By Greg Hazley
Los Angeles county PR agencies have a $445M impact on the county’s economy, or about $1M per agency, although its economic might often flies under the radar, according to an analysis by the L.A. County Economy Development Corp. commissioned by PRSA/L.A.
The study claims that for each of the nearly 3,830 PR agency jobs (including 731 independent consultants) in the area, 1.7 jobs outside the industry are supported. The area also includes about 10,370 PR pros at corporations and other entities.
“It is clear that the reach of public relations goes far beyond the single industry and is felt throughout the economy,” the report states.
L.A. PR jobs have not yet returned to a peak level reached in 2001. |
Total annual earnings for PR professionals – agency, corporate and other entities – reached $780M in 2009.
Jobs Declined 'Significantly' Since '01
But the study found that employment at PR agencies has declined significantly since 2001, although it is 23 percent higher than it was in 1990 – 2,466 in 1990, compared with 3,030 in 2008. By comparison, advertising employment fell five percent during that period.
PR employment peaked at 3,079 in the second quarter of 2008 and has fallen steadily since then to about 2,474 in Q3 of 2009, the study found.
Eric Moses, chapter president and director of communications and public affairs for Occidental Petroleum Corp., said the figures show that PR contributes “significantly” to the county economy and supports jobs in associated industries, often without much attention.
“The findings clearly show PR is one of the drivers of the business community that often goes unseen and unnoticed but clearly plays a vital role,” he said.
The L.A. PR business accounted for $445M in labor income, state and local tax payments of $45.3M in 2008 and helped sustain more than 6,400 other jobs, the LAEDC report said.
The average annual PR agency wage in L.A. in 2008 was $78,129, 50 percent above the average of all works in the county. PR managers in the corporate sector earned about $113,070 on average in 2009.
The LAEDC (download the full report PDF) found that PR firms have increased by 15 percent since 1990, from 386 to 445.
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