Forecast for jobs in public relations

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the employment of public relations practitioners is expected to grow by approximately 18 percent through the decade ranging from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations.

CareerCast.com’s 2010 Jobs Rated report ranks the practice of public relations 79th and provides this career summary:

If you’re the type who cares a lot about income but doesn’t mind stress, for example, public relations executive might be a great career for you. While the job may seem less desirable with an overall ranking of 79, it ranks 19th for median income and 193rd for stress — perfect for the job seeker who wants good pay and can handle a high-stress environment.

CareerCast.com’s report details shared these job ratings for public relations executive:

Overall Ranking: 79
Overall Score: 464
Work Environment: 1247.130
Physical Demands: 7.24
Stress: 78.523
Income: $89,166
Hiring Outlook: 18.66 (very good)

CareerPlanner.com references similar statistics and provides quite a lengthy description of the education and skills required for employment in the field of public relations.

How our economy has impacted public relations agencies

I also found this information from Stevens Gould Pincus, a New York City-based consulting firm:

According to a survey of 157 public relations agencies in the U.S. and Canada conducted by Stevens Gould Pincus, 64% reported that revenue fell in 2009. Among those companies where revenue declined, almost half of them suffered plunges of at least 20%.

Around 13% of firms reported that revenue was flat with 2008, while 23% said that revenue increased.

Operating margins also took a hit, shrinking to an average of 11.6% from last year’s industry benchmark of 19.2%. Firms in Southern California fared the worst in this respect, with an average profit margin of 2.1%.

The survey also found that 64% of the agencies polled are projecting higher revenues in 2010, and only 14% expect the slump to continue.

Anecdotally the survey firm mentioned that the public relations industry may actually have done worse than its survey suggests, since public relations firms that did not participate in the survey indicated privately that revenues and profitability were down.

The future of public relations

It’s my belief that the future is very bright for the practice of public relations.

Given the impact of social media and revolutionary shifts in the way in which we communicate, I believe there will be even greater need and importance placed on public relations and communication practitioners.

For example, information doesn’t necessarily originate and flow from large media conglomerates to the masses any more.

Rather, information is published on the Web by everyone — individuals, companies, organizations, traditional media entities, etc., — with search engines and RSS readers doing the heavy lifting of sorting and compiling specific information.

The Internet heightens, not diminishes, the need for trained communicators to not only monitor and make sense of it all, but participate in meaningful ways.

With the purpose of establishing and building mutually beneficial relationships with constituents as its primary function, the role of public relations practitioner becomes even more key, as does the argument that management is foolish not to have a senior public relations counselor participate in business decisions on the very highest level.