Public relations specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent. They design media releases to shape public perception of their organization and to increase awareness of its work and goals.

Public relations specialists usually work in offices. Some attend community activities. Long workdays are common, as is overtime.

Public relations specialists typically need a bachelor’s degree in public relations, journalism, communications, English, or business.

Employment of public relations specialists is projected to grow 6 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The need for organizations to maintain their public image will continue to drive employment growth. Candidates can expect strong competition for jobs at advertising and public relations firms and organizations with large media exposure.

This occupation supported 229,100 jobs in 2012 and 240,700 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 5.1%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.0% in 2022 to 256,500 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 234,500, compared with an observed value of 240,700, 2.6% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 6.5% in 2024 to 255,600 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 261,899 jobs for 2024, 2.5% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.