The number of advertisement companies in China increased 17.9 percent in 2013 from the previous year to 445,000, according to the State Administration for Industry & Commerce (SAIC).

Employees working in the advertisement sector rose 20.4 percent in 2013 year on year to 2.62 million, said Gan Lin, deputy head of the SAIC.

China's advertisement industry registered a relatively fast expansion in 2013, but the growth rates of advertisement companies and employees both decelerated from 2012, Gan said at an industry conference earlier this week.

Online advertisement companies' business revenue soared 46.1 percent in 2013 year on year, faster than their traditional advertisement peers, SAIC figures showed.