Digital Recruitment Growth – Are digital teams expanding in 2025?
The digital industry is showing no signs of slowing down in 2025, but how are digital teams adapting behind the scenes? As digital recruitment specialists, we have the answers!
With constant innovation, emerging tech and growing pressure to stay ahead of trends, we wanted to understand how team structures are evolving. In our 2025 digital salary survey report, we asked digital professionals whether their teams had grown, shrunk or stayed the same over the past year. The results reveal a lot about shifting business priorities, recruitment strategies and how digital hiring is being shaped right now.
Digital team growth in 2025
In our 2025 salary survey, 39% of respondents said their digital team has grown over the past 12 months, matching the same figure from 2024. This shows that while many businesses are still scaling, the pace of growth may be steadying rather than accelerating. Meanwhile, 30% reported a decrease in team size, a slight increase from 27% in 2024, suggesting that some companies are making more cautious decisions around headcount. The remaining 31% saw no change in team size.
So, what does this tell us? While team growth has held steady year-on-year, the rise in team reductions signals a potentially more conservative approach to hiring in 2025. At the same time, a notable portion of teams have remained the same size, pointing to stability in many organisations. Overall, the data suggests that digital businesses are entering a more measured phase – still growing, but with greater focus on long-term planning and sustainable team structures.
Why are digital teams growing?
Respondents shared a few standout reasons behind team growth in 2025. Increased marketing investment was a major driver, with companies ramping up brand awareness and performance strategies to stay competitive. Rising workloads also played a part. With demand for digital services and campaigns on the up, teams are expanding to keep pace.
There’s also been a sharp rise in demand for engineers and technical talent, as businesses continue to innovate and build more complex digital products. Finally, bigger hiring budgets have given employers the confidence to move faster on headcount decisions. This allows them to attract and secure the right specialists when they need them.
Reasons for reduced headcount in digital teams
Several key reasons were shared by respondents whose teams had shrunk in 2025. Redundancies were the most common factor, with some businesses making tough cuts due to shifting priorities or financial constraints. Others cited team members leaving without being replaced. This is a sign that some companies are choosing to operate leaner or pause rehiring altogether.
The increased use of AI has also played a role, with automation reducing the need for certain roles. This is evident in content, admin and support functions. Finally, recruitment freezes have been implemented by some businesses as a cost-saving measure, halting plans to expand even when additional headcount is needed.
Get more digital recruitment insights!
Our 2025 digital salary survey report is full of exclusive insights and fresh topics! If you would like to discuss hiring plans, submit your enquiry to our team!
