IPA Publishes 2000 Census

Employment levels were up last year at IPA member companies, according to the 2000 IPA Agency Census, released on Friday. The survey revealed that by 1 September 2000 13,508 were employed by 196 companies, compared to 13,000 at 201 companies a year before.

The census proved that the image of advertising as a young, London-based industry still rings true, with 50% of all staff in the survey being under 30 and 82% under 40, while staff numbers in London companies were up year on year from 9,941 to 10,451, which means that 78% of staff are based in the capital.

The industry has at times been accused of favouring men, and the census carries mixed messages on this subject. Almost half of all staff were women, but only 25% of board directors and 37% of all other heads of department were found to be female.

A new table in this year’s census reveals that over 11,000 of IPA member agency staff are employed at creative/full service agencies, while the remaining 2,000 or more are employed at media agencies.

Next year’s census may well reveal a different outlook, as even before the events of 11 September, the difficulties faced by the US advertising market were beginning to be felt over here, prompting belt-tightening measures at UK agencies (see Feature: Climate To Remain Chilly For Advertising In Coming Months).

IPA: 020 7235 7020 www.ipa.co.uk

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