Most marketing and advertising hiring decision-makers in the US plan to expand their creative (nontechnical) teams in the first half of 2019, according to recent research from The Creative Group.

The report was based on data from a survey of more than 400 marketing and advertising hiring decision-makers who work full time for companies in the United States with 100 or more employees, or for agencies with 20 or more employees.

Some 60% of respondents say they plan to add new positions to their teams in the first half of 2019, and 37% plan to fill only vacated positions. Just 3% of respondents plan to freeze hiring.

Most (56%) respondents plan to increase the number of freelancers on staff in the first half of 2019.

Marketing and advertising hiring decision-makers report the greatest need for Web and mobile development, Web production, and user experience roles.

Some 92% of hiring managers say it's challenging to find skilled marketing and advertising creative talent.

More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents say they are concerned about losing creative staff members to other job opportunities in the next 12 months.

Hiring managers say the greatest barriers to recruiting top talent are the slow speed to hire and the inability to meet compensation requirements.

Marketing and advertising hiring decision-makers say the most important factors when evaluating applications for positions are previous experience, portfolio quality, and interview performance.

Respondents say the biggest deal-breaker when evaluating resumes is frequent job hopping.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of more than 400 marketing and advertising hiring decision-makers who work full time for companies in the United States with 100 or more employees, or for agencies with 20 or more employees.