After a year when publishing industry layoffs have frequently been in the headlines, it will surprise no one that the total number of jobs in the indu

Over 30 Years, 40% of Publishing Jobs Disappeared. What Happened?

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2024-09-25 16:30:05

After a year when publishing industry layoffs have frequently been in the headlines, it will surprise no one that the total number of jobs in the industry is in decline. But in an era marked by corporate consolidation, increased competition for consumer attention, and the emergence of alternative publishing models, the most recent government data suggests the loss of publishing jobs over the past three decades has been dramatic.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed in book publishing in the United States fell to 54,822 in 2023, down from 91,100 in 1997. If accurate, that represents a loss of about 40% of traditional publishing jobs in less than 30 years.

The BLS stats are drawn from detailed employment data for book publishers, which, according to the agency, includes businesses that “carry out design, editing, and marketing activities necessary for producing and distributing books,” whether “in print, electronic, or audio form.”

In 1990, the BLS recorded total book publishing employment at 85,800. Employment then peaked at 91,100 in June 1997, and was at 84,600 as late as December 2008. But the number of industry jobs appears not to have rebounded from the retooling that followed the Great Recession of 2007–2009. In 2012, employment had dropped to roughly 70,000, and in 2016 to approximately 60,000. The annual average bottomed out in 2021 at 51,161, down an eye-opening 44% from the BLS’s peak. In 2023—the most recent stats, released last month—employment has rebounded slightly, to 54,822.