PR Salaries Up Slightly - Corporate PR Bonuses Continue to Rise - PR Firm Hourly Rates Decline
New figures just published in "The Official PR Salary & Bonus Report" - 2005 Edition.
New York, NY (PRWEB) May 11, 2005 -- Spring Associates, Inc., http://www.springassociates.com, a leading New York public
relations executive search and consulting firm, has just released the results of
their ninth annual public relations and corporate communications study called
The Official PR Salary & Bonus Report - 2005 Edition. The data is compiled
from Spring Associates' proprietary database containing job information on
15,000 credentialed PR and communications professionals
nationwide.
Salaries
Even though PR job creation improved
dramatically in the fourth quarter of last year, overall, corporate PR salaries
only increased a modest 5.3 percent, and PR agency salaries improved only 3.6
percent overall. It appears as if salaries have some catching up to do this
year. However, a review of salaries offered in January, February, March and
April point to an upward trend so far in 2005.
As always, the overall
salary picture always looks different than the micro view - specifically, title,
geographic region, specialty category and so on. Some snapshots --
Corporate Communications:
Midwest: business-to-business
+4.8%
Northeast: investor relations +6.4%
Southeast: public affairs +5.5%
Chicago: corporate/financial +7.2%
Atlanta: health/medical/pharmaceutical
+4.8%
Washington, DC: internal/editorial communications +9.3%
Dallas:
consumer products +7.6%
Boston: hi-tech +6.6%
PR Agency:
Midwest:
health/medical/pharmaceutical +3.5%
West: public affairs +6.4%
Atlanta:
hi-tech +3.7%
Chicago: business-to-business +4.1%
Washington, DC:
corporate/financial +4.9%
Bonuses
For two years in a row, almost all
PR agency bonuses were either down or non-existent. However, the only real
gainers in agency bonuses were the more junior levels, account executive and
senior account executive. Each level was up a healthy 19.3% and 12.1%
respectively. The account supervisor through executive vice president levels
posted a combined decline of 9.3%.
However, in-house corporate
communications professionals once again managed to increase employee bonuses
across all levels. Two years ago corporate bonuses jumped 37.3% compared to last
year's average of +17.5%. Once again, corporate PR professionals continue to
fare much better in the bonus category than their PR agency
counterparts.
PR Agency Hourly Billing Rates
Last year's Report
showed that PR agency hourly billing rates were increased substantially to keep
pace with a marked decline in new business revenue. This year, the numbers tell
a different story.
Overall, in the Ad Agency Owned, Top 100 Independents
and Other Independents categories - across four regions of the country - agency
hourly rates came down 9.2%, 10.3% and 8.3% respectively. As compared to
increases for the same agencies of 18.8%, 17.2% and 12.9%
respectively.
It's possible that PR agencies are now returning to more
equitable hourly rates due to increased competition for the new business that
has finally arrived. This was especially evident in the fourth quarter of
2004.
"It looks as if the PR business has finally turned the corner",
said Mr. Spring, president of Spring Associates. "More RFPs, modest overall
salary increases, coupled with higher bonuses and lower PR firm hourly rates,
all point to a promising 2005 - we'll be watching closely."
The Official
PR Salary & Bonus Report is compiled from Spring Associates' proprietary
database of 15,000 credentialed corporate communications and public relations
professionals nationwide. The database is updated daily by the firm's
recruiters, researchers and consultants to reflect the latest available
information. The salary and bonus numbers are divided into multiple
job-information fields, including six title and eight industry categories.
Salary numbers are also listed for four nationwide regions and eight "key" metro
cities. Public relations agency hourly billing rates are segmented into three
categories and cross-referenced with eleven billable titles and four regions of
the country. Years of experience ranges and comparable titles are also
included.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb239119.htm