According to new research from The Creative Group, the job market will be robust for creatives in the year ahead, but there are challenges when it comes to recruitment.

The survey is based on responses from 200 Canadian advertising and marketing managers who work full time at companies with 20 or more employees.

Nearly all of the respondents (92%) said it’s “somewhat or very challenging” to source the creative talent they’re looking for, up from 79% in a similar poll conducted six months ago. More specifically, respondents cited the difficulty in finding applicants with technical skills in digital environments and technology, such as digital strategy, motion graphics, customer experience, UI design, AI and social media management.

“Combining high-tech with high-touch is crucial to building a top-notch and innovative creative team, driving demand for professionals with backgrounds in user experience, data analytics and digital strategy,” says Deborah Bottineau, district president of The Creative Group.

Those areas of struggles are also reflected in the top areas the managers are looking to hire in during the first half of next year, also more general creative development and visual design also ranked highly on the list (seen below).

The research also shows it’s becoming harder for organizations to hold onto creative and marketing staff: 71% said employee retention is more difficult now compared to one year ago. More than half (59%) said losing a highly skilled staffer without notice would have a significant adverse impact on their business, because the person would be hard to replace. Also, 64% reported they experience the most turnover among mid-level employees.

To combat this, the most common retention strategies cited by advertising and marketing managers were increased bonuses (53%) and offering better benefits (49%).