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Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, estimated that the marketing sector, including advertising and media agencies, would suffer a 6% fall in gross output over the period affected by the spending review.

According to Hawksworth, this loss is 'above average' when compared with other sectors such as construction, and does not take account of the knock-on effect on other parts of the marketing landscape, including research.

PwC estimated that the public-sector cuts announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review last week would lead to the loss of 500,000 jobs in the private sector. Business services would account for 186,000 of these losses.

While the cuts would offer more opportunities for outsourcing, Hawksworth noted that, as the government has already, in effect, outsourced much of its marketing activity, this would not have a positive effect on the wider industry.

The cuts have led to concerns that the recovery in marketing recruitment will be quashed before it has begun.

However, Simon Bassett, managing director of marketing and communications recruiter EMR, said demand for private-sector marketing roles was 'as strong as it had been since mid-2008'.

'Private-sector jobs have risen by 38% compared with 2009,' he added. 'As confidence grows, we expect this to continue in the first quarter of 2011.'