findings aligned with the latest findings in the NAB business confidence index, which suggested the start of a downward shift.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises across various industries saw a decline in employment growth and median hourly wages, with larger enterprises experiencing the biggest decrease."
Median wages dropped across almost every industry in February after stagnating in November and December and increasing in January.
"The decline in wages could be due to a decrease in consumer demand, resulting in fewer work hours and reduced overtime and penalty rates," he said.
Official retail trade data, due to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, will shed more light on consumer spending patterns.
NAB economists expect the goods-heavy indicator to remain flat over the month as high inflation and rising interest rates leave consumers with less to spend.
The Reserve Bank signposted retail figures as one of the key pieces of data to digest ahead of its April interest rate decision, with the impact of interest rate hikes on spending still a major source of uncertainty for the central bank.
