With the recession now officially over, the Irish advertising industry is now a lot more bullish about its future according to the latest IAPI Industry Census.

With an 83% response rate from the 54 agencies that make up IAPI’s membership base, the Industry Census notes that there are now 1,611 full time staff employed in the industry, up from 1,545 in 2014 with the growth attributable to a hiring spree that took place in 2014 amongst many of the country’s top agencies. The Census also highlights the fact that around 77% of those people are under the age of 40, with the average being 36.

Delving into the financial fortunes of adland, the Census reports that gross creative income is down while media billings continue to rise. “One reason for the fall in creative incomes may be global accounts being run from London and other centres. Other factors may include media owners creating more content for media agencies, global use of content simply repurposed in Ireland and clients using existing creative materials,” the Census notes.

Once again, the survey examines the gender balance in adland and points out that the number of women at CEO/MD/Managing Partner level has risen from 13% to 18% in 2015. Overall, however, the industry is completely balanced with 50% males and 50% females making up the total workforce.

While the overall picture is positive, there are a number of challenges facing the sector at the moment. Cost pressures and the need to increase hourly rates, staff recruitment and retention, salary inflation and the investment required in new business pitches represent some of the key challenges.

On the other hand, the changing economy means that clients are now stepping up their advertising marketing investment while developments in “Big Data”, real time bidding and other technology related areas have also created opportunities, according to the survey.