Positive Job Growth For Broadcast And Ad Industries In July.

Broadcast employment expanded during July, returning the sector to growth mode. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the total number of Americans working in broadcasting last month increased 0.3% to 334,600. That was up by 300 from a month earlier. The sector includes radio, television and other content providers. The government doesn’t release monthly radio industry figures. But BLS data shows broadcast employment remains 1.8% below last year’s levels, when it said 340,800 people were working in broadcasting.

In the other media-related sector, BLS says employment in publishing rose 0.4% to 919,800 in July. Even more noteworthy is the print numbers were up from a year ago.

But the biggest mover was advertising. The government says the segment that includes advertising and public relations had one of its biggest swings in more than a year, as total employment climbed 2.8% between June and July. That brought the total number of Americans working in advertising to 495,400 in July. That compared to 492,600 in June. BLS says overall ad employment remained under last year’s totals by about 1,800 people.

More broadly across the U.S. economy, the government says overall employment growth slowed in July, with 73,000 new positions added across all segments of the nonfarm payroll. BLS also reports monthly employment revisions for May and June were larger than normal. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 258,000 lower than previously reported.

The unemployment rate, at 4.2%, was up a tenth of a point month to month due to layoffs and new job entrants. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4% to 4.2% since May 2024. The data also reflects this year’s crop of college graduates. Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants increased by 275,000 last month.

BLS says employment continued to trend up in health care and in social assistance. The federal government continued to lose jobs. Federal government employment shrank by 12,000 and is down by 84,000 since reaching a peak in January.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents in July to $36.44. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.9%. And the average workweek for all employees edged up by a tenth of an hour to 34.3 hours in July.

Kory Kantenga, Head of Economics at LinkedIn, says the latest report offers no additional clarity on the state of the labor market. “Major downward revisions to nonfarm payrolls now point to notably weaker job growth, in stark contrast to a steady unemployment rate — delivering mixed signals about labor market conditions,” he writes in a post. Kantenga believes the unemployment rate will be a key number to watch in the months ahead, adding, “It has been evident throughout the year that the labor market lacks momentum.”