Printing industry statistics cover more than printer ownership. The U.S. picture includes printing and related support activities, post-consumer paper flows, printed products and packaging, postal volume, and imaging-equipment efficiency. The measures below identify their geography, period, definition, and whether they are observed or estimated.
Contents
- Workforce and establishments
- Pay and working time
- Prices, productivity, and safety
- Paper generation and recycling
- Printed products and packaging
- Mail volume and postal revenue
- Imaging-equipment energy benchmarks
Workforce and establishments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines the main industry measure here as printing and related support activities, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 323. That scope describes the industry workforce, not the number of households or businesses that own printers, and it does not represent every upstream paper manufacturer.
BLS recorded 340.3 thousand seasonally adjusted all-employee jobs in May 2026 and 339.7 thousand in June. The July value was 339.6 thousand and the August value was 338.5 thousand. July and August are preliminary Current Employment Statistics values, so they should be read as estimates rather than final historical observations. These figures describe U.S. printing and related support activities. BLS, Printing and Related Support Activities: NAICS 323
Production and nonsupervisory employment was smaller than total employment across the same four months. BLS recorded 236.8 thousand jobs in May 2026, 235.2 thousand in June, 232.5 thousand in July, and 234.3 thousand in August. The July and August figures are preliminary. The distinction matters because the production and nonsupervisory series is not interchangeable with the all-employee series.
| BLS series | May 2026 | June 2026 | July 2026* | August 2026* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All employees, thousand jobs | 340.3 | 339.7 | 339.6 | 338.5 |
| Production and nonsupervisory, thousand jobs | 236.8 | 235.2 | 232.5 | 234.3 |
* July and August 2026 are preliminary Current Employment Statistics values. The BLS table reports seasonally adjusted employment for U.S. NAICS 323 activities; it is not a census of all establishments or a global industry total.
Pay and working time
Average hourly earnings for all employees in U.S. printing and related support activities were $30.85 in May 2026 and $31.08 in June. The preliminary July estimate was $31.24, followed by a preliminary August estimate of $31.13. These are average hourly earnings, not a median wage, a total compensation measure, or a printer-specific salary.
Average weekly hours were 37.5 in May and 37.5 in June 2026. The preliminary July and August values were both 37.3 hours. Reading earnings and hours together gives a compact view of the measured labor input: hourly pay moved within a narrow range over these four months while reported average weekly hours were slightly lower in the two preliminary months.
| Measure | May | June | July* | August* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average hourly earnings | $30.85 | $31.08 | $31.24 | $31.13 |
| Average weekly hours | 37.5 | 37.5 | 37.3 | 37.3 |
* July and August 2026 are preliminary BLS values. All entries refer to all employees in U.S. printing and related support activities, NAICS 323. The data do not establish pay for every occupation, employer, or geographic submarket within the industry.
Prices, productivity, and safety
The BLS producer price index for printing and related support activities was 183.034 in May 2026, 183.089 in June, 183.126 in July, and 183.796 in August. The four observations are preliminary BLS price-index observations. An index level is a price measure; it is not a dollar price for a particular print job and does not by itself identify the price paid by a household.
Labor productivity, measured as output per hour, changed substantially across the latest three reported calendar years. It fell 6.1% from the previous year in 2023, increased 1.1% in 2024, and fell 0.4% in 2025 for U.S. printing and related support activities. These are year-over-year percentage changes in output per hour. They should not be confused with total production, revenue growth, or the performance of an individual printer.
Workplace safety is represented in the supplied BLS measure by 1.6 total recordable injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024. This is an industry rate for printing and related support activities, not a count of all incidents and not a risk estimate for a specific workplace or job role.
| Indicator | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Labor productivity change | 2023 | -6.1% |
| Labor productivity change | 2024 | 1.1% |
| Labor productivity change | 2025 | -0.4% |
| Recordable injury and illness cases | 2024 | 1.6 per 100 full-time workers |
The price, productivity, and safety series answer different questions. The producer price index tracks an industry price level, output per hour tracks measured efficiency, and the injury rate tracks recordable cases relative to full-time workers. Combining them into one performance score would go beyond the reported facts.
Paper generation and recycling
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measures paper and paperboard in post-consumer municipal solid waste, rather than measuring all paper produced by mills or all material used by printers. EPA estimated 29,990 thousand U.S. tons generated in 1960, 87,740 thousand tons in 2000, 71,310 thousand tons in 2010, and 67,390 thousand tons in 2018.
