PR Job Market Overview of 2023 and our 2024 Salary Review
The past few years have been quite the ride and 2023 was no different! Political tension across the globe triggered by (among other things) a Chinese surveillance balloon, Russia's continued war with the Ukraine, mass migration and a gloomy world economy all seemed to feed into an extremely cautious job market.
Looking back at 2023
Q1 & Q2
In the first two quarters we saw companies and candidates alike reluctant to take risks, resulting in a lack of movement we hadn’t seen since the start of COVID.
The talent was staying put, either afraid to chance a move or seduced by counter offers.
Businesses were unwilling to take on expansion, budgets were cut, and belts tightened. When there was a vacancy, the offers were overall, extremely generous, especially at the less senior end of the market. The cost of living had skyrocketed, and junior employees understandably needed higher salaries.
Talking salaries, unlike 2022, not all levels were affected, and we found that the £50K+ range hadn’t really increased much and, if anything, has remained stagnant, so we might see this corrected over the next year or so.
Q3 & Q4
From a confidence point of view, the market rallied in Q3 and Q4 and we saw much more movement, possibly buoyed by a recovering UK economy, a period of seemingly stable global politics and a stalemate situation in the Ukraine. Things did slow down slightly towards the end of the year as the situation in the Middle East escalated, and there seemed to be a collective decision to take stock, take a break and re-evaluate in the new year.
What about 2024?
It’s early days for 2024, but what we have seen so far is a considered but quietly confident approach to recruitment.
New business is out there, and companies seem to be willing to take on new talent. However those junior salaries seem now to have been brought under control and, in some cases, companies are benchmarking salaries so that new employees aren’t brought in at a higher salary than their peers.
One other thing to keep an eye on for 2024 is the hybrid working model. We have seen a micro-shift towards 4-day weeks over the past few months. If this trend continues this could be a shock for Gen Z.
Agency Salary Ranges during 2023
| Consumer | T, H, C & PA * | Financial | |
| * Technology, Healthcare, Corporate & Public Affairs | |||
| Account Executive | £25 - 30K | £27 - 32K | £27 - 33K |
| Senior Account Executive | £28 - 32K | £32 - 35K | £35 - 38K |
| Account Manager | £36 - 40K | £38 - 45K | £40 - 47K |
| Senior Account Manager | £40 - 45K | £45 - 50K | £47 - 55K |
| Account Director | £50 - 55K | £55 - 60K | £55 - 65K |
| Senior Account Director | £60 - 65K | £65 - 70K | £70 - 80K |
| Associate Director | £70 - 85K | £75 - 90K | £80 - 95K |
| Director | £85 - 100K | £95 - 120K | £100 - 150K |
| Senior Director | £100 - 150K | £120K plus | £130K plus |
In-House Salary Ranges during 2023
| Consumer | T, H, C & PA * | Financial | |
| * Technology, Healthcare, Corporate & Public Affairs | |||
| Comms / Press Assistant | £23 - 25K | £24 - 26K | £26 - 29K |
| Comms Executive / Press Officer | £28 - 32K | £28 - 34K | £30 - 36K |
| Senior Comms Executive / Press Officer | £30 - 35K | £35 - 38K | £35 - 40K |
| PR / Comms Manager | £35 - 55K | £40 - 60K | £45 - 65K |
| Senior PR / Comms Manager | £55 - 75K | £55 - 80K | £60 - 85K |
| Head or Director of PR / Comms (regional) | £80 - 120K | £85 - 130K | £90 - 150K |
| Head or Director of PR / Comms (global) | £85 - 160K | £90 - 160K | £100K plus |
Click here to download this report as PDF
Please do contact us for advice or if you have any current recruitment needs.