US ad employment dropped in March for the fourth straight month

Employment in advertising, public relations and related services fell by 600 jobs in March, dropping for the fourth month in a row. Overall U.S. employment jumped by 228,000 jobs last month, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was far above economists’ expectations, unexpected good news amid rampant talk of a looming recession and worries about fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. 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 dropped slightly to 493,400 jobs in March based on seasonally adjusted figures. The ad market lost 600 jobs in March following a decrease of 1,900 jobs in February. BLS revised the February figure from a preliminary loss of 1,600 jobs reported a month ago. The ad market lost jobs in December, January, February and March, with an average decrease of 1,275 jobs each month. This followed job increases in September, October and November. Over the past 12 months—April 2024 through March 2025—the ad market registered gains in five months and losses in seven months. After all of those job gyrations, U.S. ad market employment last month (493,400) was 700 jobs below its March 2024 level (494,100). 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 44%—of those jobs. Ad agencies U.S. ad agency employment totaled 219,600 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, an increase of 1,000 jobs. That followed a decrease of 1,400 jobs in January. BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so March figures aren’t yet available. U.S. ad agency employment February 2025 vs. previous month: +1,000February 2025 vs. year earlier: -1,300 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not seasonally adjusted. Read more on advertising and marketing jobs: Media U.S. employment in the broad BLS classification of media streaming distribution services, social networks and other media networks and content providers rose to 221,400 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, an increase of 2,300 jobs from January. Employment in the classification of web search portals and all other information services totaled 153,000 jobs in February on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a drop of 2,700 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 March from 4.1% in February. The unemployment rate has been remarkably steady, hovering in the range of 4.0% to 4.2% since last May. U.S. unemployment rate March 2025: 4.2% Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted. More employment analysis from Ad Age Datacenter: U.S. employment The nation in March added 228,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures, far above economists’ predictions. That increase reflects an employment gain of 209,000 jobs in the private sector and an increase of 19,000 jobs in government employment (federal, state, local). U.S. government employment declined by 4,000 jobs in March, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February, according to BLS. Those are small drops despite all the headlines about moves by the Trump administration to slash the federal government payroll. BLS’s news release noted that federal “employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed” in the jobs data released today. BLS said overall U.S. employment increased by 117,000 jobs in February, downwardly revised from the 151,000 jobs reported a month ago. BLS said 111,000 jobs were added in January, downwardly revised from the 125,000 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 181,000 jobs. Growth averaged 152,000 jobs over the past three months and 209,000 jobs in the previous three months. March’s increase marked 51 consecutive months of job gains, an uninterrupted winning streak that began in January 2021. The last monthly job loss, a decline of 183,000 jobs, occurred in December 2020, which was the final full month in President Trump’s first term. Month-to-month change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls March 2025 vs. previous month: +228,000 Month/year Jobs increase (decrease) Jan. 2024 119,000 Feb. 2024 222,000 March 2024 246,000 April 2024 118,000 May 2024 193,000 June 2024 87,000 July 2024 88,000 Aug. 2024 71,000 Sep. 2024 240,000 Oct. 2024 44,000 Nov. 2024 261,000 Dec. 2024 323,000 Jan. 2025 111,000 Feb. 2025 117,000 March 2025 228,000 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted.

US ad employment dropped in March for the fourth straight month

Featured Stories