Strategy Jobs Market Update – May 2024

Fulltime Roles – In the last several weeks there has been a mild uptick in hiring of creative and brand planners/strategists, but this has to be seen in context. This market is still very tight. I’m talking with a number of you still being given news that your job has been cut.

Freelance Roles – For many of the freelancers/consultants, 2022/2023 were good years but 2024 is a different story. This year many of you have experienced a clear reduction in opportunities. This is a factor of less work generally, of brands and through them agencies, reluctant to spend on freelance, which is more expensive than hiring someone full-time.

Across Markets – In the last three months, I’ve met with
strategists in a number of markets including Sao Paolo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and London. The picture I am seeing is consistent across markets. There are always nuances that effect each market differently but one that is a key driver (as well as AI) is the cost of money.

Where is the strategy jobs market heading?
There’s plenty in the way of holding company ‘recalibration’ which will drive
uncertainty for some time yet that said the simplistic, optimists’ view…
The reason this jobs market feels ‘incremental/replacement/defensive’
versus one of ‘investment’ hiring is because of a CFO fear that until
central banks communicate a confidence that interest rates are on a downward trajectory, they might actually go up! Yes, once we see a reduction in interest rates it’s my belief that CFO’s will then have the confidence to allow greater investment in jobs. We’re getting closer to this point. Stay positive.
Roll on interest rate cuts which if nothing else will cut brands and agencies some slack.
Onwards,