The industry contributed 2,5% of total manufacturing production in the third quarter of 2015, down from 3,1% in the third quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2010. It appeared to be a decline, however, presumably in part because of the shift to digital distribution of media.
Production fell by 21% from third quarter 2013 to third quarter 2015, compared to an increase of 16% from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2013. From the second to the third quarter of 2015, the industry’s output fell by 2,6%.
Employment was reported at just under 100 000 in the third quarter of 2015, virtually the same as five years earlier despite the fall in production. The data suggest a long-term decline to around 70 000 workers followed by a sharp rise in the past quarter. Given the reported fall in output, the reported increase in 2015 is more likely to reflect the process of reweighting the data in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in that year, not an actual reversal of the downward trend in employment.
Capacity utilisation fell in the past quarter, from 74,3% in the second quarter of 2015 to 73,6% in the third quarter. This reflected a sharp fall from 82,0% two years earlier.
Separate data are not available through the third quarter of 2015 on exports and imports of published material.