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Size of the US Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers industry

NAICS 5131, Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers. Every figure on this page was published by a federal statistical agency and carries its source and period. Palanor does not estimate: a period the agency didn’t publish shows as missing, and a figure it withheld shows as withheld.

Key figures

Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)
$99.4 billion
2022 · Economic Census
All establishments, current dollars
Employment
233,628
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter
Establishments
27,121
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private ownership
Firms
13,326
2022 · Economic Census

Over time

Employment · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 233,628 · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: 305,8282022-Q2: 306,7592022-Q3: 304,9762022-Q4: 301,9762023-Q1: 292,3152023-Q2: 288,2622023-Q3: 282,5772023-Q4: 280,7622024-Q1: 269,1242024-Q2: 265,7052024-Q3: 260,7382024-Q4: 257,9882025-Q1: 253,7492025-Q2: 249,7372025-Q3: 244,0842025-Q4: 242,6162026-Q1: 233,628
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q1233,628
2025-Q4242,616
2025-Q3244,084
2025-Q2249,737
2025-Q1253,749
2024-Q4257,988
2024-Q3260,738
2024-Q2265,705
2024-Q1269,124
2023-Q4280,762
2023-Q3282,577
2023-Q2288,262
2023-Q1292,315
2022-Q4301,976
2022-Q3304,976
2022-Q2306,759
2022-Q1305,828

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter

Establishments · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 27,121 · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: 30,0192022-Q2: 30,2492022-Q3: 30,4082022-Q4: 30,5072023-Q1: 29,8932023-Q2: 29,6072023-Q3: 29,5162023-Q4: 29,4312024-Q1: 28,7052024-Q2: 28,7352024-Q3: 28,5922024-Q4: 28,4342025-Q1: 27,6832025-Q2: 27,5032025-Q3: 27,4452025-Q4: 27,3492026-Q1: 27,121
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q127,121
2025-Q427,349
2025-Q327,445
2025-Q227,503
2025-Q127,683
2024-Q428,434
2024-Q328,592
2024-Q228,735
2024-Q128,705
2023-Q429,431
2023-Q329,516
2023-Q229,607
2023-Q129,893
2022-Q430,507
2022-Q330,408
2022-Q230,249
2022-Q130,019

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Total wages in the quarter · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest $7.9 billion · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: $8.6 billion2022-Q2: $7.4 billion2022-Q3: $7.7 billion2022-Q4: $7.6 billion2023-Q1: $8.5 billion2023-Q2: $7.2 billion2023-Q3: $7.1 billion2023-Q4: $7.2 billion2024-Q1: $8.2 billion2024-Q2: $6.8 billion2024-Q3: $6.8 billion2024-Q4: $7.0 billion2025-Q1: $8.2 billion2025-Q2: $6.8 billion2025-Q3: $6.9 billion2025-Q4: $6.9 billion2026-Q1: $7.9 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q1$7.9 billion
2025-Q4$6.9 billion
2025-Q3$6.9 billion
2025-Q2$6.8 billion
2025-Q1$8.2 billion
2024-Q4$7.0 billion
2024-Q3$6.8 billion
2024-Q2$6.8 billion
2024-Q1$8.2 billion
2023-Q4$7.2 billion
2023-Q3$7.1 billion
2023-Q2$7.2 billion
2023-Q1$8.5 billion
2022-Q4$7.6 billion
2022-Q3$7.7 billion
2022-Q2$7.4 billion
2022-Q1$8.6 billion

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

The ledger

Every published measure

MeasureSourceLatestPeriodHistory
EmploymentPrivate-sector jobs in the third month of each quarterQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages233,6282026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
EstablishmentsPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages27,1212026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
Total wages in the quarterPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages$7.9 billion2026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
Annual payrollEconomic Census$26.3 billion20222022–2022 · 1 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12Economic Census340,56720222022–2022 · 1 published
EstablishmentsEconomic Census17,40520222022–2022 · 1 published
FirmsEconomic Census13,32620222022–2022 · 1 published
Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)All establishments, current dollarsEconomic Census$99.4 billion20222022–2022 · 1 published

Breakdown

Industries within Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers

NAICSIndustrySizeEmployment
51311Newspaper Publishers$23.2 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census78,0782026-Q1 · QCEW
51312Periodical Publishers$24.4 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census57,0322026-Q1 · QCEW
51313Book Publishers$29.1 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census51,6492026-Q1 · QCEW
51314Directory and Mailing List Publishers$5.1 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census12,7672026-Q1 · QCEW
51319Other Publishers$17.5 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census34,1022026-Q1 · QCEW

Sources

Where every number comes from

Figures are in current dollars and are the agencies’ own, revised when they revise. Each program defines its universe differently (employer firms, private ownership, all establishments), so figures from different sources are not meant to add up. This page is not endorsed by the Census Bureau, BEA or BLS. The same data is in the Palanor API (/v1/industries) and the MCP (palanor_get_industry). All industries.