Advertising and marketing jobs made a surprise comeback in July, posting their most significant monthly gain in over a year, even as the broader U.S. labor market continued to cool. Employment in advertising, PR, and related services jumped by 2,800 jobs last month, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That marks the strongest growth since April 2024 and reverses a five-month trend of stagnation and decline. Meanwhile, previously reported job losses for May and June were both revised upward—May from a 1,500-job loss to a gain of 400, and June from a 700-job loss to a gain of 800.
Taken together, the revisions and July’s surge paint a much rosier picture for the ad sector, which had been in a slump since late 2024. The total number of advertising, PR, and related services jobs now stands at 495,400. That’s still below the post-pandemic peak of 502,900 in January 2023—and well below the all-time high of 503,700 jobs set back in October 2000 during the dot-com boom.
Ad agencies, which represent about 45% of the broader sector, added 700 jobs in June (BLS agency data lags by one month), following a modest increase of 300 in May. Compared to June 2024, ad agency staffing remains flat, proof of the industry’s resilience despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
A Tale of Two Markets
The upbeat news for the advertising world stands in contrast to a broader labor market slowdown. The U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, far below economists’ expectations. Adding to concerns, May and June’s job gains were revised sharply downward, from 144,000 and 147,000 to just 19,000 and 14,000, respectively.
The U.S. unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.2% in July, continuing a three-month upward trend. Federal government jobs declined by 12,000 in July and are now down 84,000 since peaking in January.
From February through July, the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term, the average monthly job growth has slowed to 81,000. Over the past three months, the average has dipped to just 35,000.
Media and Digital Services
Employment in streaming and digital media also ticked up. The BLS category covering media streaming, social networks, and content providers grew by 600 jobs in June (the latest available data), reaching 222,200. Meanwhile, the web search and information services sector added 1,700 jobs in June to reach 154,900—still below its late-2022 peak of 162,100.
Despite the uncertainty across sectors, the July rebound in advertising employment suggests renewed investment in brand and performance marketing. If the momentum holds, the second half of 2025 may offer the kind of stability that agencies and marketers have been craving since the post-pandemic peak.
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