Many careers in marketing and advertising begin with an internship. At a time when the share of young people working in the industry is decreasing, it should come as no surprise that internships are also disappearing.
Figures from employment data provider Live Data Technologies show a year-over-year decline in internships at U.S. marketing and advertising companies since 2022.
In addition to the overall decline, the seasonal spike in internships during the summer has also become less pronounced in recent years. In 2022, the number of interns in June was nearly 125% higher than those in January of that same year. This year, however, marketing and advertising internships in June were up only 40% compared to the beginning of 2025.
To arrive at these findings, Live Data Technologies examined publicly available information from several U.S. marketing and advertising companies. The list includes ad giants IPG and Omnicom, along with Publicis agencies Digitas and Starcom.
Internships at marketing and advertising agencies appear to be dropping for a few reasons. One is companies’ increasing push to diminish labor costs through layoffs, consolidation, and artificial intelligence. Because of that, companies are less likely to invest in early-career employees, according to analysts.
“The continued infusion of AI and automation has led to a decline in entry-level roles for many organizations, with hiring priority shifting to mid- and senior-level positions,” said Justin Roberts, associate vice president of global culture and inclusion at independent media agency Kepler.
Additional numbers from Live Data Technologies illustrate this shift. Staff positions at U.S. marketing and advertising firms have diminished nearly 11% since January 2022. Manager and director jobs, meanwhile, have remained relatively steady during the same period.
“The entry-level crunch has a trickle-down effect,” said J. Scott Hamilton, president and CEO of Live Data Technologies. “With no junior roles to fill next year, there will be fewer internships this year.”
In addition to a decline in available roles, there’s less demand for the types of internships many agencies offer—particularly unpaid ones.
Laura Emanuel, managing director at Red Thread PR, said applicants used to clamor for the agency’s unpaid internship. She remembers working with a group of three or four interns each season. Deciding who to pick from a pool of candidates was difficult.