A new AMERIPEN economic-impact study estimates that the U.S. packaging industry is associated with about 1.82 million jobs across packaging manufacturers, their suppliers, and the wider economy. For plastics employers, the report estimates 91,855 direct jobs in plastic packaging. Those figures can help explain the industry’s economic footprint, but they are not a count of current vacancies or a forecast of hiring demand.
That distinction matters when employers use industry research to plan a production team, define a position, or assess the labor market. Here is what the study measures—and what it does not.
What the 2026 packaging jobs study measures
The study separates employment associated with packaging into three groups:
| Estimate | What it represents |
|---|---|
| 379,975 direct jobs | Employment in packaging manufacturing businesses included in the study |
| 749,064 supplier jobs | Estimated employment among businesses supplying goods and services to packaging manufacturers |
| 691,482 induced jobs | Estimated employment supported as workers and businesses spend income in the wider economy |
| 1,820,521 total jobs | The combined direct, supplier, and induced estimate |
| 91,855 direct plastic-packaging jobs | The study’s estimate for the plastic-packaging manufacturing segment |
The study covers packaging made from several materials, including paper and fiber, glass, metal, wood, and plastics. Its plastic-packaging figure is one segment of that broader estimate; it is not a count of every job in plastics manufacturing.
How the estimates were built
According to the full report, direct employment estimates combine Data Axle employment data dated January 2026 with packaging-product sales information from the 2022 U.S. Economic Census. The researchers used product-level sales to estimate the packaging-related share of employment within broader industry classifications. Those direct employment estimates were then used with IMPLAN to model supplier and induced effects.
So the headline total is a modeled economic-impact estimate assembled from data sources with different reference dates. It should be read as a view of the industry’s economic footprint, not as a real-time workforce census.
What employers can—and cannot—take from the numbers
The report gives employers a way to describe the scale of packaging’s economic connections, including the suppliers and spending tied to the sector. The direct plastic-packaging estimate can also help keep discussion focused on that material segment rather than treating all packaging as plastics.
But the study does not report open roles, current vacancies, turnover, time-to-fill, skill shortages, or the number of available candidates in a local labor market. Supplier and induced jobs are not additional packaging-plant openings. The 91,855 figure should not be used as a candidate pool or as evidence that hiring demand is rising.
Use the study as context for a clearer role brief
For a specific hiring plan, start with the work your operation needs to get done. A focused role brief can identify:
- The packaging format, material, and production process involved
- The equipment, quality requirements, and level of responsibility attached to the role
- The experience that is essential on day one versus skills the employer can train
- The location, shift, reporting structure, and expected outcomes for the position
Those details are more useful for a search than an economy-wide estimate. PlasticStaffing helps plastics employers with permanent placement through contingency search, retained and executive search, and Recruiting Subscription Service. Talk with our team about a plastics hiring need.
Source
AMERIPEN, 2026 Packaging Industry Economic Impacts Study. The report’s estimates are economic-impact measures and should not be interpreted as current openings or a forecast of hiring demand.
