Year-end budget cuts across the media sector hit broadcast industry employment according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It reports 327,900 people were working across the broadcast industry during December 2024 including radio, television and related content providers. That was a decline of four percent compared to the prior month, as well as down four percent versus a year earlier. The BLS does not release radio-specific monthly tracking figures. Instead, it lumps the monthly radio data with television and other audio and video content providers.
Employment in advertising, which has been climbing during the past two years, also had a year-end dip. BLS says 520,800 people across the US were working in advertising and public relations last month, down 1.5% from the prior month. The figure was still up a half percent compared a year earlier, however. The all-time peak in advertising employment was reached last April, when the total hit 523,800. In the month since, the BLS figures have fluctuated month-to-month between small gains and losses.
The publishing industries have also continued to deliver some surprising gains in recent months. BLS says 928,500 Americans were working in the print media during December. That was up 2.5% from November. But long-term trends remain. The total was still down from 931,700 a year earlier.
Overall, the BLS says total U.S. nonfarm employment increased by 256,000 during December with gains in sectors like health care, government, and retail, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%.
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management says the unexpected drop in the unemployment rate last month highlights the economy’s resilience. Elyse Ausenbaugh, Head of Investment Strategy, views the jobs report as confirmation that “this is a strong economy that doesn’t currently need meaningful additional policy easing to see its expansion persist.”
In December, average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 10 cents, to $35.69. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%. And the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.3 hours last month for the fifth month in a row.
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