Is the UK design industry on the road to recovery?

The UK design industry, like many others, has suffered at the hands of the economic crisis of recent years. But are things on the turnaround? The fifth annual Design Industry Voices report, by Fairley & Associates, Gabriele Skelton and On Pointe Marketing, certainly suggests so.

Among the report, it states that "42 per cent of UK digital and design agency staff have received a pay rise in the last 12 months. Pay rises are outstripping inflation with nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of those who received a pay rise in the last year reporting that is was over 3 per cent of their salary. More than 10 per cent of respondents report pay rises of more than 10 per cent."

Rachel Fairley, lead author of the new research and MD of Fairley & Associates, commented; “This is the first evidence we have that the industry is in recovery, as despite the pressure from clients to do more for less money, agency leaders are awarding their staff pay rises and bonuses.”

The Design Industry Voices team also recently published the above infographic, depicting how British digital and design agency owners and employees feels about working in the industry right now.

Want to know more about the design industry's health and get expert advice on how to gauge your market value and ensure you receive it? You'll find it all in the new issue of Computer Arts, on sale tomorrow!