NEW YORK, USA — THE Wall Street Journal remains the top-selling US daily newspaper, but The New York Times has surpassed USA Today for second, thanks to an expansion into digital subscriptions, according to a report released yesterday by an industry group.

The Journal’s weekday circulation averaged 2.38 million from October through March, the period covered by the report from the Alliance for Audited Media. That was a 12 per cent increase from the same period a year ago, the AAM said. Most of the growth came in digital subscriptions, which accounted for nearly 900,000, or 40 per cent, of the total circulation at the newspaper, which is owned by News Corp.

The New York Times began charging for unlimited access to its heavily trafficked website two years ago. The move has helped boost its paid circulation by reeling in more subscribers who are willing to pay for unlimited digital access to the newspaper’s content. The Times’ weekday circulation averaged 1.87 million during the latest period, an 18 per cent increase from last year. The figure included digital circulation of 1.13 million, a 32 per cent increase from last year.

AAM’s rules allow publications to count as multiple subscriptions the same person’s paid usage on multiple outlets, such as a paper newspaper, a website and a tablet computer.

Digital subscriptions now account for 19 per cent of average US daily newspaper circulation, up from 14 per cent last year, the AAM said.

Overall, the average daily circulation at the 593 US newspapers that submitted figures to AAM declined by 0.7 per cent from March 2012. The AAM cautioned against comparing the industry’s overall numbers with the previous year because of the different ways newspapers have been delivering and selling editions. Some newspapers, for instance, have reduced the number of weekdays that they deliver print editions. Other newspapers are listing branded editions that weren’t counted in past years, according to the AAM.

In what was then a break from the industry’s practice, The Wall Street Journal began charging for online access to its business-oriented news-paper during the 1990s. That move helped The Journal leapfrog USA Today as the largest US news-paper in 2009.

The New York Times remained the largest Sunday newspaper with an average circulation of 2.32 million, a 16 per cent increase from last year. Neither The Journal nor USA Today publishes a print edition on Sunday.

USA Today’s weekday circulation fell eight per cent from last year to 1.67 million. The newspaper, owned by Gannett Co, still offers free access to its website. Even so,

USA Today delivers a digital version that had nearly 250,000 paying subscribers during the latest period, according to AAM.