PR Jobs Exceed Those of Reporters by More than Six-to-One
Public relations jobs exceeded those of reporters by more than six-to-one last year, up from less than two-to-one 20 years ago, according to data from the U.S. Census, reports Bloomberg, which added that with “six public relations workers for every reporter it’s no wonder that some writers say they are bombarded daily by story pitches. Some have taken to Twitter to complain about the most egregious phone calls and emails.
“It looks like the six-to-one ratio won’t be narrowing anytime soon. Opportunities in public relations are likely to increase as newer specialties that target social media gain even more importance and companies boost staff to help control their message and defend their image.”
The Bloomberg report added that employment for public relations specialists will expand to 282,600 in 2026, up 9 percent from 2016, according to projections from the Labor Department. Meanwhile, jobs for reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts are forecast to decline nine percent to 45,900 over the same period.
Bloomberg stated that for the news business, that would extend already sizable declines. Newsroom employment fell 23 percent to 88,000 from 2008 to 2017, with the number of newspapers dropping 45 percent to 39,000, according to a Pew Research Center study.
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