Hiring at marketing and advertising firms in Canada is expected to increase this year by 13% – up by seven percentage points from the previous quarter, according to a survey conducted by The Creative Group, a Menlo Park, CA-headquartered specialized staffing service with an office in Toronto.

Of those surveyed, 200 were marketing execs that work for mid-sized companies of more than 100 employees, and 50 were ad agencies with 20 or more employees. When asked if their firm or agency planned to increase full-time marketing or advertising personnel, 15% said they would increase positions, 2% said they would cut jobs, while 79% said there would be no staffing changes this quarter.

Out of those execs who intended to hire, 19% said they were looking for candidates in the ‘media services’ category – up from 9% last quarter.

This increase indicates that some firms are finally ready to replace those jobs that were lost during recession-related cuts last year, says Aviva Stiavnicky, branch manager for Creative Group in Toronto.

‘For most of 2009 and probably Q1 and part of Q2 [2010], these were positions that were eliminated or additional head count wasn’t added. So we’re seeing these positions come back to life,’ Stiavnicky tells MiC.

Most new jobs, however, seem to be in the web design/production category (23%) and marketing research (20%). Brand or product management, print design and media services all tied with 19%, while copywriters are the least in demand for this quarter, with only 6% saying they are hiring in this area.