Marketing, advertising executives project hiring increase

Web design, production skills most in demand: Survey

Marketing and advertising executives anticipate an uptick in hiring activity in the third quarter of 2011, according to the Creative Group’s Hiring Index for Marketing and Advertising Professionals. Twenty-six per cent of the 250 Canadian executives interviewed said they plan to add full-time staff in the next three months.

Web design and production (26 per cent) as well as print design and production (20 per cent) are the specialties in greatest demand, according to survey respondents.

“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."

Marketing and advertising executives' confidence in their ability to attract new business decreased slightly from last quarter. Sixty per cent of executives surveyed said it's challenging for their firms to find skilled professionals, up eight points from the previous quarter.

Eighty-six per cent of those interviewed said they were somewhat or very confident in their firms' prospects for growth in the third quarter, down three points from the second-quarter survey.

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