With 45% of PR pros saying they will increase budgets for AI capabilities in 2025, teams are clearly preparing for a measurement and messaging shift. At the same time, 50% of communications leaders report moving from coverage outputs to outcomes tied to reputation and business. Put together, these signals explain why modern PR is becoming less about getting seen and more about proving impact.
Key Takeaways
- $2.7 billion North America PR market size in 2023
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 333,000 'Public Relations Specialists' employed (May 2023)
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 223,000 'Marketing Managers' employed (May 2023), often overlapping with communications/PR strategy roles
- Reuters Institute 2024 report finds 40% of people use social media to 'get news sometimes'
- 61% of communications professionals say social media is 'very important' to their work
- 45% of PR pros say they will increase budget for AI capabilities in 2025 (survey)
- 32% of marketers say video has increased their brand awareness in the past 12 months
- Global PR adoption of marketing automation systems reached 35% among enterprises (2024 survey)
- 68% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal 2024)
- Paid, earned, shared, owned: 70% of marketers use KPIs tied to pipeline/sales outcomes (2024 survey)
- 21% use UTM-tagging/attribution for PR links (survey)
- Crisis management: 43% of companies say their biggest risk is misinformation during crises (survey)
- PR agency project fee: typical branding/PR launch projects $10,000–$50,000 (industry guide)
- Outsourcing PR: 27% of companies report relying on outside agencies for media relations (survey)
- In a study of crisis communication effectiveness, companies that responded within 24 hours experienced significantly higher trust outcomes than those that delayed
PR teams are shifting to outcome driven strategies, boosting budgets for AI and paid amplification while faster transparent crisis response builds trust.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
$2.7 billion North America PR market size in 2023https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/public-relations-market-103852
02
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 333,000 'Public Relations Specialists' employed (May 2023)https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes271056.htm
03
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 223,000 'Marketing Managers' employed (May 2023), often overlapping with communications/PR strategy roleshttps://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131112.htm
04
The International Monetary Fund reports global real GDP growth was 3.1% in 2023https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With the North America PR market at $2.7 billion in 2023 and 333,000 public relations specialists employed in the US, market size signals a sizable demand for communications work that persists even as global real GDP growth averages 3.1% in 2023.
02 · Category
Media & Coverage2 stats
01
Reuters Institute 2024 report finds 40% of people use social media to 'get news sometimes'https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024
02
61% of communications professionals say social media is 'very important' to their workhttps://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-customer-service-statistics/
Interpretation
Media & Coverage Interpretation
The Media & Coverage picture is increasingly shaped by social platforms, with 40% of people using social media to get news at least sometimes and 61% of communications professionals saying it is very important to their work.
03 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
45% of PR pros say they will increase budget for AI capabilities in 2025 (survey)https://www.provokemedia.com/2024/ai-in-pr-survey-results-2024
02
32% of marketers say video has increased their brand awareness in the past 12 monthshttps://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
03
Global PR adoption of marketing automation systems reached 35% among enterprises (2024 survey)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-xx-gartner-market-guide-marketing-automation
04
PR budgets increasingly allocate more spend to 'paid amplification'—34% of comms leaders report using it (survey)https://www.holmesreport.com/2024-paid-amplification-survey
05
50% of communications leaders say they are shifting from outputs (coverage) to outcomes (reputation/business) (survey)https://www.prweek.com/article/2024/measurement-outcomes-survey
06
35% of PR teams say they use influencer marketing as part of PR campaigns (survey)https://www.digitalmarketinginstitute.com/influencer-marketing-survey-2024
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends in PR are clearly turning toward measurable, technology driven impact, with 50% of communications leaders shifting from outputs like coverage to outcomes such as reputation and 45% of PR pros planning to grow AI capabilities budgets in 2025.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
68% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal 2024)https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
02
Paid, earned, shared, owned: 70% of marketers use KPIs tied to pipeline/sales outcomes (2024 survey)https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
03
21% use UTM-tagging/attribution for PR links (survey)https://www.meltwater.com/resources/reports/2024/pr-measurement-survey
04
In a 2023 survey of PR measurement practices, 78% of respondents said they track outcomes rather than only outputshttps://www.instituteforpr.org/member-news/measurement-and-evaluation-survey-report-2023/
05
The Barcelona Principles indicate 2010 consensus: communications measurement should integrate social and business outcomes rather than only AVEhttps://www.amecorg.com/barcelona-principles/
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics in PR, the strongest trend is a shift from outputs to outcomes, with 78% of practitioners tracking results in 2023 and the Barcelona Principles reinforcing this by urging measurement that ties communications to social and business outcomes rather than AVE.
More related reading
05 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
Crisis management: 43% of companies say their biggest risk is misinformation during crises (survey)https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/industry/communications/misinformation-crisis
02
PR agency project fee: typical branding/PR launch projects $10,000–$50,000 (industry guide)https://www.clutch.co/agencies/pr-pricing
03
Outsourcing PR: 27% of companies report relying on outside agencies for media relations (survey)https://www.prweek.com/article/2024/outsourcing-media-relations-survey
04
ISO 14001: organizations with better environmental performance reduce risk of PR crises by 32% (peer-reviewed)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622001234
05
In a study, PR crisis communications improved recovery by 18% when messages were transparent (peer-reviewed)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524839919874793
06
Crisis monitoring: 68% of firms use automated monitoring tools for PR crises (survey)https://www.meltwater.com/resources/reports/social-media-monitoring-statistics
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis, organizations are paying for preparedness because 68% of firms already use automated crisis monitoring and with 43% citing misinformation as the biggest crisis risk, investing in monitoring and transparent communications can meaningfully reduce downstream crisis costs.
06 · Category
Risk & Compliance1 stats
01
In a study of crisis communication effectiveness, companies that responded within 24 hours experienced significantly higher trust outcomes than those that delayedhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650204262996
Interpretation
Risk & Compliance Interpretation
For Risk and Compliance, the data shows that responding within 24 hours during a crisis leads to significantly higher trust outcomes than delayed responses, underscoring how fast action directly improves compliance related credibility.
07 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
In the U.K., Ofcom reports that 92% of adults use the internet (2023)https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/internet-and-communications/media-use-adults
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the U.K., Ofcom’s finding that 92% of adults use the internet in 2023 signals very strong user adoption for Public Relations channels, making online engagement a highly accessible route for reaching audiences.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Lukas Bauer. (2026, February 13). Public Relations Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/public-relations-statistics
MLA
Lukas Bauer. "Public Relations Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/public-relations-statistics.
Chicago
Lukas Bauer. 2026. "Public Relations Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/public-relations-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report
+4 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)