New government policies, political shifts, economic downturns and changing market dynamics—all are having a marked impact on salaries in the art industry, according to the second SML Art Market Talent Report, released today.
Compiled by the specialist recruitment company SML and the analytics firm ArtTactic, the report draws from 1,590 responses completed between 2023 to 2024 and paints a less than rosy picture. As Rosie Allan, SML’s managing partner, tells The Art Newspaper: “We have been through a bit of a tough time in the art world, and I think the survey responses correlate with that.”
Salaries
Employee salary satisfaction has, according to the report, declined by 19.6% since the first SML survey in 2022, with earnings in the US appearing to decline from an average $75,000 in 2022 to $70,000 in 2024, leading to a 25.7% drop in satisfaction there. However, Europe presents a more positive story, with salaries increasing from €43,500 in 2022 to €50,000 in 2023 and 2024. In the UK, average salaries appear to have grown, from £35,000 in 2022 to £40,000 in 2024.
Salaries increase with the size of the business, the survey finds—being 20% higher in Europe at large firms (defined as more than 251 employees) at €60,000 compared to €50,000 at medium-sized companies (defined as between 21 and 250 employees).
Remote working opportunities are low across the board but especially in the UK where 13.2% of employees work on flexi-time, compared to 35.1% in Europe and 22.9% in the US. Tied to this is the fact that most jobs (62.6%) in the art world are on-site, especially in the gallery sector (82.7%).
Increasing autonomy
Autonomy and independence within jobs came out well, with around 60% saying they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied”. Overall the outlook for the art market picked up by the end of last year—negative hiring perceptions in the US fell from 36% to 25%.
“This edition comes at a time of significant challenges. Recent political shifts, including new leadership in both the United States and the United Kingdom, have created uncertainty, prompting businesses to delay long-term planning,” write Allan and her fellow SML managing partner Rachel Johnston in the introduction. “In the UK, the Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill has had unintended consequences, discouraging hiring rather than promoting job security. Economic downturns have led to widespread redundancies and reduced revenue. Financial pressures and shifting market dynamics have forced many organisations to restructure, making talent retention and job satisfaction increasingly difficult.”
DEI under threat
Another factor is that following US President Trump’s abolishment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which are "often unfairly positioned as a scapegoat for broader challenges" the report finds, and which are now being scraped or curtailed at many international organisations. This may compound the report’s unsurprising finding that white employees in the art world earn the most (£41,375 median salary in the UK, $90,000 in the US), with staff who are Black earning the lowest median salaries in both the UK (£26,000) and the US ($67,000).
The scrapping of the DEI policies is something that the report’s authors take aim at in the advice section as “merit-based systems often fail to be truly objective” and without DEI initiatives, “unconscious biases related to gender, race and socioeconomic background can persist, disadvantaging underrepresented groups.”
DEI initiatives must be “embedded at every recruitment level”, the advice says, including internships which should be adequately compensated so not to deter the less-well off at the first rung of the ladder.
Value of degrees
A notable finding is that higher education does not automatically lead to higher earnings (especially in the UK and Europe), with PhD and master’s degree holders earning the same as or less than those with under-graduate or high school qualifications. For instance, in Europe the median salary for someone with an undergraduate bachelors degree is €42,000, whereas a masters is €42,500 and a doctorate (PhD) is €40,800. Those who joined the workforce immediately after leaving school, meanwhile, earn a median salary of €69,100. In the US, those with the highest levels of education do appear to be better paid, with median salaries of $80,000 (bachelors), $90,000 (masters) and $112,500 (doctorate).
The implication might be that higher education is a waste of time, but Allan stresses this is not the case: “The reason is simply that people who leave education earlier get into the workforce faster, so it does make sense that there might be a lag in increased salaries at certain levels. But that’s not to say that there’s no point doing a PhD because you’re not going to earn more. I think if we dug into that point in more detail we would find that’s not the case.”
Many employees said they have side-hustles to provide supplementary income, particularly those working in micro businesses (fewer than five employees) where 54.1% said they take on extra paid work. This trend is growing in tandem with salary dissatisfaction among people in their 30s, with the most common types of additional work being freelance art advisory services, alongside teaching, social media content creation, writing and editing, and curating.
Signs of recovery
Employment trends lag behind what is going on in the art market so once auction results start to pick up, hiring increases—and, as we have seen in the last couple of years, when they go down, the firing starts. “This lag happens because the art market needs that talent to support that pipeline of work, but they need that pipeline of work in order to require the talent,” Allan says. “We’re expecting the employment market to start picking up, these things tend to go in two-year cycles.”
In terms of geographies, Milan and Paris are growing, says Allan, who also points to “a lot of activity within art advisory firms”, something she thinks might be a reaction to the auction houses restructuring: “They’re seeing the opportunity to develop.” Regional auction houses are also making the most of redundancies at the major international firms, picking up experienced specialists.
For now, it is an employer’s market due to a “surplus of talent” following numerous redundancies, Allan says, putting negotiating power with the employer. “So, what we’re doing is encouraging our clients to see this as a great opportunity and to absorb any of the talent that might be available,” Allan says. She is also seeing more shorter-term and consulting contracts, which are “a great way to be nimble and bring on talent without incurring the higher costs of hiring someone on a permanent contract.” Such contracts can be mutually beneficial, she says: “Let’s say you have been made redundant, you have got the opportunity to feel out various businesses but also get work immediately rather than go through longer recruitment processes.”
Advice
The report concludes with an advice section for employers and employees. For employers, the advice is to foster “competitive compensation, benefits, and supportive and transparent work environments”. Writing comprehensive job descriptions and implementing “a structured and consistent review process” are also listed as key (and frequently cited as lacking by employees).
For employees seeking a new role, Allan has the following advice: “Be flexible, consider short-term or consulting contracts, look at what your priorities are, and invest in any skills or professional development courses. Building a professional network is really important. And, be informed about any industry trends and what it is that employers are looking for.”
