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Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places News Release
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, August 3, 2017 USDL-17-1069
Technical Information: (202) 691-5606 • productivity@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/lpc
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY: WHOLESALE TRADE,
RETAIL TRADE, AND FOOD SERVICES AND DRINKING PLACES INDUSTRIES - 2016
Labor productivity rose 1.2 percent in wholesale trade, 4.6 percent in retail trade, and 1.3 percent in
food services and drinking places in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Unit
labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, rose in food services
and drinking places and fell in wholesale trade and retail trade.
For wholesale trade in 2016, productivity, output, and hours worked all increased at a slower rate than in
2015. In retail trade, the growth in output far outpaced the growth in hours worked leading to a bigger
productivity increase in 2016 than in 2015. Productivity growth in food services and drinking places in
2016 was slightly less than that of 2015 as output increased at a slower rate.
Labor Productivity Rose in Majority of Industries in 2016
Productivity increased in all of the 16 3-digit NAICS industries studied in 2016 except for health and
personal care stores. Seven industries had productivity gains of at least 4.0 percent. Nonstore retailers,
which includes electronic shopping and mail-order houses, had the largest increase in output (12.6 percent).
Productivity increased in 36 of the 49 4-digit NAICS industries studied in 2016. Output grew in 41
industries while hours worked grew in 29 industries.
In wholesale trade, productivity rose 1.2 percent as output grew 1.6 percent and hours worked increased
0.4 percent.
* Productivity grew 0.5 percent in durable goods wholesalers and 1.0 percent in nondurable goods
wholesalers.
* Productivity increased in 12 of the 19 4-digit wholesale trade industries while output rose in 14
industries and hours worked grew in 11.
* Productivity increased most rapidly in petroleum merchant wholesalers and farm product raw
material merchant wholesalers as output increased and hours worked fell in both industries.
In retail trade, productivity and output grew 4.6 percent with hours worked virtually unchanged.
* Productivity increased in 21 of the 27 4-digit retail trade industries while output grew in 24
industries and hours worked rose in 16.
* The largest productivity increases were in florists and office supplies, stationery, and gift stores
as output rose and hours worked declined in both industries.
* The electronic shopping and mail-order houses industry experienced the largest growth in output
(14.1 percent) resulting in an 11.4 percent increase in productivity.
In food services and drinking places, productivity rose 1.3 percent as output grew 3.5 percent and
hours worked rose 2.2 percent. Output and productivity rose in all three 4-digit industries; hours worked
rose in two industries.
Productivity Exceeded Hourly Compensation in Majority of Industries in 2016
When productivity gains outpace hourly compensation, unit labor costs facing employers decline.
* Unit labor costs fell in 12 out of 16 3-digit industries in 2016. All unit labor cost declines
occurred in industries where productivity rose.
* Unit labor costs declined in 7 of 19 wholesale trade and 18 of 27 retail trade 4-digit industries.
Two of the food services and drinking places industries experienced an increase in unit labor
costs.
* Hourly compensation, defined as labor compensation per hour worked, rose in 36 of the 49
4-digit industries.
Long-term Productivity Slowdown Reflected in All Three Industry Groups
From 1987 to 2016, labor productivity increased at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent in wholesale
trade, 2.9 percent in retail trade, and 0.5 percent in food services and drinking places.
* Among the 4-digit industries, productivity rose in all but three industries from 1987 to 2016.
Median productivity among these industries grew at an average annual rate of 2.0 percent.
* Over the long term, productivity growth was associated with rising output in 43 out of 49 4-digit
industries while hours worked increased in 26 industries.
* The growth in productivity from 1987 to 2007 exceeded the growth in productivity from 2007 to
2016 in all three industry groups. Productivity increased in 45 out of 49 4-digit
industries from 1987 to 2007 compared to 34 industries from 2007 to 2016.
From 1987 to 2016, unit labor costs increased at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent in food services
and drinking places, the greatest change among the three industry groups. Unit labor costs increased by
0.9 percent in wholesale trade and were unchanged in retail trade.
* Among the 4-digit industries, unit labor costs fell in 15 out of 49 industries from 1987 to 2016.
Unit labor costs declined in 2 out of 19 wholesale trade and 13 out of 27 retail trade industries
while increasing in all food services and drinking places industries.
* From 2007 to 2016, unit labor costs declined in 15 out of 49 industries. All industries with
declines in unit labor costs experienced increases in productivity.
* Among the 3-digit industries, electronics and appliance stores had the largest unit labor cost
declines and the largest productivity gains during the 1987 to 2007 and 2007 to 2016 periods.
Additional Information
The trade and food services and drinking places measures in this release incorporate benchmark data
from the Census Bureau’s Annual Wholesale Trade Report (February 2017), Monthly Wholesale Trade
Survey (May 2017), Annual Retail Trade Survey (March 2017), Annual Revision of the Monthly Retail
and Food Services: Sales and Inventories (May 2017), and Nonemployer Statistics (May 2017). Data
have been benchmarked to the final results of the 2012 Economic Census. Accordingly, the labor
productivity and output series for all industries have been revised for 2015 and earlier years.
