New study from Common Sense Advisory shows steady pay increases, overall employment stability, and high levels of job satisfaction for workers in the language services industry.

Boston, MA – October 21, 2010 — Global business depends heavily on the translation and localization services industry, which market research firm Common Sense Advisory estimates will generate US$26 billion in 2010. And, as globalization increases, more content is created in more languages than ever before. These two factors help to explain the findings of “Language Services Industry Compensation,” the latest report from Common Sense Advisory.

The new research, based on a survey of 1,037 people in 64 countries, reveals that individuals employed in the language services industry continued to see pay raises and increased demand for their services throughout the economic downturn.

“On average, translation and localization workers expected to receive annual compensation of US$63,130 in 2010, compared to US$60,673 in 2009,” observed report lead analyst and Chief Research Officer Nataly Kelly. “The language services market grew steadily throughout the recession, and salaries continued to increase throughout this period as well.”

Key research findings include:
* Compensation in emerging markets is rising at a faster pace. Translation professionals in China saw their income grow by 46.09%, while those workers living in Russia, Brazil, Israel, and Romania also saw increase in excess of 25%.
* Job title and location determine pay grade. In North America, the most highly paid individuals worked in executive management, sales, and content creation. In Asia, those working in compliance, customer support, and human resources reported earning the most. In Europe, the workers with the highest compensation were found in executive management, sales, and account management.
* Large companies have been giving better raises. Professionals experiencing the largest increases in pay were those working at firms with US$100 billion or more in revenue – those individuals saw their pay rise by 17.37% from 2008 to 2010.
* Gender disparities exist. Across the global sample, men earned an average of US$65,901 compared with women, who earned just US$55,790. However, in six countries – Denmark, France, India, Singapore, South Africa, and Switzerland – women earned more than men during each of the three years analyzed.

“While most translation and localization professionals saw wage increases, earning levels fell for workers located in some countries, such as Ireland and South Africa,” Kelly points out. “Still, on the whole, compensation on both the supply and the demand sides of the language services market grew steadily throughout the economic downtown, reinforcing our past findings that this is a recession-resistant industry.”

For more on the firm’s research, visit www.commonsenseadvisory.com.

About Common Sense Advisory :
Common Sense Advisory, Inc. is an independent research and analysis firm specializing in the on- and offline operations driving business globalization, internationalization, localization, translation, and interpretation. Its research, consulting, and training help organizations improve the quality of their global business operations. For more information, visit: www.commonsenseadvisory.com or www.twitter.com/CSA_Research.

Contact:
Melissa C. Gillespie
Common Sense Advisory
Boston, MA
+1 760-643-9140
[email protected]

http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com

The UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agent can report a dramatic increase in people booking holidays following the festive comedown and freezing conditions, when compared to the same time last year.

Since December and when compared to the same time last year, www.sunshine.co.uk has seen a huge increase in bookings for holidays to hot destinations like the Canary Islands and Egypt, as the ice and snow is tempting more people to head abroad to lift their spirits caused by the January blues.

With the recession declared over by economists at the end of December and the icy weather taking its toll on Britain’s roads and population, there has been a 67% rise in the number of bookings for holidays on sunshine.co.uk. More people can now afford to enjoy a break away from the weather as a result which is both positive for the travel industry and holidaymakers in general.

January 2009 saw some low temperatures, but not to the extent of the conditions that the country is currently experiencing. Sunshine.co.uk wanted to find out what factors were influencing people to start making bookings, so collected the thoughts of 1,226 Brits.

83% of respondents admit to being in a better financial position now than this time last year to book a holiday and 2 in 3 said that escaping the cold was a top reason for wanting to get some winter sun. Almost half, 48%, said they were feeling slightly low now that Christmas is officially over and of those people, 95% said a holiday would cheer them up.

Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, commented on the rise in bookings;

“It is extremely encouraging to see this current rise in holiday bookings, not just for us as a travel agent, but for the thousands of people that have wanted to get away for a while, but who have been restricted by their finances. The recession affected us all in some way, but it’s good to see things are now looking up in the economy.”

“In an ideal world, I think everyone wants an annual holiday and now it is possible. The desire to get away for a week or two to somewhere sunny has definitely been heightened by the snow that the UK is experiencing and the January blues that many suffer from after Christmas.”

LINK http://www.sunshine.co.uk

ENDS

For more information or to set up interviews with Chris Brown please contact Shannon Haigh

10 Yetis Public Relation Agency, on 01452 348211 or email [email protected]

Editors Notes:

·         Sunshine.co.uk is the UK’s largest independent online travel agent

·         The management team behind the company created and managed Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Information:
Maureen Flynn
Imprintables Etc.
858-581-2578
800-656-4648
Fax-866-279-7069
www.imprintables-etc.com
[email protected]

It Pays To Promote During a Recession

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) confirmed on December 1, 2008, that the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007. Many economists believe the current recession will be the worst since the recession of 1981-82. Times are rough, but that doesn’t mean you should lower your advertising budget; you actually should maintain or raise it, or just advertise smarter.

A recent study by McGraw-Hill Research showed that companies that maintained or upped their advertising during the 1981–82 recession, had gains in sales in the short-run as well as the long-run. The McGraw-Hill Research study analyzed 600 companies from 1980 to 1985, and found those that advertised aggressively throughout the recession had sales 256% higher than ones who cut back on advertising.

For most companies during recessionary times, it is hard to maintain or even raise their advertising budget. This is why it’s important for companies to get the most return on their marketing budget investment. There are many types of advertising to choose from, but some work better than others. One form of advertisement is imprinting your company logo on promotional products that people use every day. It leaves a lasting impression much longer than an advertisement in the newspaper, on TV, or on the internet. Through the creative use of these products, companies can strengthen their brand and ultimately build their business. Promotional products will drive customers to your company website and or a physical retail location, which leads to measurable results. Data can also be captured for future marketing use.

Companies like Imprintables Etc. (www.imprintables-etc.com) have been in business for 20 years because this type of advertisement works. For a business, recession or not, it is very important to keep your company name in the minds of current and future customers. Research has shown that even during tough economic times, well planned marketing programs and strategic advertising pays off.  And then as the economy picks back up, they will be well positioned for continued growth.

Contact Maureen today at www.imprintables-etc.com for creative ideas on how you can maximize your marketing dollars.

###