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The public relations profession is starting to emerge from the recession that slowed salary growth last year, according to results of Public Relations Journal's Seventh Annual Salary Survey. The survey results show PRJ readers have an annual median salary of $46,556, a 6.5% increase over last year's median salary of $43,718.
Some ripple effects of the recession, however, are still being felt, the study shows. This is particularly true at corporations, which continued to experience a loss of public relations positions. The study also found a widening salary gender gap, strong divisions of opinion over questions of career advancement, particularly for women, and the persistence of the perception that public relations is a low-paying profession.
At the same time, the responses to several new questions about trends in employment and attitudes toward public relations show that PRJ readers have relatively optimistic views about the profession's future. Compared to 1991, PRJ readers expect more job growth at their organizations or departments in 1992, particularly at public relations firms. The study also reveals a widespread belief that, compared to five years ago, public relations professionals enjoy more respect from the media and are more involved in providing strategic advice to top management.
SALARY GROWTH FASTER
Salaries grew faster in the past year than in the year before, and kept ahead of the cost of living. While the median public relations salary in 1991, $43,718, was only 1.2% higher than the 1990 median salary, the 1992 median salary, $46,556, is, as noted above, 6.5% higher than the median salary in 1991.
These 1992 figures are based on 2,019 responses to a survey mailed to 4,260 subscribers, a 47% response rate. The results can be projected to the PRJ readership as a whole, but not necessarily to the entire public relations profession, or to those who are not PRJ subscribers or readers. The margin of error on this sample is +/-3%, and all the percentages in this article were tested for statistical significance (see "Survey method and sample description," page 16).
The median reported salary raise from 1991 to 1992 was 6% for all respondents, regardless of gender. This is a decrease of 1 percentage point, or 14%, from the reported raise of 7% from 1990 to 1991....