U.S. employment in advertising, public relations and related services—a broad grouping including ad agencies, PR agencies, media buying and other services tied to advertising—stood at 492,200 jobs in March 2023, recovering from its COVID-19 pandemic nadir of 433,200 in August 2020 to surpass the staffing level on the eve of the pandemic (484,600 in February 2020).
Employment is still below the peak of 503,700 jobs reached in 2000 amid the marketing frenzy of the dot-com bubble.
There are caution signs. Employment in advertising, public relations and related services fell by 2,100 jobs last month, its sharpest drop since the beginning of 2021.
