PR industry proves to be recession proof according to latest influential research

London, 8 May 2012 -The public relations industry has done a remarkable job of weathering the recession it was revealed today. The annual benchmarking survey conducted by industry body the PRCA showed that overall fee incomes had gone up despite the economic downturn.
 
More than 275 PRCA members completed the survey; from small consultancies with fee incomes of up to £850,000, to very large agencies with fee incomes of more than £5 million.
 
Despite the economic downturn, the survey showed that the average salary increase of respondents had been 4.1% while the median salary for a full-time worker in the UK rose just  1.4% in 2011 to £26,244. This was due, in part, to 36% of respondents increasing salaries in order to retain staff – the highest level since 2008.
 
Redundancies were also significantly down from 2010 at 33%, having reached a peak of 54% two years previously. In addition, the percentage of companies expecting to make redundancies has fallen from 15% in 2009 to 2% this year. This represents an 80% improvement from the middle of the recession.
 
The survey also reflected a steady optimism with 24 % more respondents expecting the economic condition of the industry to get better than worse.

Chief Executive of the PRCA, Francis Ingham said: “These results are great news for the industry and show that despite tough times, individuals and businesses still place significant value on the work that PR agencies provide. Indeed, in some cases excellent PR is more important than ever.
 
“Coupled with the latest economic barometer statistics, these results show that PR is proving to be recession proof and continues to buck national trends.”
 
                                                                                                                         -ENDS-

 

Notes to editors

For more information please contact Katharine Barney or Tom Hawkins on 020 7233 6026 or 07736 015916

The annual benchmarking survey is sponsored by Kingston Smith W1 and carried out by Rekindle Research on behalf of the PRCA.

About the PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 250 agency members from around the world, including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent over 70 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations.

Comments (0)
Think before you print! Save energy and paper! Do you really need to print this page?
Fee Income
X
Drag here
  • This field should only be completed by the individual with responsibility for your company's PRCA membership.
  • NB - Once you check the box to the left of this field and click update this figure is fixed for the entire year.
  • Fee income is defined as fees or income arising from time spent on carrying out public relations consultancy work plus any mark up and any handling charges or profits made on disbursement or expenses.
  • This figure
    1. will be used to calculate your membership subscription fee for 2009
    2. will be published on the PRCA website and in the yearbook.
  • This figure must include the fees from any subsidiary companies but not associated companies (see below).
  • If you are bound by Sarbanes-Oxley please select that accordingly, we will contact you individually about your fee income.
Holders of public office
X
Drag here
  • Please list any employees who hold any public office including members of House of Parliament, members of local authorities or of any statutory organisations or bodies who are full- or part part-time directors, partners, staff, special advisers or consultants retained by the consultancy
Subsidiary companies
X
Drag here
  • These companies are entitled to the same benefits as other PRCA members, they must abide by the PRCA Professional Charter and Codes of Conduct and their fee income must be included in the fee income field above.
Associated companies
X
Drag here
  • These companies are not included in your membership and as such do not benefit from PRCA member benefits. These companies are not covered by the PRCA professional charter.
Current clients
X
Drag here

The clients listed in this section are those which retain a consultancy on a continuing basis to deal with their public relations either in a specialised area or as a whole. One asterisk (*) against a client's name indicates that the consultancy has been retained by that client for three years; two asterisks (**) indicate that it has been retained for at least five years. Clients served on an ad-hoc basis are listed separately.

Adhoc clients
X
Drag here

Clients for whom you have undertaken work in the last twelve months on a project rather than a retained basis

Conflict of interest clients
X
Drag here

NB This will not appear as a separate list in the yearbook.