Advertising Jobs Down Across the Board

Between the start of the recession in December, 2007, and the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which cover up to October, 2009, the advertising industry lost a little over 26,000 jobs.  That’s approximately 14% of all positions in advertising agencies nationwide.  Between January and October of 2009, 8% of all agency employees or nearly 14,000 jobs in total were lost.

There is some good news however.  Stock in advertising agencies has started to rebound, which signals confidence in the future of the industry.  As the market improves, the need for employees should start to rise as well.  Watch for companies to test the waters first with part time and temp employees, then move to lengthening the work week for existing employees and finally growing their workforces with new hires.