Printing Industry Sees Slight Decline in July Employment Numbers

The US printing industry saw a decline in overall employment in July, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This marks a reversal from May's 1% increase in overall employment. Production employment, which includes graphic arts production, was down 1.6% from June, while non-production employment was up 1.5%. Publishing employment also saw a decline of 0.6%.

However, not all sectors experienced a decrease in employment. The signage industry saw an increase of 1.6% in overall employment, with sign production employment rising by 2.3%. Converted paper products employment was up 0.5%, driven by gains in paperboard container and coated and treated paper employment.

Looking at specific publishing and creative segments, graphic design employment was up 1.8% from May to June, while ad agency employment declined by 0.6%. Book publishing saw a modest increase of 0.9%.

The BLS reported that overall nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July, with a decline of just 23,000 jobs. However, revisions to previous months' data revealed slower-than-expected job growth, averaging only 20,000 new jobs per month over the last three months.