Screenprinters face extinction?

The days may be numbered for screenprinters… well at least according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

They announced this month that “printer,” “screen printer” and “support activities for printing” are no longer official jobs.

Andrew Van Dam of the Washington Post digs deeper:

The broad sector that includes printing has shed about a third of its jobs since the start of the Great Recession — more than every sector but clothing manufacturing, which also no longer has enough U.S. jobs to merit many lines in the database.

Every year the DLB removes certain industries or job titles from it’s official tracking. But does that mean that Screenprinting is in trouble?

Michael Makin, CEO of Printing Industries of America located in Pittsburgh, PA, responded to the DOL report in Printing Impressions.

“Printing Industries of America is disappointed—but not surprised—to learn of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ announcement that the agency would no longer track jobs related to commercial print, screen printing and support activities for printing,” Makin said. “The disappointment is shared by the approximately 800,000 workers in the printing, packaging and publishing industry who go to work every morning knowing that their jobs are relevant to the nation’s manufacturing economy.”

What do we think?

Screenprinting is not dead.

While it’s a definite setback for the official job title to be removed from the Department of Labor’s statistics, we know for sure that Screenprinting is far from dead, it’s just evolving.

What do you think about this? Ridiculous or should screen printers be worried? Drop your feedback in the comments.