U.S. ad agency employment has reached an all-time high, and the overall economy is on track to recover all of its pandemic job losses and break a new record this summer.
Employment in advertising, public relations and related services rose by 3,200 jobs in March, according to the monthly employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The ad jobs growth came as U.S. employers in March added 431,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.
Below, Ad Age Datacenter breaks down the report—by the numbers.
Datacenter
Ad agency employment hits an all-time high
Boom goes the ad market—Advertising employment gained 3,200 jobs in March as the U.S. labor market kept humming along
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Advertising, PR and related services
U.S. employment in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classification of advertising, public relations and related services came in at 473,700 jobs in March based on figures that are not seasonally adjusted.
The March gain of 3,200 ad jobs followed an increase of 12,800 jobs in February. The February increase marked the biggest-ever one-month gain in ad jobs.
BLS upwardly revised the February figure from a preliminary gain of 8,500 jobs it reported a month ago.
This BLS bucket includes ad agencies, PR agencies and related services such as media buying, media reps, outdoor advertising, direct mail and other services related to advertising. Ad agencies account for the biggest portion—about 45%—of jobs in that BLS bucket.
Ad agencies
U.S. ad agency employment hit a record 213,400 jobs in February, topping the previous record set in December (213,000).
Ad agencies added 1,400 jobs in February after cutting 1,000 jobs in January based on figures that are not seasonally adjusted.
BLS revised the January figure from a preliminary loss of 1,100 jobs it reported a month ago.
BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so March figures aren’t yet available.
But the solid growth in March advertising, public relations and related services staffing suggests that ad agencies scored more gains last month.
Check out The Big List, Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of advertisers and agencies.
Internet media
U.S. internet media employment—the BLS classification of “internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals”—increased by 600 jobs in February after rising by 3,100 jobs in January.
BLS upwardly revised the January figure from a preliminary gain of 1,700 jobs it reported a month ago.
Internet media employment stood at 324,600 jobs in February, an all-time high.
As with ad agencies, internet media staffing is reported with a one-month delay and is not seasonally adjusted.
U.S. employment
The nation in March added 431,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, slightly below economists’ predictions.
Employment grew by an upwardly revised 750,000 jobs in February and an upwardly revised 504,000 jobs in January.
Following an unprecedented loss of 20.5 million jobs in April 2020 as the nation locked down, the economy has added jobs every month except for December 2020.
The World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020.
The total U.S. nonfarm payroll is still 1.6 million jobs below its February 2020 all-time high. If the pace of recent monthly job gains continues, total U.S. employment will recover all of its pandemic losses and score a new record in June or July.
Unemployment rate
The U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, fell to 3.6% in March from 3.8% in February. The unemployment rate is almost back to its pre-pandemic level.
The unemployment rate was 3.5% in February 2020, tied for the lowest level since 1969. In April 2020, it reached 14.7%, the highest since before World War II.
Ad Age Datacenter subscribers can see an expanded table showing advertising employment back to 2000 at AdAge.com/adjobs. The table incorporates data revisions back to 2017 that BLS made in February 2022 in its annual benchmarking process and updating of seasonal adjustment factors.
