Paper Manufacturing: NAICS 322

About the Paper Manufacturing subsector

The paper manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

Industries in the Paper Manufacturing subsector make pulp, paper, or converted paper products. The manufacturing of these products is grouped together because they constitute a series of vertically connected processes. More than one is often carried out in a single establishment. There are essentially three activities. The manufacturing of pulp involves separating the cellulose fibers from other impurities in wood or used paper. The manufacturing of paper involves matting these fibers into a sheet. Converted paper products are made from paper and other materials by various cutting and shaping techniques and include coating and laminating activities.

North American Industry Classification System

The paper manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills: NAICS 3221
  • Converted Paper Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3222

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in paper manufacturing. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

Jump to page with historical data
456.6 454.9 (P) 452.4 (P) 449.4

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

Jump to page with historical data
352.5 351.7 (P) 349.7 (P) 347.7

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
6 10 3  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

Jump to page with historical data
411 1,239 516  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008

Extended mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
5 6 (P) 7 (P) 11

Separations

Jump to page with historical data
893 899 (P) 595 (P) 1,359

Initial claimants

Jump to page with historical data
882 1,059 (P) 814 (P) 1,138

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

17,300

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

18,120

Industrial production managers

4,900

Industrial truck and tractor operators

18,450

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

89,980

Printing machine operators

14,540

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for paper manufacturing.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory employees are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in paper manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008

Average hourly earnings

Jump to page with historical data
$18.89 $19.07 (P) $18.80 (P) $18.95

Average weekly hours

Jump to page with historical data
42.7 42.6 (P) 43.0 (P) 42.5

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

$16.08 $16.18 $33,450 $33,660

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

$26.41 $27.48 $54,940 $57,150

Industrial production managers

$40.06 $42.23 $83,330 $87,840

Industrial truck and tractor operators

$15.13 $15.46 $31,480 $32,160

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

$15.62 $16.14 $32,490 $33,560

Printing machine operators

$17.04 $17.50 $35,440 $36,400

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in paper manufacturing. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

19 11 17 (P) 16

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

4.9 4.4 4.3  

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

2.9 2.5 2.5  

Cases involving days away from work

1.4 1.2 1.2  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.5 1.3 1.3  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

Data series Back
data
May
2008
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008

Producer price index

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 120.4 (P) 120.8 (P) 121.6 (P) 124.2

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.2% (P) 0.3% (P) 0.7% (P) 2.1%

Import index

Jump to page with historical data
111.2 111.9 (R) 113.6 115.4

Percent change from previous month

 

0.5% 0.6% (R) 1.5% (R) 1.6%

Export index

Jump to page with historical data
115.2 115.6 (R) 116.0 116.1

Percent change from previous month

 

0.1% 0.3% (R) 0.3% (R) 0.1%

Footnotes
(R) Revised
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in paper manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 6,345 (P) 6,333 (P) 6,311 (P) 6,274

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series Back
data
2003 2004 2005 2006

Labor productivity index, output per hour

Jump to page with historical data
118.921 123.418 124.547 127.292

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
4.2 3.8 0.9 2.2

Labor index, total labor hours

Jump to page with historical data
78.165 75.867 75.069 73.430

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
-6.4 -2.9 -1.1 -2.2

Output index

Jump to page with historical data
92.954 93.634 93.496 93.470

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
-2.5 0.7 -0.1 0.0

Unit labor costs index

Jump to page with historical data
105.066 103.585 104.419 103.804

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
1.5 -1.4 0.8 -0.6

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008