Employment in advertising, public relations and related services declined by 300 jobs in November, continuing a seesawing pattern that has seen small monthly gains and losses but no significant movement since last spring. 

Overall U.S. employment rebounded with an increase of 227,000 jobs, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reaffirming an overall healthy labor market following earlier hurricanes and a major strike. 

The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% in November from 4.1% in October.

Below, Ad Age Datacenter breaks down the report—by the numbers.

Advertising, PR and related services

U.S. employment in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classification of advertising, PR and related services fell slightly to 522,900 jobs in November based on seasonally adjusted figures.
 
The ad market lost 300 jobs in November following an increase of 500 jobs in October.

Advertising employment has ebbed and flowed this year, with gains in five months (January, April, July, September and October) and losses in six months (February, March, May, June, August and November).

Over the past six months, the average monthly increase for the ad market was a scant 67 jobs.

But after all the fluctuations, U.S. advertising employment as of November was holding in a pretty good position, just 900 jobs below the all-time high of 523,800 jobs in April.
  
This 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.

Ad agencies

U.S. ad agency employment totaled 238,800 jobs in October on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, bouncing back with a gain of 2,400 jobs.

That followed losses of 1,300 jobs in September and 1,500 jobs in August.

Ad agency employment has fluctuated this year, increasing in February, April, June, July and October and dropping in January, March, May, August and September.

BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so November figures aren’t yet available. But recent reports of layoffs suggest softness in agency employment.

Media

U.S. employment in the broad BLS classification of media streaming distribution services, social networks and other media networks and content providers increased to 219,200 jobs in October on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, up by 1,200 jobs from September.

Employment in the classification of web search portals and all other information services totaled 149,200 jobs in October on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, an increase of 1,600 jobs for the month. Staffing remains far below the all-time high of 162,100 jobs reached in late 2022.

Unemployment rate

The U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, ticked up to 4.2% in November from 4.1% in October.

The jobless rate has held in a narrow band of 4.1% to 4.3% for the past six months.

U.S. employment

The nation in November added 227,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, slightly above economists’ predictions.

BLS said 36,000 jobs were added in October, upwardly revised from the 12,000 jobs reported a month ago. The October figure was weighed down by furloughs of workers displaced by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and by a now-settled strike at airplane manufacturer Boeing.

BLS said 255,000 jobs were added in September, upwardly revised from the 223,000 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.

Over the past six months, the average monthly increase was 143,000 jobs. Growth over the past three months averaged 173,000 jobs, up from 113,000 jobs in the previous three months.

November’s increase marked 47 consecutive months of job gains, an uninterrupted winning streak that began in January 2021, which was the month that President Biden took office.

The last monthly job loss, a decline of 243,000 jobs, occurred in December 2020, which was the final full month in President Trump’s first term.

Ad Age All Access subscribers can download a spreadsheet showing advertising employment back to 2000 at AdAge.com/adjobs.

Sign up for Ad Age All Access for ongoing data and insights on all of the most-advertised brands from Ad Age Datacenter.