✅ Salaries hold steady in 2025 as industry navigates political and economic shifts
Corporate communications, public relations, media and management insight
Data published by recruiter Reuben Sinclair suggests that the market for salaries in public relations and communications is flat except for entry-level roles where the industry is adopting living wage standards.
Last year, the market for public relations jobs and salaries experienced three distinct phases, reflecting market sentiment and the broader economy. The PR & Comms 2025 UK Salary and Market Guide, published by Reuben Sinclair, tells the story of these changes.
The year began cautiously, with economic uncertainty dominating business decisions. All focus was on the outcome of the coming UK election. The industry experienced a wave of redundancies and a notable pullback in hiring investments.
The mood music changed following the UK election at the end of July. The transition from a Conservative to a Labour administration brought political clarity and renewed confidence. Agencies and in-house teams experienced an uptick in new business activity and investment.
A sense of optimism and recovery suggested that the industry was ready to move forward and grow, but it was short-lived.
The new Labour Government’s Autumn Budget announcement increased National Insurance contributions and ignited speculation regarding changes to employment rights legislation. Agencies and in-house teams once more adopted a measured approach.
So where are we now? There is no doubt we’re in an employer’s market.
The stop-go, stop-go nature of the market shows the industry’s resilience and ability to respond to changing circumstances, but it also highlights its fundamental challenge as a sector tied to economic and political developments.
According to Reuben Sinclair, hiring is currently focused on replacement and strategic roles such as data, insight and growth. Following the change of government, the corporate affairs market is strong, with expertise in policy and government relations.
This is consistent with the Wadds Inc. Jobs in PR dataset, which has already seen a notable growth in AI roles in 2025.
This focus by employers has an inevitable impact on candidate behaviour. Practitioners are cautious about making moves. The 'last in, first out' concern leads many to prioritise security over potentially rewarding but uncertain opportunities elsewhere.
The result is that salaries in public relations and communications have been stable in 2024. This is likely to continue until the economy picks up. Reuben Sinclair notes that industry leaders are more optimistic for the year ahead than 12 months ago.
A PRCA Pulse Check in January reported that 22% of its members felt confident about their organisation. A similar proportion (23%) expected 1-3% growth in 2025.
One area of the market is showing movement. Reuben Sinclair reports that the most significant changes are occurring at the junior level. Organisations are increasingly concentrating on early-career roles, acknowledging the importance of establishing strong foundational teams.
There is a growing industry commitment to align starting salaries with living wage standards.
The Real Living Wage in the UK is £24,570 per year (£12.60 per hour) and £27,000 per year (£13.85 per hour) in London. The National Living Wage for people aged 21 and over is £22,308 per year (£11.44 per hour) and will increase to £23,809 per year (£12.21 per hour) in April.
This is a meaningful and welcome step toward making the industry more accessible and competitive in attracting new talent.
The Reuben Sinclair PR & Comms 2025 UK Salary and Market Guide is a useful benchmarking tool. It contains salary data for agency and in-house roles across various markets and levels.
Have a good week ahead.
🎨 AI RIGHTS: The UK government faces opposition from creative industries over plans to implement an opt-out system for AI companies to train on creators' works. Critics, including the University of Cambridge, have labelled the proposal potentially damaging to the sector. The controversial proposal has sparked concerns about placing unfair burdens on artists while failing to guarantee economic benefits. Source: Graham Lovelace.
🔍 AI TRANSPARENCY: There’s a growing debate in public sector communications about how to implement AI transparency. The Scottish Government is leading the way with an AI registry system. The discussion has moved on to the question of how to disclose AI use in everything from social media posts to press releases. Some organisations, like Friends of the Earth, already require comprehensive disclosure of AI involvement in content creation. Source: Dan Slee.
💫 EMOTIONAL EDGE: AI-generated content posted on LinkedIn, commonly called AI slop, is ruining the platform. This week, its Creative Labs issued a call urging users to focus on human connection and engagement. It stopped short of instructing users and organisations to shun AI and write their own content, suggesting they build trust through engagement, emotional connection and wit. Source: LinkedIn.
Management
📊 PUBLIC INSIGHT: The 2025 Public Sector Comms survey, the UK's largest benchmarking study of local public services communications, examines the scope, resourcing and influence of communications functions. Participating organisations will receive a summary report that analyses communications metrics and provides comparisons based on organisational size, population served and functions undertaken. Source: Seashell Communications.
🔮 STRATEGIC FORESIGHT: An innovative new framework combines strategic foresight with communication methodology to help organisations effectively discuss future developments while maintaining credibility. The empirically tested approach integrates meta-communication, topical communication, and management processes to create a structured system for communicating complex future scenarios. Source: Wadds Inc.
🌟 HOPE LEADS: A new Gallup study reveals hope has overtaken trust as the primary factor in leadership, with 56% of global respondents prioritising hope compared to 33% for trust. The findings, which align with the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer's analysis of grievance and trust breakdown, offer insights for leadership communications and public relations practitioners managing stakeholder relationships. Source: Gallup.
⚠️ GREENWASH WARNING: The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has banned adverts from Flooring by Nature for unsubstantiated environmental claims about their carpets and Ocean Finance for encouraging irresponsible credit spending. The ASA requires evidence for environmental impact statements and responsible messaging around consumer spending. Source: Slavina Dimitrova.
Stephen Waddington is a non executive director of Reuben Sinclair. Sarah Waddington CBE is the interim CEO of the PRCA.
Thank you to Gabriela Weiss Clarke, Slavina Dimitrova, Alan Morrison, Mandy Pearce, Dan Slee, Sarah Waddington CBE and everyone who shares and debates the stories in the newsletter via our Facebook and LinkedIn communities.