DIGITAL and design agencies “may be emerging from the economic difficulties of recent years”, according to an annual report that monitors the ‘health’ of the sector in the UK, including levels of pay.
Says the lead author of Design Industry Voices 2013: “This is the first evidence we have that the industry is in recovery.”
Continues Rachel Fairley, managing of Fairley & Associates, one of the three partners behind the report: “Despite the pressure from clients to do more for less money, agency leaders are awarding their staff pay rises and bonuses.”
Some key figures from the report:
* Over half (53.7 per cent) of respondents intend to change job and about the same proportion (58.6 per cent) perceive that agencies are employing fewer permanent staff. These proportions are a little lower than those found in 2012.
* Almost two-thirds (63.4 per cent) of respondents have received a pay rise during the last two years. Pay rises are outstripping inflation with nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of those who received a pay rise in the last year reporting that is was over three per cent of their salary. More than ten per cent of respondents report pay rises of more than ten per cent.
* 42 per cent of UK digital and design agency staff have received a pay rise during the last 12 months.A quarter of respondents (27.7 per cent) have received a bonus in the last year.
* Working your way up from a junior position is considered the best form of training in the industry. Design and digital are the areas where a relevant degree or course is most highly rated as a form of training. Two-fifths of respondents (40.5 per cent) still consider that agencies perform badly in terms of supporting professional development.
Source: Design Industry Voices 2013, published January 6 2014.
