OTTAWA—The Canadian Printing Industries Sector Council (CPISC) has released its Labour Market Information Report, Printing by Numbers.

The document updates CPISC's 2009 HR study, which found that the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 323 no longer encompasses the modern print industry, thanks to technological and economic sea changes that push printing and graphic communications businesses to expand beyond traditional printing.

"Despite the economic climate, total establishments in six categories related to printing and graphic communications grew from 14,149 in 2006 to 21,068 in 2012, which was encouraging to read," reads a statement from Marie Eveline, CPISC executive director.

According to CPISC, the printing world now includes activities under NAICS codes 3222, converted paper product manufacturing; 5111, newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers; 54143, graphic design services; 56143, business service centres; and 561910, packaging and labelling services.

"As a result, Canada's commercial printers—the 6,320 Canadian companies that specialize in printed and related support services—are now in direct contest with the 14,748 firms active in these other market segments," reads the Printing by Numbers executive summary. To reflect this change, the new report includes info on NAICS 3222 and 5111. The other four sectors were not included due to limited data.

Printing by Numbers highlights employee demographic trends, finding that visible minorities are well represented at 15.8% of the workforce (compared to 16.2% of the Canadian population), while women are underrepresented with less than a third of available jobs in NAICS 323 and 3222. (Women fare better in the newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers category, holding more than 50% of all positions.)

Eighty percent of employees have a secondary education certificate, diploma or degree. Almost 40% top out with high school completion, while 15-17%, depending on industry sub-category, have a college, CEGEP or other non-university degree. Those with a university certification or degree figure at 13-19%.

Workers in converted paper product manufacturing have the highest average industry income at $55,467, The average for newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers is $45,997, while average income for printing and related support activities workers is $44,732.

Aside from the industry overview and workforce analysis, the report also features info on economic activity and production, business revenue, and more.

The updated Labour Market Information Report, along with a recently released Graphic Designer Skills Standards report, is the last announced project from CPISC, which officially shuts down today. Download the full CPISC Printing by Numbers report, available in English or French, at the CPISC website.