Job Trends in 2012: MN Marketing, Creative, & Interactive

2011 was a year of growth for marketing, creative, and interactive staffing.  As the unemployment rate steadily dropped, demand for staffing and recruiting rose. In 2010, Celarity experienced a 31% increase in volume. In 2011 the demand jumped by over 54%. Most of this growth in demand is attributed to contract and contract-to-hire positions.

In these uncertain times clients have taken advantage of short-term staffing help to lower costs and risk. As their workloads increased, a large portion of these short-term positions became full-time hires (A very positive sign of growth within the industry).

2011 Top Marketing & Creative Jobs in MN

The top three job skills that Celarity’s clients requested were Project Managers, Web Designers, and Communication/Copywriters. Just about all of these jobs required some form of web/interactive experience. We do not see this trend reversing at all because there’s been significant interest from Celarity’s clients regarding mobile skills. If it has to do with web/mobile, it will be very popular in 2012.

Trending Marketing topics in 2011 into 2012

Local organization’s (AMA, MIMA, AIGA, Ad Fed, and others) event topics are effective at predicting future demand. Many clients go to these events to come up with new project ideas.  Based on the topics from 2011, we’re more likely to see interest in content strategy, mobile, and social media. You can find future Minneapolis marketing and creative events on the Scoop Calendar and bi-weekly e-newsletter.

What’s next in Marketing & Creative Staffing and Recruiting?

There’s many encouraging signs that 2012 will be another year of growth. Below is a glimpse at some of these signs.

• Staffing Industry Analysts reports that contract help is the second highest sector in job growth the last six months.

• The Federal Reserve is predicting steady economic growth around 2.5% for 2012.

• Inc Magazine predicts that 4 of the top 5 in demand skills for 2012 will be in Marketing and Creative

The slow growth in the economy, high demand/low supply of special skills, and trend in temp jobs point to more contract and contract-to-hire opportunities in Marketing and Creative. Clients want to push new technology but lack the speciality skills within their teams. A great solution is contract help from a staffing agency.

Celarity is very passionate about all things Marketing and Creative in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Please feel free to comment below with your own predictions and observations! Check out Celarity’s current job openings or tell us about your recruiting and staffing needs.

Happy New Year everyone and best of luck in 2012!

-Your Celarity Team