• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 12, 2014

Online advertising in the first quarter of 2014 continued to grow at a steady clip from last year. U.S. Internet ad spending increased 19% to $11.6 billion in the period, according to new data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC US.

That rate is slightly above the 17% growth for all of 2013, and the 16% gain in the year-earlier period. If the current pace holds, the total spend in 2014 would easily surpass the $42.8 billion total in digital advertising last year.

The IAB only breaks out spending by ad category at mid-year and for the full year, so it’s difficult to discern any particular trends for the first quarter. But the total includes digital spending on mobile devices -- smartphones and tablets -- as well as on desktop computers. Mobile accounted for 17% of online ad dollars in 2013.

“With consumers increasingly relying on digital screens for everything from information to entertainment, numbers like these should come as no surprise,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US, in announcing the first-quarter results.

Researcher eMarketer forecasts that U.S. digital advertising will reach $50.1 billion this year, up 17% over 2013. Mobile is expected to make up more than a third of the total, at $17.7 billion.