Happy Holidays!

By Elizabeth Schilling

Marketing Manager

Workinpr.com

We at Workinpr.com wish you and yours the best of the holiday season and a very happy New Year ahead!

December is traditionally the time when nearly everything in the business world slows down in anticipation of the holiday season. The few exceptions include retail, restaurants, entertainment and of course Public Relations. PR practitioners are some of the hardest working individuals in the workforce. Because of the nature of the work, PR folks cannot rest on their laurels - the ephemerality of successful positioning of clients requires sustained effort just to keep pace with that success. So while other people may take the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off, many Public Relations practitioners will be working. If not in their offices, then at home, or at family gatherings or even the Caribbean, iPod or laptop and cell phone in hand.

Looking Forward to 2005

What does this hardworking lot have to look forward to in 2005 and beyond in the job market? Given the still slow national job growth rate, there is happy news for the Public Relations job seeker. Because the success of a company is measured not just by its balance sheet, but by the strength of customer relationships, an increasingly competitive business environment is expected to spur demand for public relations specialists in organizations of all types and sizes. Public Relations continues to be listed by the Department of Labor as one of the fastest growing career fields in the U.S.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics http://stats.bls.gov/ employment of advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations and sales managers is expected to increase up to 35% over the next eight years. Projected employment growth does vary by industry. The future looks especially bright for PR professionals who have expertise in science, technology, finance, medicine, international affairs, and other such specialized fields. Key present and future employers for PR workers include businesses, government agencies, schools, universities, hospitals, and other larger organizations that require their own internal public relations departments. Employment can be expected to grow much faster than average - that is, increasing 36% or more - in scientific, professional, and related services such as computer systems design and related services and advertising and related services. One caveat to the job growth rate is that the increase in PR business is due in part to the policy of some businesses to hire contractors for services instead of additional full-time staff.

A few significant and heartening points:

• The Public Relations industry is projected to be one of the fastest growing through the year 2012.
• Nearly one-fifth of the PR workforce is self-employed.
• About 70 percent of workers have a bachelor's degree or higher
• Half of all jobs are in managerial, business, financial, and professional occupations.
• The Public Relations Industry is one of the highest paying.

If you have links, comments or information pertaining to the editorial you would like to share, please feel free to email me at info@workinpr.com. Space permitting, I'll include them in the next newsletter.

All content ©2008 FWP Acquisition Corp.,Inc.