PR salary guru Dennis Spring traces it to the third U.S.
presidential debate last October in Tempe, Ariz. But never mind the
candidates (and all of their non-verbal communications).
"It literally started the day after the debate," says Spring,
president of New York-based Spring Associates, referring to
when search levels for PR managers and directors started to go up
significantly; he now pegs the number at 40% compared with
2004.
Spring recently released the company's ninth annual PR and
corporate communications study, "The Official PR Salary & Bonus
Report." It shows that overall corporate PR salaries increased 5%
compared with 2004 and just 4% for agency salaries.
The data is compiled from Spring Associates' proprietary
database containing job information on 15,000 pre-qualified PR and
communications pros nationwide. PR salaries are "doing better than
the economy as a whole (hovering around 3%) but, more important,
search-assignment levels are up, particularly at the senior level,"
Spring says, adding that today's job candidates are "much savvier
when it comes to looking for PR work. They're being very strategic
and aren't going to places willy-nilly."
>Where The Corporate-Communications Jobs
Are:
Midwest: B2B
Northeast: Investor Relations
Southeast: Public Affairs
Chicago: Corporate/Financial
Atlanta: Health/Med/Pharm
Washington, D.C.: Internal & Editorial Communications
Dallas: Consumer Products
Boston: High Tech
>What Agencies Are Making The Money?
Midwest: Health/Med/Pharm
West: Public Affairs
Atlanta: High Tech
Chicago: B2B
Washington, D.C.: Corporate/Financial
Source: Spring Associates Inc.