What's Inside

2025 Hiring Trends

• Return-to-Office Mandates and Remote Work Rollbacks: The return-to-office mandates and the rollback of remote work policies have added complexity for both employers and candidates, particularly around flexibility and work-life balance. This shift will impact employee retention and recruitment efforts, as many employees have become accustomed to remote or hybrid work arrangements.
  
• Competitive Edge with Hybrid Options: Offering flexible work arrangements will be a key differentiator for employers in 2025. Companies that offer hybrid work options will have a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent as the job market recovers. 
  
• Potential for Increased Talent Mobility: As economic conditions improve and budgets are reinstated, there is an expectation that talent mobility will increase. As a result, more individuals may seek new job opportunities, and companies will need to make more effort to attract and retain talent.

Creative Design

On average, salaries in design have experienced slow growth (6.4% year-on-year). Creative and design jobs in 2025 have an emphasis on adaptability, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and leveraging new tools and technologies. Creative professionals and designers are increasingly expected to show strengths beyond their craft expertise and are being leveraged as strategic partners that drive brand value and overall business outcomes.

While designers and creative professionals can still expect to drive brand narratives, visual branding and identities, marketing assets, and other creative initiatives, the field is ever-evolving as new technologies and roles emerge in the modern workplace. Everything from design collaboration tools to AI impacts how creative professionals are expected to function within their roles.

The craft and field are both evolving at a rapid pace, and while there is still high demand for creative and design professionals, the best way to stay competitive in the current market is to continue to learn how to utilise new tools and technologies and build a solid understanding of how design and creative impacts business outcomes. 

Have an immediate hiring need and require the latest creative design salary data? Use the Australian Salary Guide to find salaries for in-demand roles including:

Marketing & Communications

Marketing salaries saw a promising increase of 8.8% year-on-year on average. 

How brands and companies show up in the world is more important than ever in 2025. Marketing and communications roles will continue to grow and evolve as both emerging traditional industries and companies vie for relevancy in competitive markets.

Technology continues to play an increasingly large role in the field, with data-driven campaigns allowing for greater personalisation and targeting. New and existing distribution channels continue to expand reach and create a need for multifaceted marketers. Marketing and communications professionals will need to understand how to leverage new technology while maintaining brand identity and authenticity. 

Marketing and communications teams will become more integrated as brand storytelling and outreach will have to stay cohesive across multiple channels and touchpoints. As new technologies become more prevalent communications teams will be leaned on to clearly and effectively communicate their benefit to an ever broader audience. 

Have an immediate hiring need and require the latest salary data for marketing and communications roles? 

Use the Australian Salary Guide to find salaries for in-demand roles including:

Web, App, and Software Development

Professionals working in web, app, and software development saw a significant salary rise of 11.4% year-on-year on average. 

Innovation will continue to be a top priority for most companies in 2025 and while companies continue to scale their digital product offerings, developers and engineers are still in high demand, and the landscape remains highly competitive.

As web, app, and software development professionals continue to adopt agile methodologies and new tools allowing for quicker development cycles, the need for skilled, adaptive, and highly engaged Software Engineers, Full Stack Developers, Back End Developers and Front End Developers continues to be a top priority for many of today’s most prominent companies.

Development will continue to evolve beyond the code base, and professionals in the field will likely see an even greater need to collaborate with other functions like research, creative, design, and operations. Being a well-rounded developer or engineer in today’s market will not only impact their hireability but their earning potential as well. 

Have an immediate hiring need and require the latest salary data for web, app, and software development roles? Use the Australian Salary Guide to find salaries for in-demand roles including: