Public relations in the UK finally has a number: £7.1 billion
The first independent economic study of the UK public relations sector settles the question of scale and speaks in terms that management and other disciplines understand.
The PRCA published Beyond Communications last week, an independent study by CBI Economics into the economic contribution of the UK public relations sector. It puts the industry at £7.1 billion in gross value added, supporting 95,464 full-time equivalent jobs.
A disclosure upfront: the PRCA is led by Sarah Waddington, my wife, Wadds Inc. is a member, and I’m a Fellow of the organisation.
Why the sector has never been counted properly
Anyone who has tried to determine the size of the public relations industry will know the problem. Our work is obscured across a range of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, notably those covering the creative industries.
CBI Economics built a bespoke taxonomy of what public relations businesses actually do, developed with PRCA members and applied using The Data City’s machine learning models. It covers eight areas, spanning everything from public affairs and investor relations to internal communications and measurement.
It is the most credible attempt yet to isolate the sector but CBI Economics is upfront that £7.1 billion is a conservative baseline. The figures capture agency and consultancy work only. In-house practitioners, including thousands in local government and the NHS, are not included in the work.
The numbers
Public relations businesses generate £4.0 billion in direct GVA. Supply chains and employee spending add a further £3.1 billion. For every £1 generated directly, another 77p is created elsewhere in the economy.
The sector directly employs more than 52,000 people at an average wage of £46,003, around 18% above the UK average. Each FTE job generates £77,628 in GVA. That is 55% more value added per worker than the creative industries average, and broadly comparable to legal and accounting.
Every UK nation and region generates more than £100 million in economic value from public relations.
London: £2.9 billion in GVA and 26,102 jobs
South East: £919 million and 12,888 jobs
North West: £639 million and 10,156 jobs
Scotland: £377 million and 5,765 jobs
Wales: £146 million and 2,601 jobs
North East: £137 million and 2,405 jobs
Northern Ireland: £112 million and 1,808 jobs
The figure here in the North East is modest against London, but proof of a genuinely national industry.
The management argument
The report concludes that public relations should be understood as a strategic capability that enables wider economic and societal outcomes.
Regular readers will know this is the area of my doctoral research at Leeds Business School, examining the conditions under which public relations achieves recognition as a strategic management function and what practice can do to improve its arguments. Data and speaking the language of management are both huge gaps.
The accompanying PRCA briefing paper makes the boardroom case. Echo Research finds 28% of FTSE 350 market value, some £841 billion, is attributable to reputation.
Burson’s Global Reputation Economy report reaches a similar conclusion by a different method, finding reputation delivers an average 4.78% additional annual shareholder return, worth $7.07 trillion across the world’s publicly traded companies.
Deloitte’s 2026 corporate affairs study shows reputation management remains the function’s most common board priority. Trust and reputation sit on the balance sheet in everything but name.
What happens next
The PRCA has set out four calls to action:
A government discussion on how the sector can support economic and societal growth
An industry conversation on shared measurement
Recognition of public relations as part of the national response to misinformation and social division
Investment to address under-resourcing of the discipline’s advisory capability
The measurement point that the report addresses should be the priority. The fragmentation weakens its standing in policy and investment decisions. A shared approach would give the industry a consistent evidence base for the first time.
The work also provides a model for other national contexts. The methodology could be replicated by industry associations elsewhere. It would enable meaningful international comparison of the sector for the first time.
Both the report and the briefing paper are available via the PRCA newsroom.
Further reading
This article was originally posted on my Substack. The Wadds Inc. newsletter is read by more than 5,500 communications and public relations practitioners. We take a slower, critical perspective on the research, evidence and developments shaping the field.
