2015 Mailing Industry Job Study
The EMA Foundation for Paper-Based Communications’ Institute for Postal Studies has just released the 2015 EMA Mailing Industry Job Study. The study reveals that the overall impact of the industry remains strong. The study determined that there were approximately 7.5 million jobs and $1.4 trillion in sales revenue associated with the mailing industry in 2014, the most recent year for which data are available.  The U.S. Mailing Industry is the backbone of the American economy, and changes in the Mailing Industry echo throughout the entire marketplace.

Key points include:
 Provides $1.4 trillion in sales revenue which is 4.6% of U.S. Total Output,
 Grew in revenue by 9.5% which is more than $123 Billion from 2011 to 2014
despite losing 343,000 jobs (4.4% loss) during that same time period due to
economic recovery and due to more packaged products being delivered
through the mail stream
 Supports 7.5 million U.S. jobs of which is 6% of total jobs nationwide,
 Influences every private and public sector of the economy
 Provides jobs in every state and congressional district
Jobs and economic activity associated with the mailing industry are contained
in three categories: 1) public and private sector companies that create mail, deliver
mail and parcels, and provide retail acceptance or delivery services, 2) companies
that send and receive mail & parcels as part of their everyday business operations,
and 3) companies that sell products using mail advertising or use the mailing
industry to deliver their products.

“We are excited to release this report because it shows how important the
mailing industry is to the US economy. It represents over 4.6% of U.S. Total Output
and over 6% of the nation’s jobs,” says Cheryl Chapman, chairman of the EMA
Foundation Institute for Postal Studies and product manager of International Paper
Company. She added that policies that have a dramatic influence on the USPS
impact many workers since over 73% of mail industry jobs depend on the delivery
infrastructure of which the USPS is the center.  Peter Johnson, PhD, Principal, mLightenment Research, co-author of the study stated that, "This study should surprise all those who assume that digital is the only economically efficient media. With our study showing a jump in total sector revenues combined with a marked trimming of employment, the US mailing industry is becoming a more efficient contributor to total US output with each passing year."

This study analyzes the most recent information collected by the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics in its Occupation Employment Statistics program on employment by
occupation and industry, the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, the
Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Affairs, and The Direct Marketing
Association.
The study is available on the EMA Foundation’s website at www.envelope.org
or you can contact the Foundation office at 703-739-2200 or Maynard Benjamin,
President and CEO at mhbenjamin@envelope.org.