EPA estimated that 5,080 thousand U.S. tons were recycled from municipal solid waste in 1960. The corresponding estimates were 37,560 thousand tons in 2000, 44,570 thousand tons in 2010, and 45,970 thousand tons in 2018. The generation and recycling series therefore show different paths over the selected years: generation was highest in the supplied 2000 observation, while recycled tonnage was highest in 2018.
| Year | Paper and paperboard generated | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 29,990 thousand U.S. tons | 5,080 thousand U.S. tons |
| 2000 | 87,740 thousand U.S. tons | 37,560 thousand U.S. tons |
| 2010 | 71,310 thousand U.S. tons | 44,570 thousand U.S. tons |
| 2018 | 67,390 thousand U.S. tons | 45,970 thousand U.S. tons |
These are EPA estimates of post-consumer municipal solid-waste flows. The categories exclude construction and demolition debris and industrial process wastes, and details may not add because of rounding. EPA also notes a 2010 reclassification affecting newsprint and mechanical papers. EPA, Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data
Printed products and packaging
The EPA’s 2018 municipal-solid-waste estimates show how different printed products contributed to the post-consumer stream. Newspapers and mechanical papers accounted for an estimated 5,050 thousand U.S. tons generated. Books accounted for 690 thousand tons, magazines for 980 thousand tons, office-type papers for 3,970 thousand tons, marketing mail for 3,670 thousand tons, and other commercial printing for 2,000 thousand tons.
Newspapers and mechanical papers had an estimated 64.8% recycling rate in 2018. Corrugated boxes were a much larger stream at 33,260 thousand U.S. tons generated, with an estimated 96.5% recycling rate. Corrugated boxes are packaging rather than a narrow measure of printed matter, but they are relevant to the wider printing, converting, and distribution system.
| 2018 EPA category | Generated, thousand U.S. tons | Recycling rate |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers/mechanical papers | 5,050 | 64.8% |
| Books | 690 | Not supplied |
| Magazines | 980 | Not supplied |
| Office-type papers | 3,970 | Not supplied |
| Marketing mail | 3,670 | Not supplied |
| Other commercial printing | 2,000 | Not supplied |
| Corrugated boxes | 33,260 | 96.5% |
The EPA figures are modeled post-consumer municipal-solid-waste estimates. They do not measure the full volume of print sold, printed, stored, reused, exported, or discarded through non-municipal channels. EPA, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2018
Mail volume and postal revenue
USPS provides a separate view of printed communication through the Postal Service network. Total mail volume was 154.3 billion pieces in fiscal year 2016 and 108.7 billion pieces in fiscal year 2025. In FY 2025, First-Class Mail volume was 42.0 billion pieces, shipping and package volume was 6.8 billion pieces, and Marketing Mail volume was 56.8 billion pieces.
The USPS categories are network measures, not a full global print-market estimate. They also should not be added to EPA municipal-waste tonnage: the units, boundaries, and measurement systems differ.
For FY 2024, USPS reported $15,373 million in Marketing Mail revenue and 57,506 million Marketing Mail pieces. Shipping and Packages generated $32,260 million in revenue from 7,252 million pieces. Across its service categories, USPS reported $79,537 million in total operating revenue and 112,489 million pieces.
| USPS measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total mail volume | FY 2016 | 154.3 billion pieces |
| Total mail volume | FY 2025 | 108.7 billion pieces |
| First-Class Mail volume | FY 2025 | 42.0 billion pieces |
| Marketing Mail volume | FY 2025 | 56.8 billion pieces |
| Shipping and package volume | FY 2025 | 6.8 billion pieces |
USPS’s FY 2024 results report gives the revenue and piece counts above. Revenue is reported in millions of U.S. dollars, while volume is reported in millions of pieces; neither measure is a direct estimate of printer sales or print-shop revenue. USPS, A decade of facts and figures and USPS, Fiscal Year 2024 Results
Imaging-equipment energy benchmarks
ENERGY STAR’s imaging-equipment page covers printers, copiers, and scanners through program estimates and benchmark criteria. It estimates that making all U.S. imaging equipment ENERGY STAR certified could save more than $32 million in electricity costs annually and prevent 596 million pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions annually. The estimates concern the U.S. imaging-equipment stock and were accessed in 2026.
ENERGY STAR also says certified printers, copiers, and scanners can save up to 35% versus conventional equipment. This is a program claim and benchmark comparison, not an observed market-wide average across every installed device. Actual savings can vary with equipment type, duty cycle, settings, age, and use, none of which are specified by the supplied statistic.
These figures complement, rather than replace, the industry measures above. BLS describes businesses and workers in NAICS 323; EPA describes post-consumer material flows; USPS describes its own fiscal-year network; and ENERGY STAR describes modeled savings and certification benchmarks. ENERGY STAR presents program estimates and criteria rather than a census of all installed imaging equipment. ENERGY STAR, Imaging Equipment