Media agency job numbers shrink for the first time in a decade

Australia’s media agencies cut jobs by 5.1% – about 180 positions – as bookings fell 15% in 2020, according to the Media Federation of Australia (MFA).

The 2021 MFA Industry Census, conducted in September 2020, recorded the first industry population decline in more than a decade, a direct response to clients putting the breaks on ad spend during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The population settled at 3,703 media agency employees in 2020, a drop of 5.1% from 2019, but still higher than in 2018 (3,684).

“While we expected media agency population to contract in the wake of COVID-induced redundancies, it’s encouraging to see that at a 5.1% drop we remain in a healthier position than other markets,” says Peter Horgan, MFA chair and CEO of Omnicom MediaGroup.