Additionally, the unit labor cost measures incorporate preliminary data from the BLS Quarterly Census
of Employment and Wages (June 2017).
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* - Additional industries and sectors *
* - Detailed data series: indexes of productivity and related measures; rates of change; and *
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* - Additional years and long-term data *
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* Additional information can be obtained by calling the BLS productivity program at (202) 691-5606 or by *
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Technical Note
Labor Productivity: Labor productivity describes the relationship between real output and the labor
hours involved in its production. These measures show the changes from period to period in the
amount of goods and services produced per hour worked. Although the labor productivity measures
relate output in an industry to hours worked of all persons in that industry, they do not measure
the specific contribution of labor to growth in output. Rather, they reflect the joint effects of
many influences, including: changes in technology; capital investment; utilization of capacity,
energy, and materials; the use of purchased services inputs, including contract employment services;
the organization of production; the characteristics and effort of the workforce; and managerial
skill.
Unit Labor Costs: Unit labor costs represent the cost of labor required to produce one unit of
output. The unit labor cost indexes are computed by dividing an index of nominal industry labor
compensation by an index of real industry output. Unit labor costs also describe the relationship
between compensation per hour worked (hourly compensation) and real output per hour worked (labor
productivity). When hourly compensation growth outpaces productivity, unit labor costs increase.
Alternatively, when productivity growth exceeds hourly compensation, unit labor costs decrease.
Output: Industry output is measured as an annual-weighted index of the changes in the various
products (in real terms) provided for sale outside the industry. Real industry output for data in
this release is derived by deflating nominal sales or values of production using price indexes.
Industry output measures are constructed primarily using data from the economic censuses and annual
surveys of the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, together with information on price
changes from BLS.
Labor Hours: Labor hours are measured as annual hours worked by all employed persons in an industry.
Data on industry employment and hours come primarily from the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES)
survey and Current Population Survey (CPS). CES data on the number of total and production worker
jobs held by wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments are supplemented with CPS data on
self-employed and unpaid family workers to estimate industry employment. Hours worked estimates are
derived using CES and CPS employment, CES data on the average weekly hours paid of production workers,
CPS data on hours of nonproduction, self-employed, and unpaid family workers, and ratios of hours
worked to hours paid based on data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS). For some industries,
employment and hours data are supplemented or further disaggregated using data from the BLS Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), the Census Bureau, or other sources. Hours worked are estimated
separately for different types of workers and then are directly aggregated; no adjustments for labor
composition are made.
Labor Compensation: Labor compensation, defined as payroll plus supplemental payments, is a measure
of the cost to the employer of securing the services of labor. Payroll includes salaries, wages,
commissions, dismissal pay, bonuses, vacation and sick leave pay, and compensation in kind.
Supplemental payments include both legally required expenditures and payments for voluntary programs.
The legally required portion consists primarily of federal old age and survivors’ insurance,
unemployment compensation, and workers’ compensation. Payments for voluntary programs include all
programs not specifically required by legislation, such as the employer portion of private health
insurance and pension plans. Industry compensation measures are constructed primarily using data from
the BLS QCEW and the economic censuses of the Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Table 1. Recent labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data
