Mining is where the money is, even if you’re employed in a sales or marketing role it would seem. Salary increases for marketers in Australia’s booming resources sector far outstripped increases received by the average marketer and will do so again over the coming year, according to a survey by recruiter Hays.

Overall, sales and marketing talent can expect only moderate salary increases this year as current market conditions, which saw most receive increases of between 3% and 6% in their last review, remain.

Senior regional director of Hays Sales & Marketing, Peter Noblet, is calling current market conditions the ‘new normal’. “There is no silver bullet over the horizon to wait for,” he says. “Current conditions are here to stay for some time, so the sooner we can adapt business practices to meet the requirements of this – the ‘new normal’ – rather than waiting for a dramatic reversal to the global market to set us on a more secure road, the more effective we’ll all be.”

Released today, the 2012 Hays Salary Guide surveyed 1,500 employers across Australian and New Zealand, revealing that 46% of employers increased salaries last year by between 3% and 6%, and 10% gave increase above 6%, while the rest received less than 3% or no increase at all.

The mining sector fared the best with 55% of employers increasing salaries between 3% and 6%, and 20% increasing them by more than 6%. Professional services salaries also performed well, with 53% of employers increasing salaries between 3% and 6% and 17% increasing them by more than 6%.

Looking ahead, 42% of employers intend to increase salaries between 3% and 6% when they next review. A further 6% will offer greater increases, but 52% of employers intend to increase salaries by less than 3% or not at all.

Again the biggest increases for sales and marketing professionals will be seen by professionals in the mining and resources industry, where 55% of employers intend to increase salaries between 3% and 6% when they next review. A further 15% will receive increases above 6%.

Professional services, IT and telecommunications, construction, property and engineering are the other stand-out industries for salary increases in the year ahead.

Noblet adds that employers will also offer alternatives to salary increases in the form of other pay offs. “Instead of offering widespread salary increases, many employers are choosing to review employee benefits to help them attract and retain staff. Work-life balance improvements in particular are being used as an alternative to large salary increases. Employers are also quick to discuss potential career paths with their high achievers and will offer training and development opportunities.

Looking ahead, Noblet expects to see an increase in candidate movement as budgets are released and new roles are created by company mergers, takeovers and restructures. “The year ahead looks to be an exciting time for the sales and marketing industry.”