A new survey from The Creative Group is predicting a third-quarter upswing in hiring activity in the marketing and advertising sector.
The findings are based on 250 telephone interviews, 200 with randomly selected marketing executives from companies with 100 or more employees, and 50 with randomly selected advertising agencies with 20 or more employees.
The survey found that 21% of executives plan to add full-time staff in the next three months, a 3% increase from last quarter. While 86% of respondents indicated that they are “confident” in their company’s third-quarter growth prospects, that is down three percentage points from the second quarter.
Web design/production and print design/production are the skills in greatest demand, with 68% of survey respondents stating that it is “challenging” to find skilled employees in these areas – up eight percentage points from the previous quarter.
“As business picks up, companies are eager to develop new products and services, as well as market these offerings to new and current customers,” said Lara Dodo, a regional vice-president of The Creative Group in Canada. “This is generating demand for candidates who can create fresh and compelling designs for both online and print promotions.”
Other areas in which respondents indicated they plan to hire additional staff include marketing research (19%), account services (19%), interactive media (19%), brand/product management (18%) and social media (17%).
