U.S. Marketing Jobs Report

With the economy playing coy and everyone nervously eyeing the horizon, we’ve been wondering: how’s the marketing job market holding up? Are the wheels still turning? Or have they come off entirely? Which corners of the industry are weathering the storm, and where’s the macroeconomic malaise hitting hardest?

So when our data partner, Aspen Technology Labs, handed over the Q2 figures, we braced for impact. To our surprise, we exhaled instead. So take a deep in and out with us.

Yes, the market’s cooled and the frenzy has faded, but not nearly as dramatically as we feared. In fact, demand increased in certain areas.

After a buoyant Q1, Q2 saw a modest market correction. Total marketing job volumes dipped 6.7% quarter-over-quarter. Roles took longer to fill, entry-level hiring slackened, and the overall pace decelerated. But peel back the top layer, and you’ll spot a different story: strategic hiring at the senior end continued apace, with steady demand for Product and Growth Marketing roles, and a notable uptick in C-suite listings.

Here’s what else stood out in the Q2 2025 roundup:

1. Despite the downturn, we’re witnessing a correction, not a collapse. Total active listings landed at 83,754 - down, yes, but not in freefall. New postings slid 13.2%, and job listings at quarter’s end hovered just above 33k. Notably, over 22,000 employers were still seeking marketing talent.

2. Senior hiring held steady. Director-level roles and above clocked in at just over 10k - only slightly down from Q1. And while new senior listings decreased 5.3%, quarter-end numbers increased 5.4% year-over-year. That’s resilience.

3. The real winners? (From an admittedly low base) C-level roles shot up 34.8% YoY, while VP and Group Director gigs rose a healthy 17%. Entry-level jobs, meanwhile, took a hit: down 15.1% from Q1 and 6.7% YoY. If you’re just starting out, it’s slimmer pickings.

4. By discipline, Product Marketing led the charge with a 9.8% YoY gain, followed closely by Growth and Field Marketing. Media roles crept up too. On the flip side, Channel Marketing and Comms saw double-digit drops, and Digital Marketing took a hit. Product Marketing was the leader in best pay, with median salaries at a lucrative $160,004.

5. Hiring times stretched - jobs now linger on the market for 34 days on average, up 3 days from Q1. But on the bright side, salary transparency is up: over half of all listings now disclose pay, a healthy 8.5-point jump from last year.

6. Remote roles have stabilised at around 14.3%. We think this is our floor.

7. Geographic trends offered a mixed bag. Virginia dropped out of the top 10 hiring states (ouch), while Texas, New York, and Florida gained ground. Massachusetts may have lost jobs, but salaries soared: a whopping 21.5% YoY.

8. In terms of Cities, New York, San Francisco, and LA continue to dominate, but Austin and Dallas are climbing fast. Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago, not so much. Seattle, meanwhile, is having a moment: jobs are up, pay is up, and it’s quietly becoming a hotspot. Amazon play a role in this as hiring ‘returns-to-office’

Bottom line? The frenzy may be over, but the fundamentals aren’t falling apart. The market’s cooled, but it’s still got heat - especially if you’ve got experience, specialisation, and a nose for growth.

That said, we’re not ignoring the agency world. Far from it. We’re actively working to track agency-side hiring too. But Indie shops tend to rise, fall, and recruit on rhythms entirely their own, unlike the steadier beat of large firms. It makes pinning down a comprehensive view… tricky.

Still, progress. Our database now includes 300 agency employers and continues to grow. And while it’s not the whole orchestra, the current score isn’t exactly upbeat. As of Q2’s end, the number of US-based agency roles across our sample was down 15% year-over-year, and nearly -12% from Q1. Salaries, meanwhile, mainly stayed flat.

We're on the case.

Now, for those who get a thrill from graphs, charts, and multicoloured data wizardry - the full report is packed with all the insights, visuals, and sortable tables your analytical heart could desire. Just hit the button below and dig in.

Bon appétit. And don’t forget to share it with your friends and fellow job-curious or job-seeking marketing talent. We see you doing it and we appreciate it 😉