Based on the survey results of 300 public relations firms [3] around the world, The Holmes Report estimates that the industry is "generating at least $7 billion in fee income annually, employing in excess of 50,000 people, and growing by at least 8.5 percent a year." The newsletter notes that 1,500 firms did not respond to the survey, which makes their estimate a "best guess." "The way in which most large communications holding companies have chosen to interpret Sarbanes-Oxley regulations makes it almost impossible to secure accurate and verifiable information about the size and performance of their individual operating units," the newsletter states. The survey did not include PR professionals employed by government agencies, trade associations, non-profit groups or corporations.