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 annual salary survey showed average pay increases in 2005 of 2.9%, the same rise reported in the last four surveys.

When compared to general salary averages, industry pay increases fell short. Compensation adjustments for salaried workers across all industries averaged 3.5%, reports business analysts at The Conference Board, marking the fourth consecutive year that pay increases were below 4%.

Print businesses may feel pressured to constrain salaries, since the 2006 PIA/GATF Ratios Survey shows before-tax profits averaged 2.7%. While that was higher than the 2.5% in 2005, when the salaries reflected in this survey were set, it's no blockbuster.

PIA/GATF 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 aspart of an annual review. Summaries of the GAM annualsalary survey, presented in the adjacent table, reflects 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.

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.

Two percent of respondents reported salary cuts in 2005, compared to 7% in 2004 and 9% in 2003. One-quarter reported no change in salary, compared to 40% in the 2004 and 2003 studies.

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.

This market trend has some firms looking for staff in the most unlikely places. Encouraged by $3 million in government incentives, Quad/Graphics is recruiting inner-city Milwaukee residents for 155 openings at its plants in Sussex, Hartford and Lomira, WI.

While Quad's approach is unique, most printers search for employees through print and online job positions. 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 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. Among benefits commonly offered by percent: health insurance 95%, 401K plan 71% (up from 66%), life insurance 68% (up from 65%), disability insurance 62% (up from 53%), maternity paternity leave 44% (up from 33%), tuition reimbursement 38% (up from 29%), retirement/pension fund 36% (up from 27%), profit sharing 27% (up from 22%) and merit bonuses 26% (up 21%).

Larger printing firms and specialty shops reported investing more in education; 46% of both large commercial printers and speciality printers and 51% of book/publication printers offer tuition reimbursement.