US ad employment springs back, adding 900 jobs in March

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. Expanded jobs data: AdAge.com/adjobs. Credit: Infographic by Ad Age. Photo: iStock ployment in advertising, public relations and related services rose by 900 jobs in March, setting a new all-time high. Overall U.S. employment surged by 303,000 jobs in March, according to the monthly employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was the strongest monthly gain since last May, far exceeding economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, edged down to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February. Below, Ad Age Datacenter breaks down the report—by the numbers. Ad spending, marketing, and financial stats Fast facts and figures on marketers and advertising from Ad Age Datacenter Click here Advertising, PR and related services S. employment in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classification of advertising, PR and related services came in at a record 520,900 jobs in March based on seasonally adjusted figures. The ad market gained 900 jobs in March following a loss of 400 jobs in February. Since the beginning of 2023, ad employment has increased every month except for February 2023, March 2023 and February 2024. is BLS jobs 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 46%—of those jobs. Over the past six months, the average monthly gain for the ad market was about 1,700 jobs. These ad employment gains came despite cutbacks over the past year at media companies, ad-centric tech firms and some agencies. Top marketers, brands and agency ventures Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of the biggest U.S. and global advertisers and agency companies Click here ployment in the broad BLS classification of media streaming distribution services, social networks and other media networks and content providers fell to 221,200 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, down 500 jobs from January. Employment in the classification of web search portals and all other information services held steady at 149,800 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Staffing is well below the all-time high of 162,100 jobs reached in late 2022. Ad agencies S. ad agency employment rose to 238,100 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, gaining 700 jobs. The February increase followed a loss of 1,200 ad agency jobs in January. Ad agency employment is slightly below the all-time high of 238,600 reached in December 2023. BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so March figures aren’t yet available. But the March increase in advertising, PR and related services employment suggests that ad agency staffing rose last month. U.S. ad agency employment February 2024 vs. previous month: +700February 2024 vs. year earlier: +11,900 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not seasonally adjusted. Expanded jobs data: AdAge.com/adjobs. Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2023 Ad spending, rankings and analysis for the top 100 advertisers Click here Unemployment rate e U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, dropped a tick to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February. The jobless rate has stayed within a range of 3.4% to 4.0% every month since December 2021, a stretch of unusually low unemployment not seen since the 1960s. (The unemployment rate stayed within a range of 3.4% to 4.0% from December 1965 through January 1970.) U.S. unemployment rate March 2024: 3.8% Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. Become an All Access subscriber Get access to exclusive resources including Leading National Advertisers, World’s Largest Advertisers, Agency Report, Agency Review Tracker and TV Pricing Report. Click here U.S. employment e nation in March added 303,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, far above economists’ predictions. That was the strongest growth since last May, when the economy also added 303,000 jobs. March’s job increase marked 39 consecutive months of job gains, an uninterrupted winning streak that began in January 2021. Over the past six months, the average monthly increase was 244,000 jobs. BLS said the economy gained 270,000 jobs in February, downwardly revised from the 275,000 jobs reported a month ago. BLS said 256,000 jobs were added in January, upwardly revised from the 229,000 jobs reported a month ago. BLS monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. Following an unprecedented loss of 20.5 million jobs in April 2020 as the nation locked down in the coronavirus pandemic, the economy has added jobs every month except for December 2020. Total U.S. employment (158.1 million jobs in March) has recovered all of its pandemic losses, topping its February 2020 pre-pandemic peak (152.3 million) to reach a new all-time high. The World Health Organization in January 2020 declared the coronavirus outbreak a global public health emergency and in March 2020 classified COVID-19 as a pandemic. The group’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in May 2023 determined that “COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.” Ad Age All Access subscribers can see an expanded table showing advertising employment back to 2000 at AdAge.com/adjobs. That table incorporates employment data revisions made by BLS in February 2024 in its annual benchmarking process and updating of seasonal adjustment factors. Month-to-month change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls March 2024 vs. previous month: +303,000 Month/year Jobs increase (decrease) Jan. 2023 482,000 Feb. 2023 287,000 March 2023 146,000 April 2023 278,000 May 2023 303,000 June 2023 240,000 July 2023 184,000 Aug. 2023 210,000 Sep. 2023 246,000 Oct. 2023 165,000 Nov. 2023 182,000 Dec. 2023 290,000 Jan. 2024 256,000 Feb. 2024 270,000 March 2024 303,000 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. 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US ad employment springs back, adding 900 jobs in March

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