2026 Marketing job market: In-demand roles and hiring trends

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How work gets done is changing rapidly, as are the skills required to drive business success. Companies across industries are launching new initiatives, adopting AI and adjusting to shifting demands, and seeking skilled talent to support growth and modernization. But many firms remain cautious about adding headcount too quickly. As a result, staffing conversations in early 2026 are increasingly focused on which roles are most essential and how to hire effectively.

These trends are unfolding as marketing and creative teams face growing pressure to increase performance and deliver measurable results across channels. Leaders are balancing brand-building and creative execution with increasing expectations around analytics, automation and AI-enabled marketing. At the same time, evolving platforms, tools and customer behaviors are raising the bar for digital fluency, AI literacy, adaptability and cross-functional collaboration. This is making it harder for teams to find professionals adept at connecting strategy, execution and performance.

Research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report shows many marketing and creative leaders are responding to these and other challenges with a mix of approaches—including upskilling existing teams and engaging highly skilled contract talent—to support key priorities such as marketing analytics and performance, content marketing strategy, and marketing automation initiatives.

2026 Marketing job market: In-demand roles and hiring trends

What does the marketing hiring market look like?
What marketing and creative roles are still in demand?
What marketing and creative roles are seeing increased demand in 2026—and why?
What marketing and creative skills are in demand?
How to compete for marketing and creative talent in 2026

What does the marketing hiring market look like?

In early 2026, marketing and creative leaders are approaching hiring with cautious optimism. According to research from Robert Half, 81% of leaders are feeling confident about their organization’s business outlook for 2026. Continued investment in brand, digital engagement and performance-driven marketing initiatives is likely fueling that sense of optimism for many leaders.

Business confidence is also translating into increased hiring activity. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of marketing leaders say they plan to expand permanent headcount within their departments in the first half of 2026, while 61% say they will step up contract or temporary hiring. Many organizations are prioritizing roles that support digital marketing campaigns, content execution, analytics and marketing automation.

At the same time, the tight labor market is keeping the hiring environment for specialized talent competitive. Nearly half (45%) of marketing and creative leaders say finding skilled professionals is more challenging than it was a year ago.

What job posting trends show

Robert Half’s analysis of job posting activity in the U.S. points to sustained demand for marketing and creative talent, with employers posting 376,200 jobs in 2025. Advertising for digital marketing roles across all seniority levels was particularly robust (64,900 postings).

Job postings for many specialized roles saw sustained growth across 2025, including marketing automation manager, which saw 10% year-over-year growth. While marketing analytics roles saw fewer postings than in 2024, these positions still accounted for 19% of all new digital marketing job postings—a sign that the need for data-driven insight in marketing remains vital.

Product-related roles in marketing also continued to gain traction in the hiring market. Employers posted more than 54,000 of these jobs in 2025, including 29,400 product manager roles and 24,800 product marketing manager positions. This demand highlights the growing overlap between marketing, product strategy and customer experience.

Several industries played an outsized role in driving creative and marketing hiring trends in 2025. Manufacturing and distribution led the way with 32,600 job postings, followed closely by tech and IT (31,600) and financial services (26,600). Consumer products organizations, whose brands must compete for attention in crowded markets, posted more than 20,000 marketing and creative roles.

What unemployment rates suggest about the competition for skilled marketing talent

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows annual unemployment rates for various marketing roles were trending well below the year-end 2025 national unemployment rate of 4.4%. Examples include:

Marketing analysts and specialists: 3.8%

Marketing managers: 3.3%

Advertising and promotions managers: 2.6%

What marketing and creative roles are still in demand?

While hiring priorities vary by organization, demand remains strong for marketing and creative professionals who can support campaign execution, digital performance and customer engagement. Examples of roles that help organizations turn strategy into action include:

Digital marketing specialist: These professionals plan, execute and optimize campaigns across digital platforms and channels, using analytics and automation to improve targeting, performance and efficiency.

Digital project manager: These leaders keep campaigns, launches and cross-functional initiatives on track by coordinating timelines, stakeholders, workflows and approvals.

Graphic designer: Organizations rely on these professionals to help produce compelling visual assets and apply brand standards consistently across digital and print platforms and formats.

