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PRs outnumber journalists in the US by a ratio of 4.6 to 1

This article is more than 9 years old

I have pointed out on numerous occasions that there are more PRs in Britain than journalists, which has been the case for many years.

The same has also been true in the United States. New figures provided by the US department of labour show that there are now 4.6 PRs to every one journalist. And the PRs earn 40% more a year on average than journalists.

In Canada, according to 2011 census data, there were then 4.1 PR professionals for every journalist. Compare that to 1991, when the number of Canadian PRs outnumbered journalists by a 2:1 ratio.

Does anyone have a similar statistical comparison for Britain?

4pm update: One answer, courtesy (note the irony) of a PR for the Public Relations Consultants Association, is that a census held in 2013 revealed that the UK PR industry had 62,000 employees in 2013.

In 2010, according to François Nel's blog, there were 40,000 journalists.

Sources: J-Source.ca/Wall Street Journal/PRCA

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