Media Layoffs & Employment

In 2021, 11% of high-circulation newspapers experienced layoffs, compared with three times that share the year before (33%).

41% of U.S. journalists who are employed at least part time at a news outlet say they would join a union if it were available to them.

A survey of U.S.-based journalists finds 77% would choose their career all over again, though 57% are highly concerned about future restrictions on press freedom.

In Nebraska, 58% of all reporters covering the state capitol this year – 40 of 69 – are student reporters.

The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.

There are 245 newspaper reporters who cover the statehouse full time in 2022 in the United States, down from 374 in 2014.

While newspapers have seen steep job losses from 2008 to 2020, digital-native news organizations have seen considerable gains.

Staff layoffs continued to pummel the beleaguered U.S. newspaper industry in 2020, a period complicated by the impact of the pandemic.

Though this figure is a sliver of all PPP loans lent out to small businesses as of August, it represents a large segment of U.S. newspaper companies.

Mergers, closures and layoffs have affected many media organizations. Here are 10 charts on the state of newsroom employment in the U.S. today.