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Internet publishing employment up 48 percent, first quarter 2016 to second quarter 2020

December 03, 2020

Employment in internet publishing and web search portals increased from 196,000 in the first quarter of 2016 to 290,000 in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of 48 percent. In contrast, there were employment decreases of 38 percent in newspaper publishers, 25 percent in periodical publishers, and 17 percent in book publishers over this period.

Employment, wages, and establishments in information publishing industries, first quarter 2016–second quarter 2020
Quarter Book publishers Periodical publishers
Employment Average weekly wage Establishments Employment Average weekly wage Establishments

Q1 2016

61,919 $1,662 3,735 97,212 $1,884 7,562

Q2 2016

61,559 1,492 3,720 96,918 1,606 7,540

Q3 2016

60,776 1,556 3,751 96,259 1,698 7,544

Q4 2016

61,074 1,549 3,741 95,728 1,776 7,532

Q1 2017

60,483 1,795 3,707 93,948 2,006 7,331

Q2 2017

60,881 1,504 3,727 93,297 1,657 7,326

Q3 2017

59,792 1,526 3,757 91,961 1,669 7,356

Q4 2017

59,768 1,643 3,775 91,295 1,772 7,330

Q1 2018

58,558 1,861 3,748 88,532 2,163 7,158

Q2 2018

58,443 1,590 3,769 87,500 1,741 7,096

Q3 2018

57,385 1,586 3,795 85,844 1,975 7,059

Q4 2018

57,571 1,655 3,820 84,430 2,046 7,053

Q1 2019

55,674 1,890 3,759 83,764 2,124 6,945

Q2 2019

55,743 1,602 3,767 82,934 1,829 6,899

Q3 2019

54,589 1,619 3,809 81,353 1,803 6,897

Q4 2019

54,243 1,668 3,825 80,644 1,867 6,887

Q1 2020

53,531 1,974 3,829 78,446 2,095 6,800

Q2 2020

51,450 1,720 3,822 72,648 1,880 6,780

 

Employment, wages, and establishments in information publishing industries, first quarter 2016–second quarter 2020 (continued)
Quarter Newspaper publishers Internet publishing and web search portals
Employment Average weekly wage Establishments Employment Average weekly wage Establishments

Q1 2016

180,313 $981 7,611 195,714 $4,378 13,364

Q2 2016

176,441 924 7,627 204,214 3,549 13,682

Q3 2016

173,678 959 7,643 206,798 3,962 13,863

Q4 2016

170,836 939 7,590 209,426 3,917 13,988

Q1 2017

165,461 1,059 7,440 214,549 4,898 13,972

Q2 2017

161,362 931 7,425 225,451 4,154 14,260

Q3 2017

157,352 941 7,396 228,225 3,927 14,627

Q4 2017

154,683 1,018 7,367 232,017 4,215 14,757

Q1 2018

150,436 1,094 7,181 236,244 5,136 15,135

Q2 2018

147,428 967 7,174 249,650 4,779 15,481

Q3 2018

143,446 988 7,142 252,950 4,208 15,843

Q4 2018

140,559 1,011 7,134 260,061 4,177 16,285

Q1 2019

134,811 1,178 6,988 260,804 5,072 16,528

Q2 2019

132,473 1,000 6,978 272,894 4,509 16,756

Q3 2019

128,510 1,031 6,960 276,969 4,122 17,130

Q4 2019

126,692 1,057 6,899 285,019 4,523 17,440

Q1 2020

122,428 1,261 6,915 287,913 5,435 17,622

Q2 2020

111,615 1,032 6,824 289,794 4,758 17,970

Note: Data for 2020 are preliminary. Employment data are for the third month of the quarter.

In the second quarter of 2020, average weekly wages in these publishing industries ranged from $1,032 in newspapers publishers to $4,758 in internet publishing and web search portals. In the second quarter of 2020, average weekly wages in periodical publishers were virtually the same as they were in the first quarter of 2016. Wages in newspaper publishers were 5 percent higher over this period, while wages in internet publishing and web search portals were 9 percent higher.

The number of establishments (physical locations where employees work) in internet publishing and web search portals increased 34 percent over this 4-year-6-month period. The number of newspaper publishers and periodical publishers establishments both decreased 10 percent.

These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. Data for the most recent quarter are preliminary. More data can be obtained through the data viewer tool.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Internet publishing employment up 48 percent, first quarter 2016 to second quarter 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/internet-publishing-employment-up-48-percent-first-quarter-2016-to-second-quarter-2020.htm (visited December 08, 2024).

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