US ad employment ended 2023 at an all-time high

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. Expanded jobs data: AdAge.com/adjobs. Credit: Infographic by Ad Age. Photo: iStock Employment in advertising, public relations and related services rose by 1,900 jobs in December, ending 2023 with staffing at an all-time high. Overall U.S. employment increased by 216,000 jobs in December, according to the monthly employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That beat economists’ expectations, a sign of the labor market’s continued resilience. The unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, held steady at 3.7% in December. Below, Ad Age Datacenter breaks down the report—by the numbers. 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 Advertising, PR and related services U.S. employment in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classification of advertising, PR and related services came in at 504,600 jobs in December based on seasonally adjusted figures, breaking a new record. The ad market added 1,900 jobs in December following a loss of 800 jobs in November. BLS downwardly revised the November figure from a gain of 1,200 jobs reported a month ago. It upwardly revised the October figure to a gain of 3,200 jobs vs. the 3,000 job increase reported a month ago. 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 47%—of those jobs. Ad employment in 2023 increased every month except for March and November. Over the past six months, the average monthly gain for the ad market was about 1,200 jobs. These ad employment gains came despite cutbacks over the past year at media companies and ad-centric tech firms. Employment in the broad BLS classification of media streaming distribution services, social networks and other media networks and content providers dropped to 229,500 jobs in November on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, down 1,100 jobs from October. Employment in the classification of web search portals and all other information services fell by 900 jobs to 161,800 jobs in November on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Staffing is well below the all-time high of 171,900 jobs reached in January 2023. Ad agencies U.S. ad agency employment dropped to 236,500 jobs in November on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, down by 1,700 jobs from an all-time high reached in October. The November decrease followed a gain of 3,000 jobs in October. BLS upwardly revised the October figure from a preliminary increase of 2,700 jobs reported a month ago. BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so December figures aren’t yet available. But the December increase in advertising, PR and related services employment suggests that ad agency staffing rose last month. U.S. ad agency employment November 2023 vs. previous month: -1,700November 2023 vs. year earlier: +8,500 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 The U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, was 3.7% in December, unchanged from November. The jobless rate has been 4.0% or lower every month since December 2021, a stretch of unusually low unemployment not seen since the 1960s. (The unemployment rate stayed within the range of 3.4% to 4.0% from December 1965 through January 1970.) U.S. unemployment rate December 2023: 3.7% 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 The nation in December added 216,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, topping economists’ predictions. December’s job increase marked 36 consecutive months of job gains, an uninterrupted winning streak that began in January 2021. For full year 2023, the economy added 2.7 million jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. BLS downwardly revised employment gains for November and October. BLS said the economy gained 173,000 jobs in November (down from the 199,000 jobs reported a month ago). BLS said 105,000 jobs were added in October (down from the 150,000 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 (157.2 million jobs in December) has recovered all of its pandemic losses, topping its February 2020 pre-pandemic peak (152.4 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. Month-to-month change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls December 2023 vs. previous month: +216,000 Month/year Jobs increase (decrease) Jan. 2023 472,000 Feb. 2023 248,000 March 2023 217,000 April 2023 217,000 May 2023 281,000 June 2023 105,000 July 2023 236,000 Aug. 2023 165,000 Sep. 2023 262,000 Oct. 2023 105,000 Nov. 2023 173,000 Dec. 2023 216,000 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. Sign up for Ad Age All Access for ongoing data and insights on all of the most-advertised brands from Ad Age Datacenter.

US ad employment ended 2023 at an all-time high

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