Marketing vacancies in the UK have accounted for a growing percentage of all available jobs in the year to January 2017, according to a report from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

The report, ‘APSCo Marketing Trends Report’, based on data from Vacancysoft, showed that while overall marketing vacancy numbers remained fairly stable, at around 2,100 per month, a fall in the overall number of professional vacancies means that marketing jobs as a percentage of all vacancies has increased by 17%, year-on-year.  

“It’s unsurprising that marketing vacancies represent a larger proportion of roles than they did a year ago,” Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo, said. “Once the preserve of large-multinationals, now almost every organisation has marketing resources in place, whether that be in-house or outsourced to a specialist agency. The explosion of digital media in recent years means that it is now absolutely crucial that brands manage their reputation in real-time, or risk losing share of voice in their respective markets.”   

The report also found that a number of disciplines saw double-digit growth in demand, with both the insurance and pharmaceutical sectors experiencing growth in demand in excess of 25% year-on-year.   

“It’s interesting that the growth in marketing roles is highest in the insurance and pharma sectors, as these are areas where differentiating an organisation from competing brands is arguably most difficult – businesses in these sectors have traditionally promoted similar USPs and Employer Value Propositions (EVPs). I don’t think it’s any coincidence that these are also sectors where our members are witnessing some of the most acute talent shortages,” Swain said. 

The insight also revealed that while vacancies in Greater London continued to account for more than half (58%) of all new openings, the fastest growth in marketing jobs was found in the regions, with the North East, West Midlands and Wales seeing vacancies increase by 41%, 34% and 30% respectively.

“It’s not unexpected that vacancy growth is accelerating outside of London, as an increasing number of big businesses ‘Northshore’ operations to not only cut costs but also tap into skilled talent pools outside of the capital,” Swain said.