The Pensacola News Journal eliminated 21 full-time and seven part-time jobs Tuesday, part of a response to declining advertising revenue from three key client sectors.

President and Publisher Kevin Doyle attributed the revenue slump to depressed local economy, including the real-estate and automobile sales markets, and to rising unemployment, which is impacting classified advertising.

“The economy is not very good in this area, and it’s been hit worse here than just about anywhere in the country,” Doyle said.

Gannett Co. Inc., which owns 85 newspapers, including the News Journal, announced in late October that its newspapers would cut about 10 percent of their work force by mid-December because of the nationwide economic downturn.

The News Journal’s staff reductions ended up at less than that — about 8 percent. The paper’s total employment is now about 325.

The cuts affected four major News Journal departments — the Information Center (newsroom), Advertising, Marketing and Circulation.

“One thing that’s important for everyone to understand is that our newsroom, for instance, even after these reductions, is larger than the industry average,” Doyle said.

Non-payroll cuts also are being implemented, Doyle said, with the largest being for newsprint.

The News Journal’s three sister papers in Florida — the Tallahassee Democrat, Fort Myers News-Press and Florida Today — also announced significant staff cuts on Tuesday, as did other Gannett papers nationwide.