Join us Oct. 15-17 in Phoenix to connect with top media buyers
Digiday+ Research: Fewer publishers added staff in 2022 as economic troubles loomed

This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series →
Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel.
Unfortunately, staff cuts and layoffs are on the brain these days — for publishers just as much as any other industry. And on that note, staff increases were down for publishers last year, with the economy as a likely driving factor, according to data from Digiday+ Research.
We already know that there’s a lack of confidence among publishers when it comes to revenues heading into the new year. To follow that, in a December survey of more than 70 publisher professionals, Digiday found that fewer publishers added staff last year than the year before, and that publishers expect the economy to be a drag on business into 2023.
The percentage of publishers who said their full-time staff increased fell from 58% in 2021 to 41% in 2022, Digiday’s survey found. Meanwhile, the percentage of publishers who said their staff decreased jumped to 29% last year, up from 19% the year prior. Just under a third of publishers (30%) said their full-time staff was unchanged in 2022, up from 23% in 2021.
Another notable difference between Digiday’s survey results in 2022 and 2021 is the number of publishers who said their staff increased significantly. Nearly a quarter of respondents (22%) said their full-time staff increased significantly in 2021, compared with only 12% who said the same in 2022. And while the percentage of those who said their staff decreased significantly held steady at a very small 4% between 2021 and 2022, the percentage of publisher pros who said their staff decreased somewhat shot up from 15% in 2021 to 25% in 2022.
These trends in publishers’ staffing make sense when we compare them to Digiday’s data on how they feel about the economy.
Digiday’s survey found that the majority of publishers agree that the economy hurt their companies’ performances in 2022 and that it will continue to do so in 2023 — which provides one explanation for the drop in publishers’ staff increases. Specifically, 62% of publisher pros agreed that the economy hurt their companies last year, with 59% agreeing that it will hurt in 2023 as well.
The most significant difference between 2022 and 2023 is actually among the respondents who disagree that the economy is hurting their companies: 19% of publishers disagreed that the economy hurt their performance in 2022, but that percentage dropped to only 6% when they thought ahead to this year.
Breaking down the data even further, it turns out that not one respondent to Digiday’s survey said they disagreed strongly that the economy will hurt their company’s performance in 2023. Six percent disagreed strongly that the economy hurt their performance in 2022.
More in Media

Why 1440 is evolving from a newsletter company to a destination of explainers
Newsletter company 1440 is expanding beyond email by building an online library of explainers, amid the rise of AI-driven search.

Publisher alliance Ozone makes a larger play for U.S. advertisers
Publisher alliance Ozone is on a growth tear in the US and plans to expand its local headcount to 50 people next year.

Media Briefing: From blocking to licensing, publishers inch toward leverage with AI
There are new levers for publishers to test in the AI era. While they’re still far from holding the upper hand, compared to a year ago, the outlook no longer looks quite so bleak.