Marketing Jobs Crisis: Entry-Level Roles Hit Hardest, Salaries Stagnant

The marketing job market continues to slip amid economic uncertainty, hitting those at the start of their careers or in generalist positions especially hard, according to data from Taligence, an executive search and talent intelligence firm. Active job listings for marketing roles overall fell 5.2% between the second and third quarters of this year, and new listings fell 4.4% during the same period. While there was a slight volume increase toward the end of August, the industry faces significant challenges as it weathers economic woes and generative artificial intelligence (AI) proliferation.

Entry-level roles aren’t the only ones being impacted by a negative economic landscape. C-level marketing positions, which posted a median salary of $200,002, saw a 10.1% decrease year-over-year (YoY) in the median salary and a 27.3% decrease quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). This could be a reflection of the increased scrutiny placed on the CMO position. Executive directors, however, are faring better.

“Despite a confusing macro environment, senior seats are holding up,” said Michael Wright, CEO and founder of Taligence in reference to roles at the director level and above, in emailed responses to Marketing Dive. “Companies continue to spend big on experienced leaders who can move revenue quickly and predictably. Entry-level hiring remains soft.”

Taligence’s third quarter “U.S. Marketing Jobs Report” was conducted by scraping and analyzing data from over 150,000 employer websites. The data was gathered by Aspen Tech Labs.

Early-Career Blues

Those seeking entry-level positions are facing numerous challenges, with the number of entry-level listings dropping 8.6% YoY. However, a 5.4% QoQ increase indicates demand for these positions may be recovering.

Finding a role isn’t the only challenge, according to the report. Hiring is taking longer than usual, with the average lifetime of a position posting reaching 41 days in Q3, a five-day YoY increase and a seven-day QoQ increase.

“We see some job listings appearing to be frozen in time, 150, even 200 days old. I believe economic doubts and erratic policy are having a much more adverse impact right now than AI and automation. Employers are simply looking for marketers who can have a rapid, measurable impact on revenue and margin,” said Wright.

Salaries for entry-level positions have remained somewhat stagnant, with a median salary of $50,003, a 0.3% decrease YoY. There was no QoQ change. Group directors, senior directors and vice presidents have a median salary of $195,000, a 4.4% decrease YoY and a 2.5% decrease QoQ. Demand for middle and upper management roles remained consistent.

What Employers (and Employees) Want

Pay transparency has continued to climb in popularity, with 53% of all marketing listings being salary transparent, a 7.8% increase YoY. Pay transparency isn’t the only thing going up, with the median salary hitting $85,946, a 4.6% increase YoY.

Additionally, there is demand for some specialties over others. The need for growth marketers increased 36.2% YoY, followed by product marketers at a growth rate of 8.9% YoY. The need for communications professionals fell 17.5% YoY. Product marketers boast the highest median pay at $158,496. General marketers saw the largest pay increase at 6.7% YoY.

“The market is favoring roles tied to revenue clarity and clean go-to-market packaging. Every role type should demonstrate a connection to a revenue moment to justify its cost,” said Wright.

Location also plays an important role when it comes to salary, according to the report. California had the highest median salary at $114,993, a 7% YoY increase. New York followed closely behind with a median salary of $110,001, a 5.8% YoY increase. San Francisco saw a YoY job growth of 22.2%, while Seattle saw a decline of 28.4%. The demand for remote jobs remained relatively flat, up only half a percent YoY. Remote jobs make up just 14% of all marketing jobs.

Ultimately, the marketing industry has hit bumps in the road before and has recovered, such as the dot com era, 2009 financial crisis and the pandemic. The current environment may be one of those cases.

“I would still recommend marketing careers and education to my nieces and nephews. Few professions move as fast, are as fun, are as technology-enabled, and are as relied upon to generate dollars,” said Wright. “This turbulence will pass.”