Social media specialist: These specialists drive ongoing engagement and brand visibility as platforms evolve, using analytics and AI-assisted tools to refine content and timing.

UX designer: As organizations invest more in digital experiences, they need professionals who can improve usability and conversion while supporting customer satisfaction.

What marketing and creative roles are seeing increased demand in 2026—and why?

As marketing teams work to improve conversion and retention, scale personalized outreach, and execute projects and campaigns more efficiently, demand is rising for these roles:

Email marketing specialist: Many organizations are doubling down on owned channels and personalized engagement, and they need marketing professionals who can use segmentation, automation and performance data to improve conversion and retention—and keep customer life cycle programs running efficiently at scale.

Marketing manager: Demand is growing for marketing leaders who can translate strategy into coordinated execution across campaigns, teams and partners, and keep creative, digital and analytics work aligned with business goals.

Product manager: The spotlight is shining brighter on product managers as organizations more closely connect product decisions to customer insights and go-to-market execution. These professionals help align product road map priorities, digital experiences and performance measurement across teams.

Learn more about marketing and creative jobs in demand

View the report

Explore our Demand for Skilled Talent report to see what specializations employers need most this year in the marketing and creative field and other top professions.

What marketing and creative skills are in demand?

In 2026, marketing and creative team leaders are prioritizing skills that keep work flowing smoothly from concept to launch to optimization. The strongest demand is for capabilities that can help teams collaborate efficiently, personalize outreach and turn data insights into action while maximizing creative impact. Professionals who can use automation and AI tools effectively in their role and apply soft skills such as creativity and critical thinking to that work are also highly sought after.

Here are some highlights from Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report and job posting analysis.

Marketing and creative technical capabilities employers value most

A/B testing

AI-powered marketing

Customer experience

Data visualization

Marketing workflows and automation

Personalization

Product management

Storytelling

Examples of software proficiencies in high demand

Adobe

Figma

GA4

How to compete for marketing and creative talent in 2026

Find out more

Competing for marketing and creative talent in the year ahead starts with offering a clear and compelling value proposition. Top candidates are drawn to roles where expectations are well-defined, tools and workflows are modern, and work is clearly connected to business outcomes. Employers that move quickly, communicate role scope and success metrics early, and show how the position fits into broader marketing and product strategies are better positioned to secure in-demand professionals.

Work flexibility, offered as part of a compelling total compensation package, can also help employers compete effectively for skilled talent. Research from Robert Half shows that only 30% of marketing and creative roles are advertised as hybrid work arrangements, leaving many organizations at a disadvantage in a talent market where flexibility is a priority. Employers that can offer hybrid or remote options may widen their candidate pools significantly. When on-site or fixed schedules are required, organizations can still differentiate by offering flexibility in other ways, such as predictable workloads and paid time off.

Engaging specialized recruiters can also provide an edge. Higher application volume, uneven quality of candidates’ skills and experience, and the rise of AI-generated resumes are making it harder for leaders to assess potential hires quickly and confidently. As a result, many employers seek additional support. Sixty-nine percent of marketing and creative leaders say the AI factor alone has made them more likely to turn to a staffing or consulting firm to help validate skills, accelerate hiring decisions and find candidates with specialized AI skills.

That support is delivering results. A majority (88%) of marketing and creative leaders surveyed for our Demand for Skilled Talent report say staffing firms have been effective at helping them address AI-related hiring challenges. For hiring managers facing tight timelines and persistent talent shortages, specialized recruiters can also help surface qualified candidates faster and provide access to flexible talent options, including permanent and contract professionals.

Robert Half can help you secure the skilled marketing talent and creative professionals your organization needs to succeed in 2026.

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About the Demand for Skilled Talent report

The Demand for Skilled Talent report by Robert Half is an authoritative source providing essential insights into employment trends. This report has offered a deep dive into the U.S. hiring landscape for over a decade, spotlighting challenges and strategies to attract and retain talent. It explores what employees seek in their careers, identifies common recruitment errors and suggests solutions. The report spans finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources, proving crucial for business leaders and managers.

Methodology

The surveys cited were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the U.S.

Over 1.5 million new positions from more than 9,000 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including thousands of placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 430 job titles within Robert Half’s Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, non-clinical healthcare, and human resources professions.