Employment growth in UK small businesses has slowed significantly, with year-on-year growth falling from 7.8% in December 2024 to just 2.5% in December 2025 according to new data from Employment Hero. The latest Jobs Report, based on real-time data from over 115,000 employee records within small businesses, reveals that the traditional December seasonal hiring surge failed to materialise, with employment rising only 0.5% month-on-month - the lowest monthly increase observed since April 2025.