Fifty-nine percent of marketing and advertising executives plan to maintain current staff levels in the next six months, according to new research from The Creative Group. Nine percent expect to add to their teams, 25 percent anticipate hiring freezes and 4 percent plan to reduce the size of their staff.

“Many organizations brought on new staff at the beginning of the year to position themselves for expected growth in the coming months,” said Donna Farrugia, executive director of The Creative Group. “Employers are now adding positions, when appropriate, to keep up with new business demands. Web design and production remains a top growth area as companies seek to expand and improve their online presence.”

Fifty-two percent of marketing and advertising executives said it’s challenging to find skilled creative professionals today. Hiring managers at midsize advertising agencies (with 50 to 99 employees) report the greatest difficulty, with 81 percent of respondents saying it is somewhat or very challenging.

Marketing and advertising executives were asked, “In which of the following areas do you expect to hire in the second half of 2013?” Their responses include:

• Web design/production: 23 percent
• Print design/production: 18 percent
• Account services: 16 percent
• Social media: 15 percent
• Media services: 15 percent
• Public relations: 14 percent
• Interactive media: 13 percent
• Brand/product management: 12 percent
• Creative/art direction: 12 percent
• Marketing research: 11 percent
• Mobile applications development 10 percent
• Copywriting: 10 percent

The survey is based on more than 400 telephone interviews — approximately 300 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 100 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

The Creative Group is a marketing/creative staffing division of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI).