Salary Survey 2008

By Lisa Cross, Senior Editor

Compensation in the printing field held steady, but the effects of the recession that began December 2007 stood in stark relief, as the industry downsized and firms cut staffs. These results are reported in GAM’s annual salary survey.
 
The Business Cycle Dating Committee, which officially gauges when the economy is in contraction, declared December 1 that the economy has been in recession and declining for 12 months. 

Even without the formal notice of a downturn, print managers have kept a lid on raises. While 20% reported no changes in salary levels, most respondents (51%) reported marginal wage hikes of 1% to 3%, though 13% reported increases of 4% to 5%. Five percent of respondents reported salary cuts, compared to 3%, 2%, 7% and 9%, respectively, in 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004 studies. 

Mirroring macroeconomic trends, the survey revealed downsizing more than doubled, as 28% reported layoffs, more than double last year’s 13%. Firms reporting a net staff increase fell to 24% from 34% in 2007. Of those firms eliminating jobs, 30% cut 21 or more workers. Hourly workers (62%) and administrative support staff (47%) were most affected by layoffs. On the hiring side, administrative support staff (41%) and sales and marketing staff (38%) were the top categories. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 22 mass layoffs at printing firms during the second and third quarters, affecting a total of 2,808 workers. In the last nine months, GAM staff tracked job cuts at printing firms both large and small. Here is a snapshot during that time period: Bowne 980; Dispatch Printing 112; Finger Lakes Press 30; FNP Printing & Publishing 12; Hallmark 350; Harland Clarke 225; IWCO 130; Koke Printing 46; Nahan Printing 24; Valassis 100; PrintingForLess.com 12; Pyramid Printing 35; Quad/Graphics 100; Quebecor World 700; RockTenn 125; Serigraph 50, Stinehour Press 21; Transcontinental 400; and Visant 150.

Business down all around
Budget constraints are prohibiting industry hiring, as several respondents commented: 

“Business is down all round the U.S. With no significant money coming in, there is no reason to hire.” 

“Since hours of regular employees have recently been cut back, during heavy workloads we would rather not hire, but use temps instead.” 

“We can’t pay enough to hire the best available employees,” lamented one hiring manager.
“We couldn’t pay enough to hire the best employees even before the economy tanked,” another wrote. 

Summaries of salaries by job title are presented here and reflect results from 695 printing executives—the highest response rate ever for the study.