• Total active marketing job listings reached 83,916 in Q3 2026, down 1.9% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
• Employers posted 53,126 new marketing jobs during the quarter, a slight 0.1% QoQ decline.
• 23,420 employers recruited for marketing roles during Q3.
• After peaking in early May, hiring demand declined through June and early July before recovering steadily throughout August and September.
• At quarter-end (September 28, 2026), there were 36,832 live marketing job listings, up 9.0% year-over-year (YoY) and 3.9% from the end of Q2.
• Despite a modest decline in total quarterly listings, the recovery in live vacancies suggests that marketing hiring regained momentum during Q3, ending the quarter at its highest level since early May.

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• The U.S. market recorded 11,692 active senior marketing job listings (Director-level and above) during Q3 2026, a marginal 0.2% increase QoQ.
• Of these, 7,255 were newly posted positions, down just 0.6% from the previous quarter.
• By September 28, 5,167 senior marketing vacancies remained live, representing a 15.5% year-over-year increase and a 1.8% rise from the end of Q2.
• Following a dip in early July, senior marketing vacancies recovered and remained relatively stable throughout August and September, reaching a yearly high of 5,223 in late September.
• Senior hiring continues to grow faster than the overall marketing job market, with year-over-year growth of 15.5% compared with 9.0% across all marketing positions. The sustained gap suggests employers remain particularly willing to invest in experienced marketing leadership.
  

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• At quarter-end (September 28, 2026), the average job posting lifetime stood at 39 days.
• This was unchanged from a year earlier and 2 days shorter than at the end of Q2.
• The shorter posting lifetime suggests a modest improvement in hiring pace during Q3, consistent with the recovery in live marketing vacancies obse.

• Manager and Senior Manager roles remained the largest segment of the U.S. in-house marketing job market, with 10,786 live vacancies at quarter-end, up 15.1% YoY.
• Hiring increased YoY across most marketing levels, led by Group Director, Senior Director, VP and Head of roles (+28.4%), followed by Specialist/Senior Associate (+17.6%), Manager/Senior Manager (+15.1%), and Associate Director/Director (+13.6%).
• Entry-level vacancies recovered during Q3, rising 10.2% QoQ, but remained 2.5% below the same period last year.
• At the highest levels, C-suite vacancies declined 14.3% YoY, while EVP/SVP and Executive Director roles fell 8.1%, contrasting with stronger demand for mid-to-senior management positions.
• Overall, Director-level and above vacancies grew 15.3% from the September 2025 baseline, compared with 8.0% for Entry-to-Manager-level roles, indicating that demand for experienced marketing talent continues to outpace the broader market.
  

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• At quarter-end (September 28, 2026), 57.3% of marketing job listings included salary information, up from 53.9% a year earlier and 55.6% at the end of Q2.
• The median advertised marketing salary reached $97,500, up 14.0% year-over-year (YoY) and 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
• The 25th percentile salary stood at $60,580, up 13.1% YoY but down 2.9% QoQ.
• The 75th percentile salary reached $148,803, up 10.2% YoY and 2.6% QoQ.
• Salary growth remained strong across the market, with the median advertised salary rising faster than both the lower and upper salary percentiles over the past year.

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• General Marketing remained the largest category, with 16,747 live vacancies at quarter-end, up 3.2% year-over-year (YoY) and 3.8% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
• Growth Marketing recorded the strongest YoY increase (+20.2%), followed by Product Marketing (+18.0%), Brand Marketing (+17.5%), Field Marketing (+16.8%) and Content Marketing (+16.5%).
• Communications & PR saw the largest QoQ increase (+10.0%), followed by Product Marketing (+8.9%) and Content Marketing (+6.1%).
• Media was the only discipline to record a YoY increase (+6.3%) alongside a double-digit QoQ decline (-10.4%), while Partner & Channel Marketing also declined QoQ (-7.4%).
• Product Marketing continued to offer the highest median advertised salary at $163,998, followed by Partner & Channel Marketing ($139,100) and Growth Marketing ($122,502).
• Median advertised salaries increased YoY across all disciplines, led by Field Marketing (+30.0%), Growth Marketing (+16.7%) and Communications & PR (+14.6%).

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• The top 10 states for marketing job vacancies were California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio.
• California remained the largest state market for marketing jobs, with 5,527 live vacancies at quarter-end, up 12.5% year-over-year (YoY) and 2.2% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
• New York ranked second with 4,168 vacancies, recording the strongest YoY growth (+21.5%) among the top 10 states, followed by California (+12.5%) and Massachusetts (+10.7%).
• Ohio entered the top 10, replacing North Carolina, while Pennsylvania moved ahead of New Jersey into eighth place.
• Pennsylvania recorded the strongest QoQ growth (+8.1%) among the top 10, followed by Massachusetts (+6.7%) and Ohio (+6.3%). Florida was the only top-ten state to record declines both YoY (-1.8%) and QoQ (-2.4%).
• California continued to offer the highest median advertised salary at $124,998, followed by New York ($119,995) and Massachusetts ($112,507).
• Median advertised salaries increased YoY in nine of the top 10 states, led by Ohio (+27.6%), Georgia (+25.0%) and Texas (+24.8%). New Jersey was the only exception, declining 7.5% YoY.

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• The top 10 cities for marketing job vacancies were New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Houston and Seattle, with no changes in the top 10 rankings from Q2.
• New York remained the largest city market, with 3,546 live marketing vacancies at quarter-end, up 22.0% year-over-year (YoY) and 4.5% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
• San Francisco recorded the strongest YoY growth (+24.7%) among the top 10 cities, followed by New York (+22.0%) and Atlanta (+17.3%).
• Atlanta led QoQ growth (+12.5%), followed by Boston (+7.4%) and Austin (+6.5%). Los Angeles (-2.9%) and Seattle (-0.5%) were the only cities to record quarterly declines, while Dallas was the only top 10 city to experience a YoY decline (-0.5%).
• San Francisco continued to offer the highest median advertised salary at $169,926, followed by Seattle ($141,170) and New York ($126,506).
• Median advertised salaries increased YoY across all top 10 cities, led by Atlanta (+20.2%), Chicago (+20.1%) and Seattle (+17.6%).

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