Media Advertising Bottomed Out In April, Dropping 35%

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt in April. The monthly unemployment rate as measured by Bureau of Labor Statistics reached 14.7% as the U.S. economy lost a record 20.5 million jobs. As businesses shut down, a large majority of Americans were under statewide quarantine laws. With the economy coming to a grinding halt, the advertising and media industries bottomed out. According to Standard Media Index (SMI), in April, the year-over-year total ad marketplace dropped by a staggering 35%.