The Bureau of Labor Statistics says there were 341,500 people working in broadcasting and at content providers last month. That was a 2.3% decline from a month earlier, or 2,300 fewer positions than in February on a seasonally adjusted basis. The BLS does not release radio-specific monthly tracking figures. In the overall “information” segment that includes broadcast media, the government says employment was steady month-to-month.
Meantime in the advertising and public relations segment, BLS says employment rose 0.9% in March from a month earlier, with 520,900 people working in those business segments. It is a reversal of the February report, which suggests the February BLS data may have been a blip when it showed the advertising sector posted a drop in employment levels for the first time since last spring.
Overall, the job market remains strong. BLS reported that the U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March 2024, marking an acceleration in the pace of hiring. And while it revised down the February nonfarm payroll numbers, BLS revised up the January data. The government says March employment gains came in health care, private education, government, and leisure and hospitality. Jobs in manufacturing were unchanged, while warmer weather resulted in a bump in construction jobs.
“The labor market remains strong, despite showing some signs of moderating,” J.P. Morgan analyst Chief Investment Officer Director John Veit says in a review of the numbers. “Underlying details of the report show signs that labor market conditions are gradually easing – the private job quits rate remains at 2.4%, below its 2019 average, indicating wage pressures are trending in the right direction.”