What recession? Ad employment surged in June, topping pre-pandemic level

For the overall economy, U.S. employers added a solid 372,000 jobs in June, according to the monthly employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate held at 3.6% for the fourth month in a row.

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, public relations and related services came in at 484,700 jobs in June based on figures that are not seasonally adjusted. 

The gain of 7,300 ad jobs in June followed a loss of 1,000 jobs in May.

BLS downwardly revised the May figure from a preliminary loss of 2,400 jobs it reported a month ago.

The May decline was unsettling news a month ago. Setting aside an employment drop at the start of 2022 (ad jobs have fallen every January since 2000 on a not seasonally adjusted basis, according to Ad Age Datacenter’s analysis of BLS data), May brought the first monthly decline in ad employment since November 2020, during the first year of the pandemic.

But with June’s sharp rebound, the advertising, PR and related services field has recovered all of its COVID-19 pandemic job losses, moving just above the level where it stood on the eve of the pandemic in February 2020 (484,400 jobs). Ad employment hit a pandemic nadir of 430,800 in January 2021.

This BLS 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

Ad agencies added 2,100 jobs in May after gaining 1,500 jobs in April based on figures that are not seasonally adjusted. 

BLS upwardly revised the April figure from a gain of 300 jobs it reported a month ago.

U.S. ad agency employment totaled 218,300 jobs in May, an all-time high.

BLS reports ad agency employment on a one-month lag, so June figures aren’t yet available.

But the surge in June advertising, PR and related services staffing suggests that ad agency employment rose last month.

Internet media

U.S. internet media employment—the BLS classification of “internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals”—jumped by 5,900 jobs in May after rising by 1,600 jobs in April. 

That solid growth is a positive indicator about the health of internet media, running counter to speculation about a tightening in digital media amid recent reports of job cuts at some technology companies.

Internet media employment stood at 339,600 jobs in May, an all-time high.

As with ad agencies, internet media staffing is reported with a one-month delay and is not seasonally adjusted.

U.S. employment

The nation in June added 372,000 jobs based on seasonally adjusted figures. That topped predictions as employers continued to hire even as high inflation, rising interest rates and plunging consumer confidence have heightened expectations that the nation is in a recession now or will enter one within the next year.

Employment grew by a downwardly revised 384,000 jobs in May and a downwardly revised 368,000 jobs in April.

Following an unprecedented loss of 20.5 million jobs in April 2020 as the nation locked down, the economy has added jobs every month except for December 2020.

The World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020.

The total U.S. nonfarm payroll is now just 524,000 jobs below its February 2020 all-time high. If the pace of recent monthly job gains continues, total U.S. employment will recover all of its pandemic losses and score a new record in August.

Unemployment rate

The U.S. unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, came in at 3.6% in  June for the fourth month in a row.
 
The unemployment rate was 3.5% in February 2020, tied for the lowest level since 1969. In April 2020, it reached 14.7%, the highest since before World War II.

Ad Age Datacenter subscribers can see an expanded table showing advertising employment back to 2000 at AdAge.com/adjobs.