The employment outlook for digital and direct marketers remained shaky in the third quarter as the economy continues to sputter into recovery. Slightly more companies plan to conduct layoffs in Q3, 6% compared to 3% in the previous quarter, according to the quarterly industry-employment survey conducted by Bernhart Associates Executive Search.
“I was looking for it to stay flat,” said Jerry Bernhart, principal, told DMNews. “I thought companies were past the point of increased layoffs.”
In addition, the number of companies planning to add staff decreased 4% from the previous quarter, and 23% of respondents have a hiring freeze in place, a slight increase from the 20% that did last quarter. Most hiring that goes on will be to replace departed workers, rather than to create new jobs, Bernhart added.
While the figures were less than positive, there was some good news.
The recruiting firm found that there is demand for skilled analysts; junior online marketing-related positions, such as SEM and SEO managers; affiliate and relationship managers; and e-mail marketing managers. Media buyers were also high on the list of desirable employees in the short term.
In the b-to-b segment, the survey found that there will be more hires, less layoffs and fewer hiring freezes, compared to the b-to-c category.
Bernhart Associates conducted the survey among senior executives and hiring managers in online and offline marketing from June 29 through July 12 and received responses from 417 companies.
