Spain: Communications Sector Wages – Falling Down
Last month it´s been released in Madrid, Spain, the second edition of the report on salaries in the Spanish communications and public relations sector.
An innitiative of Wellcomm, the study aims to provide professionals and companies a valid and updated instrument, designed to meet the reality of the communications market and also provide the basis for management compensation policies, wages costs and salary expectations regarding the various professional skills, profiles and specific jobs within the communication field.
The report is the result of a survey conducted between July and September 2013 on more than 500 industry professionals from PR agencies (38%), companies´ communication departments (33%), media (13%), marketing and advertising departments (11%), among others.
The study shows that, Spanish communication pros face the present and the future with pessimism and discontent, due to mainly three reasons: lack of career development, the absence of a career plan and a poor definition of their functions.
55% of the professionals surveyed believe their current positions do not offer opportunities for promotion based on their performance, and only 23% of them have a career plan in their company. Furthermore, only 40% of professionals believe that the competencies of their position are well defined.
65% of professionals agree that their current job is not sufficiently remunerated in accordance with their capabilities and performance, and only three out of ten participants in the study said their companies invest in their training.
In addition, 73% of respondents say they would leave their current job for another with better economic conditions within the industry. That´s concerning!
In terms of wages, professionals in communications departments are the top earners; while journalists and freelancers are the ones that least earn in the sector.
According to the study, the average salary in the communication sector in 2013 is € 31,770 per year, which represents a 2.7% decrease compared to 2012.
The most frequent salary range is between 15,000 and 25,000 euros, while only 17% of the respondents declared an annual salary higher than € 45,000. 22% of participants said they are paid between 25,000 and 35,000 euros per year, and only 14% declared salaries between 35,000 and 45,000 euros per year.
The corporate communication departments lead the salary ranking, with an average annual salary of 37,088 euros, followed by marketing (35,345 euros per year), advertising (32,211 euros per year) and PR agencies with € 28,496 per year. Journalists and freelancers are the ones earning the lowest wages in the industry, with €26,359, respectively €24,807 per year.
The profile of the Spanish communication professional has not changed significantly over the last year: woman, age between 30 and 40 years, with over 8 years experiece and a monthly salary of €1,000.
Regarding the wage gap between men and women, this has been reduced with over 27%. On average, men earn € 6,700 more per year than women, compared to € 9,190 last year. However, this reduction is not due to an improvement of women’s wages, but to lowering the annual average salary of men (from 38,216 in 2012 to 35836 euros in 2013).
Wellcomm is a new concept of consultancy for professionals, organizations and companies seeking efficient alternatives to their communication needs, organization or professional development, and the first Spanish company specialized in selection and development of talent for the communication sector.
Born in 2006 as part of Silvia Albert in Company, is led by Rosa Matias – journalist, consultant and coach with extensive experience in the development of innovative strategies, both in public and in private sector.
