Broadcast Sector Posts Second Monthly Job Gain; April Up 2.5%.

The broadcast industry had one of its biggest month-to-month increases in employment in years last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the government does not release radio-specific monthly numbers, it says the wider broadcasting sector — which includes television and other content providers — had a 2.5% increase in employment between March and April.

BLS says 334,7000 people were working in the sector last month. That was up from 333,200 in March. It is the second month-to-month increase logged this year. In January, the government reported broadcast employment levels rose 1.8%. But that was followed by small losses in February and March. BLS does not provide any insights on changes, but it could reflect a bounce-back from a series of staffing cuts announced at the end of last year.

Employment in advertising, which has been climbing during the past few years, had its third consecutive down month in a row. BLS says 492,200 people were working in advertising and public relations last month, a decline of 0.9% from March. And it is down about 8,300 year-to-year. The all-time peak in advertising employment was reached in April 2024, when the total hit 523,800. In the months since, the BLS figures have fluctuated month-to-month between small gains and losses.

In the other media-related sector, BLS says employment in publishing rose 0.7% to 921,800 in April. That is also up from 917,400 a year earlier.

Tariffs jitters have so far not impacted the overall U.S. labor market, according to the monthly update from BLS. It says 177,000 non-farm jobs were created in April, as employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance. Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April and is down 26,000 since January.

The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4% to 4.2 % since May 2024. The number of unemployed people, at 7.2 million, changed little in April.