Mark Vruno

What are the trends in salary and staffing?
September 20, 2007

Question: What are the trends in salary and staffing, and when will Graphic Arts Monthly publish a 2007 salary survey?

Answered by Lisa Cross, GAM senior editor, lisa.cross@reedbusiness.com: Though sales have recaptured pre-9/11 peaks, printing industry salary increases are not rising at the same pace as business in general. The results of Graphic Arts Monthly's latest annual salary survey (12/06) showed average pay increases in 2005 of 2.9%, the same rise reported in the last four surveys.

PIA/GATF www.gain.net ratios found printers spending less on factory payroll this year (25.75% of sales versus 25.81% last year), while sales per employee rose to $136,469 (up from $131,601 in 2005). Sales per factory employee averaged $184,538; for profit leaders the figure is $187,893. (See www.ratios-sample.com  for more.)

Overall, three-quarters in GAM's salary study reported their companies' salaries increased in 2005, mostly as part of an annual review. Summaries of the GAM annual salary survey www.graphicartsonline.com/article/CA6399218.htmlreflects presented results from 628 printing executives, the highest response rate for the study. The survey is the only annual measure of compensation trends in the printing industry.

Where's the money?

Employees at specialty print shops earned the highest average pay increase of 3.1%. On the flip side, salaries at larger commercial and book/publication operations posted the lowest gains (2.5%). Geographically, the highest overall increase, 3.5%, went to printing employees in the South.

Overall, at firms participating in the survey, more hired staff (30% up from 27%) than fired them (15% down from 28%). Mid-size commercial printers (42%) and specialty printers (33%) added the most staff, while book/publication printers (26%) downsized. Hourly workers were most affected by both employee layoffs/cutbacks and new employee hiring.

In the past five years, printing has lost about 150,000 jobs from economic changes, digital transitions and people retiring, says Ron Davis, chief economist for PIA/GATF. In a typical year, print firms hire 60,000 new workers, he says, but witness a shortage of 30,000 workers annually. The majority of salary survey respondents look to fill staff openings via newspaper/magazine ads. Surprisingly low is the number of firms that use Internet sites, given the popularity of Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and others. A search for the word “print” on Careerbuilder, Monster or the PIA/GATF Website www.gain.net can yield as many as 2,500 job openings.

A crucial component of employee compensation is benefits. Rising health care costs, anxiety over retirement income, tax incentives and the quest for economical incentives to retain employees have all elevated the importance of the non-cash side of compensation.

Watch for the 2007 Graphic Arts Monthly Salary Survey in the December issue.

Posted by Mark Vruno on September 20, 2007 | Comments (0)