Marketers will increase their spending on newspaper advertising by about 4.1 percent in 2005 to $48.6 billion, according to a Newspaper Association of America forecast.

James Conaghan, NAA vice president of research and business analysis, presented the forecast at the 32nd Annual Media Week Conference in New York.

Total ad spending in 2004, meantime, is projected to top $46 billion, up 3.9 percent from 2003. NAA previously forecast that ad expenditures for the first nine months of the year would total $33 billion.

For the upcoming 10 months, NAA said it expects the three primary advertising categories to show growth for the second straight year. Among the forecasts:  

-National ad performance in 2005 will show modest increases (about 5 percent) as the overall economy expands. Conaghan forecast that national ad spending in 2005 would be $8.5 billion, up 5 percent from a 2004 projection of $8.1 billion. -

-Retail ad sales will hit $22.7 billion, up 3 percent from the 2004 projection of $22 billion. Consumers experiencing an improving labor market may help fuel retail ad sales, Conaghan said.

-Classified ad spending is slated to reach $17.4 billion in 2005, up 5.2 percent from the 2004 projection of $16.6 billion. Conaghan said the 2005 outlook may be affected by rising interest rates and their impact on auto and real estate advertising. Employment ads, however, should continue to increase as the labor market strengthens, Conaghan said.