Press Release
The fourth-quarter hiring outlook for marketing and advertising professionals will remain little changed from the third quarter, according to The Creative Group Hiring Index for Marketing and Advertising Professionals. Ten percent of marketing and advertising executives interviewed said they plan to increase staff levels in the next three months, while 7 percent anticipate declines, resulting in a net 3 percent increase in hiring activity. This compares to a net 6 percent increase in hiring projected last quarter.
The national study was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on more than 500 telephone interviews — approximately 375 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 125 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.
Marketing and advertising executives were asked, “Does your company or agency plan to increase or decrease the number of full-time marketing/advertising personnel on your staff during the fourth quarter of 2010?” Their responses:
Increase: 10%
Decrease: 7%
No change: 83%
Marketing and Advertising Specialties in Demand
When executives were asked in which areas they plan to add staff, public relations and marketing research ranked first, each with 12 percent of the response. Social media and account services followed, each with 11 percent of the response. Despite high unemployment levels, 54 percent surveyed said it’s challenging for their firms to find skilled professionals, up 9 points from last quarter.
“Many companies are bringing back positions they eliminated during the recession, such as marketing research,” said Donna Farrugia, executive director of The Creative Group. “Although there are still many good people looking for work, recruiting challenges are increasing for employers and likely will continue to do so as the economy rebounds.”
Specialty Areas in Demand
| Area | Percentage Hiring |
| Public relations | 12% |
| Marketing research | 12% |
| Social media | 11% |
| Account services | 11% |
| Print design/production | 10% |
| Web design/production | 10% |
| Creative/art direction | 9% |
| Brand/product management | 9% |
| Media services | 8% |
| Interactive | 7% |
| Copywriting | 5% |
*Note: Multiple responses permitted. Top responses shown.
Confidence in Business Growth
While the current Hiring Index indicates little change in employment levels for creative professionals, executives were optimistic about their ability to attract new business: 93 percent said they were somewhat or very confident in their firm’s prospects for growth in the fourth quarter, up two points from the previous quarter and up seven points from the second-quarter forecast.
This article was last modified on January 18, 2023
This article was first published on September 15, 2010
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