SAN FRANCISCO - March 26, 2001 - PRWeek, the premier public relations trade publication, and Text 100 International, one of the largest global independent technology PR firms in the world, today announced the results of a jointly sponsored PR salary survey. The key findings of the survey show that the PR industry enjoyed a record spike in salaries in 2000 with an average increase of 17%. The jump was fueled primarily by an escalation in hi-tech PR salaries, which rose by 27%. These figures soar above the salary increases for other professional service sectors: salaries in advertising rose by 6.3% (source: Advertising Age) and 5.3% in management consultancies (source: Deloitte & Touche). The US workforce as a whole enjoyed a 2.1% wage increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unusual salary increases of 2000 weren't restricted to the hi-tech sector, as consumer and utilities PR salaries increased by 22 and 20% respectively. In-house PR positions still tended to pay higher salaries, but agencies closed the gap with salary gains up 18.9% as opposed to 15.8% in corporate PR. Additionally, the location of PR people had a significant impact on their pay. While all the major US cities recorded above average salary gains, it was the key tech markets of San Jose and San Francisco that topped the wage tables (see table at end).

Aedhmar Hynes, CEO of Text 100 International, said the PR salary highs of 2000 were the direct result of the economic boom in the technology industry. "What we saw was a reflection of the strong financial performance of our clients. It was one of the strongest periods in the history of the stock market, and the technology market as a whole experienced an undersupply of qualified people. PR merely mirrored that."

However, the outlook for 2001 is more sober, with expectations of only a 5.7% increase in PR salaries for the coming year. Hynes believes that the current depressed economic situation will bring PR salaries back into line. "As quickly as we've seen the dot-com and technology market take a significant downturn, I believe we'll see the same happen with salaries in the businesses that serve it. I expect we'll see the imbalance in tech salaries diminishing over a relatively short period of time."

The PRWeek/Text 100 Salary Survey also showed that an increased number of PR executives feel they could lose their jobs this year, with 17% of respondents feeling that their job is under threat as a result of an M&A, and 21.4% perceiving a threat to their job as a result of the economic slowdown.

Despite this, staff turnover looks likely to be an issue for the PR industry: 35% of the survey respondents indicated that they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months with 32.5% actively looking. Adam Leyland, PRWeek's editor-in-chief, feels that despite the job market changing from a seller to a buyer's market, companies are going to have to work hard to tackle the issue of employee turnover. "We expect PR salaries to be more realistically represented in this next year, so agencies will need to offer more aggressive overall benefit packages and career tracks for advancement to retain key staff."

The survey shows that 30% of agency staff and 35% of corporate staff feel that the training they receive is inadequate. Hynes believes that training is just one way in which staff retention can be improved. "Employers need to be committed to really understanding what motivates people to stay. It's imperative to create a work/life balance and ensure that you actually deliver on it. That's everything from flexible working through to extended vacations, sabbaticals and global inter-company transfers that enable staff to progress their careers without leaving the company."

Salaries by region: THERE'S A TABLE THAT GOES HERE!!!

The PRWeek/Text 100 Salary Survey 2001 was conducted by email in February 2001. The results were logged and analyzed by Impulse Research, an independent Los Angeles-based research firm. With more than 5,000 respondents, the results are accurate to +/- 2% at a 95% level of confidence. For a copy of the full report, at a cost of $250, contact Talya Meyerowitz at (212) 251 2600.

About Text 100 International
Text 100 International is one of the largest independent technology public relations consultancies in the world. With 25 offices across Europe, North America, India, Africa and the Asia Pacific region Text 100 is the largest and most established brand within the OneMonday Group (ONE.L). Its clients include industry leaders such as BT, Compaq Computer Corporation, SAP, Unisphere and Xerox Corporation as well as emerging technology companies Amazon.com, Excite@Home, Handspring, InfoSpace Inc. and Virginbiz.net. For more information about Text 100, please visit www.text100.com.

About PRWeek
PRWeek is the first and only weekly newsmagazine about public relations. Based in New York, the magazine has a staff of over 30 and correspondents in Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and other cities. Launched in November of 1998, the U.S. edition of PRWeek is one of a stable of PR magazines published by The Haymarket Group, with editions in the UK, Germany, Asia and Latin America. The Haymarket Group is based in London, and is Britain's largest privately held magazine publisher. Haymarket publications include Management Today, and the advertising industry publications Campaign and Marketing. Other U.S. publications include Revolution, which covers the Internet industry and which launched in the U.S. last year, as well as titles in the medical, automotive and gardening sectors.

For more information:

Text 100 Corporation
Melissa Collier
Melissac@text100.com
617-723-1044

PRWeek
Adam Leyland
adam.leyland@prweek.com
212-251-2600

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