Tracking Social Media Metrics for World Social Media Day 

By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer

In the labor market, social media has transformed how employers recruit talent, how workers find jobs, and how businesses and individuals market their skills and services. These incremental changes have resulted in considerable demand for candidates who know how to leverage social media, and we see that reflected in employment trends. World Social Media Day, observed annually on June 30th, was created to recognize social media’s effect on the ways we connect and communicate with others. 

Many occupations have been affected by social media, but as with any new technology, some areas feel the effects more than others. In 2025, the jobs most likely to require social media skills were human resources specialists (typically using social media for recruiting efforts); market research analysts and marketing specialists (using it study consumer sentiment and track industry trends); and public relations specialists (using it to distribute news, make pitches, or manage a client’s image through messaging). The former two occupations, in particular, have surged in employment between 2012 and 2025:

• Human resources specialist jobs in South Carolina increased from 3,980 to 13,720 (+245%).
• Market research analyst and marketing specialist jobs increased from 3,470 to 11,920 (+244%).
• Public relations specialists also recorded a modest increase in employment—from 1,970 to 2,950 (+50%). 

Employment growth for all three of these occupations is shown in the table below.2 Altogether, these data provide just one example of how new technology can affect the labor market.

1. Skills data are sourced from JobsEQ, http://chmuraecon.com/jobseq.
2. Employment data are sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program.