Industry
2012 NAICS code
2016 Employment (thousands)
Percent change, 2015-2016
Labor productivity
Unit labor costs
Output
Hours worked
Labor compensation
Wholesale Trade
Wholesale trade
42
6,049.1
1.2
-0.7
1.6
0.4
0.9
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods
423
3,028.0
0.5
1.0
0.7
0.2
1.8
Motor vehicles and parts
4231
343.3
-2.1
4.0
-0.7
1.4
3.2
Furniture and furnishings
4232
112.8
3.4
3.8
4.2
0.8
8.2
Lumber and construction supplies
4233
219.5
0.1
0.1
5.4
5.3
5.5
Commercial equipment
4234
633.4
3.1
-3.0
3.8
0.6
0.7
Metals and minerals
4235
128.0
-1.6
5.5
-6.1
-4.5
-1.0
Appliances and electric goods
4236
336.6
0.9
1.7
2.1
1.2
3.8
Hardware and plumbing
4237
248.4
-1.2
0.3
3.3
4.5
3.6
Machinery and supplies
4238
689.6
1.3
0.5
-1.9
-3.2
-1.3
Miscellaneous durable goods
4239
316.4
0.8
3.1
0.8
0.0
3.9
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods
424
2,113.5
1.0
-2.4
2.6
1.6
0.2
Paper and paper products
4241
122.5
1.7
-1.3
1.8
0.1
0.5
Druggists' goods
4242
205.3
1.5
-2.7
1.4
-0.1
-1.3
Apparel and piece goods
4243
158.0
-2.2
2.6
-1.6
0.6
1.0
Grocery and related products
4244
774.0
-2.0
-0.8
0.2
2.3
-0.7
Farm product raw materials
4245
75.0
11.7
-8.3
3.5
-7.3
-5.1
Chemicals
4246
132.2
2.6
1.6
-0.9
-3.4
0.7
Petroleum
4247
96.5
18.6
-19.6
13.0
-4.6
-9.1
Alcoholic beverages
4248
199.1
-2.1
4.3
1.5
3.7
5.9
Miscellaneous nondurable goods
4249
350.9
-4.4
2.6
2.6
7.3
5.3
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
425
907.6
3.9
-2.3
1.7
-2.1
-0.6
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
4251
907.6
3.9
-2.3
1.7
-2.1
-0.6
Retail Trade
Retail trade
44-45
16,670.3
4.6
-1.5
4.6
0.1
3.0
Motor vehicle and parts dealers
441
2,046.2
3.2
-1.3
4.8
1.6
3.5
Automobile dealers
4411
1,325.1
3.0
-0.9
5.2
2.1
4.2
Other motor vehicle dealers
4412
157.0
7.1
-4.0
4.5
-2.5
0.3
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores
4413
564.1
-0.1
0.6
1.3
1.4
1.9
Furniture and home furnishings stores
442
521.1
5.5
-4.4
5.4
-0.1
0.8
Furniture stores
4421
244.2
3.6
-1.8
4.3
0.7
2.4
Home furnishings stores
4422
276.9
7.6
-7.2
6.6
-0.9
-1.0
Electronics and appliance stores
443
542.6
8.0
-6.4
3.9
-3.8
-2.7
Electronics and appliance stores
4431
542.6
8.0
-6.4
3.9
-3.8
-2.7
Building material and garden supply stores
444
1,312.0
5.3
-2.5
6.7
1.3
4.0
Building material and supplies dealers
4441
1,140.4
5.9
-2.7
7.4
1.4
4.5
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores
4442
171.6
1.4
-2.0
2.0
0.6
-0.1
Food and beverage stores
445
3,184.4
4.7
-1.1
3.2
-1.4
2.0
Grocery stores
4451
2,754.6
5.5
-1.7
3.2
-2.1
1.5
Specialty food stores
4452
254.6
3.4
0.2
2.6
-0.7
2.8
Beer, wine and liquor stores
4453
175.2
-5.4
7.4
3.2
9.1
10.9
Health and personal care stores
446
1,091.3
-1.1
1.6
1.4
2.5
3.1
Health and personal care stores
4461
1,091.3
-1.1
1.6
1.4
2.5
3.1
Gasoline stations
447
933.1
4.2
-1.2
4.8
0.6
3.5
Gasoline stations
4471
933.1
4.2
-1.2
4.8
0.6
3.5
Clothing and clothing accessories stores
448
1,442.3
2.0
-0.3
0.7
-1.2
0.5
Clothing stores
4481
1,056.1
1.7
0.5
0.2
-1.5
0.7
Shoe stores
4482
218.1
3.5
-3.7
4.4
0.9
0.5
Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores
4483
168.1
2.2
-0.4
0.0
-2.2
-0.4
Sports, hobby, music instruments, book stores
451
678.6
2.6
-6.1
3.5
0.8
-2.9
Sporting goods and musical instrument stores
4511
587.0
3.0
-6.6
3.8
0.8
-3.0
Book stores and news dealers
4512
91.6
0.6
-3.5
1.2
0.7
-2.3
General merchandise stores
452
3,184.1
1.3
1.9
1.7
0.4
3.6
Department stores
4521
1,309.8
-1.9
2.8
-4.7
-2.8
-2.0
Other general merchandise stores
4529
1,874.3
1.3
3.3
3.8
2.4
7.2
Miscellaneous store retailers
453
991.3
9.8
-3.6
5.3
-4.1
1.5
Florists
4531
77.5
26.9
-14.1
10.8
-12.7
-4.8
Office supplies, stationery and gift stores
4532
290.1
14.4
-3.2
0.6
-12.0
-2.6
Used merchandise stores
4533
228.0
2.0
0.6
1.1
-0.9
1.7
Other miscellaneous store retailers
4539
395.7
6.3
-2.7
8.1
1.7
5.2
Nonstore retailers
454
743.3
7.7
-0.4
12.6
4.5
12.1
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses
4541
430.7
11.4
1.9
14.1
2.4
16.3
Vending machine operators
4542
43.9
-5.6
-0.4
-3.6
2.1
-4.0
Direct selling establishments
4543
268.7
-4.4
-0.2
4.5
9.4
4.3
Food Services and Drinking Places
Food services and drinking places
722
11,650.6
1.3
2.5
3.5
2.2
6.1
Special food services
7223
795.6
12.4
-1.7
3.2
-8.2
1.5
Drinking places, alcoholic beverages
7224
390.4
1.4
1.8
3.9
2.5
5.7
Restaurants and other eating places
7225
10,464.6
0.3
3.1
3.5
3.2
6.7
Table 2. Long run labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data
United States Department of Labor
