A new study from PR executive search and consulting firm Spring Associates reveals that base salaries for both corporate and agency PR professionals decreased by double digits in 2009—corporate by 11.3% and agencies by 10.6%. The findings of the yearly “Official PR Salary & Bonus Report” are particularly troubling given that in 2008 there were mild base salary increases in both corporate PR and agencies, 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively.
“Last year the big story was the rather modest increases in base salaries and the substantial decreases in bonuses across the board for PR pros who had a job,” says Dennis Spring, president of Spring Associates. “But in 2008 those people with jobs didn’t also have to suffer from reduced base salaries.”
To Steve Cody, managing partner and co-founder of PR agency Peppercom, the report’s numbers leave him with mixed feelings. “I’m a little surprised at the severity of the cuts,” says Cody. “But, I’m not surprised that, like every other function, corporate PR executives have seen their salaries and bonuses frozen or cut. It comes as no surprise that agencies, in turn, have suffered, too.”
Cody says that the slashed salaries show that PR is still viewed as expendable. “While we may claim to have gained a seat at the table, PR is still seen as an overhead expense that, when things go poorly, gets whacked,” says Cody.
To Larry Parnell, director of the masters program in strategic PR at George Washington University, it was the “sore thumb” in the metro data (see tables below) that stood out. The declines in Washington, D.C., are surprising because PR is “insulated due to the strong government sector,” says Parnell.
Combining all titles and specialty categories, corporate PR professionals averaged bonus decreases of -17% compared to PR agency personnel, who came in with a -17.5% decrease (prior year’s decrease was 36.4%) in bonuses.
The report also indicates that organizations are hiring individuals with deep expertise in a particular field, albeit at lower starting salaries. As a result, “specialization is clearly becoming the watchword of the era,” concludes Cody. PRN
CONTACT:
Dennis Spring, [email protected]; Steve Cody, [email protected]; Larry Parnell, [email protected].
2009 Corporate PR Salaries by Region & City |
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Specialty / Title / Region |
Average Base Salary ($000) |
Percentage change from 2008 |
| Industry, b2b / Comms Spec / Midwest | 65 - 75 | -9.1 |
| Health, Med, Pharm / Manager / West | 87 - 98 | -14.7 |
| Internal Comms / Manager / Northeast | 77 - 89 | -12.6 |
| Hi-Tech, Social Media / Director / Southwest | 97 - 112 | -12.6 |
| Consumer / VP / Northeast | 130 - 142 | -8.1 |
| Corp, Finan / SVP / Southeast | 140 - 155 | -10.6 |
Specialty / Title / Key Metro City |
Average Base Salary ($000) |
Percentage change from 2008 |
| Health, Med, Pharm / Comms Spec / Atlanta | 70 - 79 | -12.4 |
| Investor Rltns / Manager / Chicago | 85 - 98 | -13.3 |
| Public, Govt Affairs / Director / L.A. | 126 - 138 | -9.3 |
| Corp, Finan / VP / New York | 149 - 162 | -11.4 |
| Consumer / SVP / Chicago | 155 - 174 | -9.4 |
| Industry, b2b / Comms Spec / Boston | 57 - 66 | -18.0 |
| Hi-tech, Social Media / Manager / DC | 85 - 100 | -14.0 |
| Investor Rltns / Director / San Francisco | 111 - 128 | -14.0 |
| Health, Med, Pharm / VP / Houston | 144 - 156 | -3.2 |
| Public, Govt Affairs / SVP / N.Y. | 164 - 180 | -7.3 |
| Internal Comms / VP / Houston | 118 - 138 | -5.5 |
Source: “The Official PR Salary & Bonus Report” - 2010 Edition, Spring Associates, Inc., New York, NY |
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