Online advertising revenue has dropped again in the US.

According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, US online advertising revenue has slumped, dropping 5.4% year-on-year for the third quarter. This is in contrast to Australia’s online advertising revenue growth and announcement of its highest annual revenue ever.

US revenues had grown 1.7% from the second quarter however, the first concurrent increase since 2008. In Q3, online ad revenue totalled USD$5.5 billion, down from USD$5.84 billion. The industry peaked in Q4 2008 at USD$6.1 billion.

The advertising sector overall has been hard hit by the economy, but digital media has been a bright spot within the larger economic downturn, said Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.