Throughout spring 2025, printing employment has been generally flat, and May was no exception: production employment was down 0.5% and non-production employment up by 0.6%.

Publishing employment was unchanged from April to May.

Looking at other business categories, the reporting of which lags a month:

Overall employment in the signage industry was up 0.4% from March to April 2025, with sign production employment up 0.7%, and non-production unchanged.

Converted paper products employment was up 0.3% from March to April, with paperboard container employment up 0.4% and paper bags and coated and treated paper employment down 0.6%.

Looking at some specific publishing and creative segments, from March to April, periodical publishing employment was down 0.3%, while newspaper publishing employment was unchanged and book publishing was down 0.2%. Graphic design employment was down 1.0%, ad agency employment was down 0.5%, and PR agency employment was down 0.8%. Direct mail advertising employment was down 2.4%.

As for April employment in general, the BLS reported on June 6:

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs. 

Meanwhile, March employment was revised down by 65,000 and for April was revised down by 30,000—ergo, employment in March and April combined was 95,000 lower than previously reported.

The U-6 rate (the so-called “real” unemployment rate which includes not just those currently unemployed but also those who are underemployed, marginally attached to the workforce, and have given up looking for work) was unchanged 7.8%.

The labor force participation rate decreased in May from 62.6% to 62.4% and the employment-to-population ratio decreased from 60.0% to 59.7%. The labor force participation rate for 24–54-year-olds decreased from 83.6% to 83.4%.  

The May report was above economists’ expectations, although the steep downward revisions in March and April payrolls are concerning. Still, May was a decent jobs report.