Salaries and bonuses in the corporate communications sector have fallen as companies seek caution.

Salaries and bonuses for corporate communications professionals have fallen as teams have face tighter budgets and economic uncertainty.

Overall, the number of corporate communications professionals receiving a salary increase fell by eleven percentage points this year to 68 per cent, according to an annual report by The Works Search, a PR and corporate communications consultancy.

Bonuses across the industry have also fallen to an 18 per cent average, down two percentage points from the previous year. Communications professionals working in-house have fared better however, receiving bonuses of 21 per cent, compared to 13 per cent for agency counterparts. The appeal of working in-house has remained strong, being four times more attractive to professionals than agencies. Sarah Leembruggen, managing director at The Works Search, ascribed companies’ caution to an unpredictable economy.

“When the economy is hard to predict, companies act with caution and deploy their resources efficiently,” she said. “It’s only natural for decision-makers to want to tighten their communications budgets and this has a knock-on effect to the comms agencies that support them.  Everyone is trying to protect their bottom line and retain their margins. Inevitably, reduced salaries and bonuses will factor into these cuts.”

While increases across the industry were fewer and smaller, 79 per cent of corporate communications professionals reported being happy with their pay, the highest proportion in over five years. Additionally, the report highlighted a growing interest in ‘sabbaticals’ as a ‘most wanted’ company benefit, giving an insight to employees’ changing priorities.