Employment in advertising, public relations and related services eked out a gain of 500 jobs in October, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Overall U.S. employment grew by a weak 12,000 jobs, coming in below economists’ predictions in a labor tally dampened by the effects of two hurricanes and a major Boeing strike.
The unemployment rate held at 4.1% in October.
Below, Ad Age Datacenter breaks down the report—by the numbers.
U.S. employment in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classification of advertising, PR and related services edged up to 523,300 jobs in October based on seasonally adjusted figures.
The ad market gained 500 jobs in October following an increase of 1,800 jobs in September.
BLS upwardly revised the September figure from a gain of 1,700 jobs reported a month ago.
The ad market has ebbed and flowed this year, with gains in five months (January, April, July, September and October) and losses in five months (February, March, May, June and August).
After all the fluctuations, U.S. advertising employment as of October remained in solid shape—just 500 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 45%—of those jobs.
U.S. ad agency employment totaled 236,800 jobs in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a decline of 900 jobs.
The September drop followed a loss of 1,500 ad agency jobs in August. BLS revised the August figure from a preliminary loss of 800 jobs reported a month ago.
Ad agency employment has fluctuated this year, falling in January, March, May, August and September and rising in February, April, June and July.
Also read: Publicis to lay off up to 200 digital agency employees
U.S. employment in the broad BLS classification of media streaming distribution services, social networks and other media networks and content providers declined to 218,000 jobs in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, down by 400 jobs from August. Employment in that sector is at its lowest point since 2016.
Employment in the classification of web search portals and all other information services totaled 147,500 jobs in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a drop of 1,500 jobs for the month. Staffing is far below the all-time high of 162,100 jobs reached in late 2022.
The U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, was unchanged at 4.1% in October, an indication of a comparatively healthy and stable labor market despite last month’s muted overall jobs gain.
The nation in October added just 12,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, below economists’ predictions.
The figure was weighed down by furloughs of workers displaced by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26 and then tracked north into several other states, and Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida on Oct. 9.
The figure also was dampened by a major strike at airplane manufacturer Boeing. BLS said manufacturing employment decreased by 46,000 jobs in October, reflecting a decline of 44,000 jobs in transportation equipment manufacturing that was largely due to strike activity.
BLS said 223,000 jobs were added in September, downwardly revised from the 254,000 jobs reported a month ago.
BLS said the economy gained 78,000 jobs in August, downwardly revised from the 159,000 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 132,000 jobs. Growth over the past three months averaged 104,000 jobs, down from 159,000 jobs in the previous three months.
October’s increase marked 46 consecutive months of job gains, an uninterrupted winning streak that began in January 2021, which also was the month that President Biden took office.
But the October gain was the lowest on Biden’s watch and the worst monthly figure since a job loss of 243,000 jobs in December 2020, which was former President Trump’s last full month in office.
Ad Age All Access subscribers can download a spreadsheet showing advertising employment back to 2000 at AdAge.com/adjobs.
