PR industry still going strong and employment expected to increase by 18%

"Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations..." US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This is fantastic news for PR professionals or people wanting to enter the industry.

Also according to a report on Reuters today (10 March) PR is still going strong despite the recession in the US.

Nick Brien, a senior executive of advertising giant Interpublic Group said: “U.S. ad budgets could be down 20 percent, although spending on marketing, like special promotions or public relations, should hold up better”.

One of the reasons that PR will hold up better than advertising is because editorial is not paid for. However, you still need to have the skills to sell a good package to the media. But this does not cost thousands of dollars/pounds. What you need is a good story, a good promotion, an innovative product, something relevant, creative and of interest to the readers of the media you are trying to get coverage in. And you need to be able to sell this to the editorial team.