Pay in the marketing and creative sector is increasing faster than the national average claims a recent study from recruitment business Reed Marketing and Creative. An analysis of over 7 million jobs posted found that advertised roles in the sector grew by 2.5% last year – higher than the national average of 2.3%. In total, the number of jobs posted for the sector increased by 6% since last year.

The marketing sector is having to offer higher rates in order to attract new talent, and is increasing its salaries by more than other sectors including technology, hospitality and leisure and procurement.

Salary winners

• Advertised roles for copywriters experienced a 15% hike in salary since last year.
• There was a 7% increase for events managers.
• Communications manager roles’ salaries jumped by 6%.
• Content marketing manager roles showed a 5% pay increase.

Discussing the robust state of the marketing and creative industries, Jody King, divisional manager at Reed Marketing and Creative, says: “At last estimate by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the creative industries contributed £87.4 billion to the UK economy, and, as it continues to grow, companies want to recruit the best talent to do the highest quality work. As a result, hiring managers are asking their boards to commit more money towards recruitment of new staff, and that is reflected in the advertised salaries.

“What this data shows is that, during 2018, those companies which are struggling to attract the right talent will need be ready to increase the salaries they offer.”

The chart shows the biggest winners are marketing and creative workers in London who are enjoying the largest overall salary rise of 3.1%, compared with the national average for the sector of 2.5%. This is closely followed by the north west with an average increase of 2.9%.

King discusses the particular skills now in demand: “The amount of digital roles in the industry is increasing and the number of platforms that those in the industry have to perform on is on the up. However, companies and candidates know that where there is change there is always opportunity. The key is to embrace the technological revolution. Candidates who can show that they can grasp new technology being used in the industry will be highly valued. Many companies are looking to invest in people with the skills needed to adapt to this new order.”

King concludes that all this good news does not mean that marketing candidates can be complacent. They must constantly develop their skills if they want to keep enjoying salary raises: “Everyone across the industry will still need to develop their business partnering skills and ability to bring commercial value to a company. Also, those who demonstrate varied experience and strong people management skills will be in great demand in 2018 and beyond.”

Methodology

Data comes from jobs posted on reed.co.uk between 2015 and 2017. The salaries used are advertised salaries. Number of jobs exceeds 7,000,000.