Published in the National Business Review of 28 November 2008

The average PR practitioner is still a female graduate in her mid 30's working inhouse in either Auckland or Wellington and earning about $90 000 a year a biennial survey has found.

Vitality Research surveyed 734 practitioners (including over 200 non members) for the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ).

The survey shows that the trends identified in the previous survey in 2006 have continued and strengthened. The profession is becoming younger; more female dominated, and is increasingly a first career choice.

The survey finds 74% of practitioners are female and 56% are under the age of 40. Only 14% of those under 30 years of age are male compared with 53% of those aged 50 or more.

71% of the PR and communications professionals are based in Auckland and Wellington - very similar to the 2006 result - and over half have a specific PR or communications qualification.

Two thirds of the profession works in house - a third of that group in central government, 23% in local government and 26% in the private sector (including SOEs).

Only 27% have been journalists at some stage confirming a long term trend that PR is no longer a second career for aging male journalists. It is now a first career for aspiring educated females.

The survey finds that among new recruits in the last five years, marketers and students were now more common than journalists. While 43% of the "older hands" in the profession came from a journalism background, only 15% of the new recruits did so.

Those working in consultancies or in house in the private sector earn the most, although their packages have increased by less than those in the public sector and in academia in the past two years.

Two percent of the profession earns more than $250 000 with median earnings being in the $75-$85k band. Average earnings are $93 400, an increase of 6.9% in two years.

For about two thirds of the profession media relations and corporate communications are their main activities (both slightly down on 2006). Publicity and issues management were the most important or sole role for over half the profession and reputation management (measured for the first time) was scored as most important or sole by 59%.

Marketing, consumer and brand PR and online PR were cited by nearly four out of ten in the profession.

The more senior members of the profession were much more likely to be involved in corporate communications, reputation management and issues management than less experienced practitioners.

The survey confirmed the picture of the industry as a large number of small teams. There was an average of 3.9 persons in a consultancy and 4.2 for in house teams - both down a bit on 2006 figures. 78% of consultancies reported earnings of under $500 000 in 2007, and in the 2008 survey there are more firms earning less than $100,000 than in 2006.