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Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places, 2014 News Release
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, August 6, 2015 USDL-15-1514
Technical Information: (202) 691-5618 • dipsweb@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, 2014
Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - rose 2.6 percent in wholesale trade, 1.9 percent in
retail trade, and 0.3 percent in food services and drinking places in 2014, 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, also rose in all three sectors.
Productivity in wholesale trade rose faster in 2014 than in 2013. Both output and hours increased at a
higher rate than the previous year. In retail trade, output rose at a slightly slower rate and hours
increased after falling the previous year, leading to a smaller productivity rise than in 2013. The
productivity increase in food services and drinking places in 2014 resulted from an increase in output
that exceeded that of hours.
Labor Productivity Trends in 2014
Productivity increased in 30 of the 49 detailed 4-digit NAICS industries studied in 2014. Both output
and hours grew in 42 industries. Unit labor costs fell in 18 industries in 2014.
In wholesale trade, productivity rose 2.6 percent as output grew 4.3 percent and hours increased 1.7
percent. Productivity grew 2.4 percent in durable goods wholesalers and 3.1 percent in nondurable
goods wholesalers. Productivity increased in 16 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade industries, while
output rose in 17 industries and hours grew in 18. Productivity increased most rapidly in apparel and
piece goods and druggists’ goods, as output rose substantially in each. Unit labor costs declined in eight
industries.
In retail trade, productivity grew 1.9 percent, as output rose 3.9 percent and hours rose 2.0 percent.
Productivity increased in 13 of the 27 detailed retail trade industries, as output grew in 22 industries and
hours rose in 21. The largest productivity increases were in beer, wine, and liquor stores and electronics
and appliance stores. Output increased strongly in both of these industries. Unit labor costs fell in nine
industries.
In food services and drinking places, productivity rose 0.3 percent, as output grew 3.7 percent and
hours rose 3.3 percent. Output and hours rose in all three of the detailed industries in this sector, while
only restaurants and other eating places recorded an increase in productivity. Unit labor costs rose in two
of the industries.
Productivity increased in 11 of the 16 3-digit NAICS industries studied in 2014. Productivity gains of at
least 5 percent occurred in 2 industries where output increased strongly: electronics and appliance stores
and health and personal care stores.
Unit labor costs fell in 5 out of 16 3-digit NAICS industries in 2014. All unit labor cost declines
occurred in industries where productivity rose. Conversely, each of the industries where productivity fell
also recorded an increase in unit labor costs. Labor compensation rose in 2014 in all 16 industries.
Of the 12 largest detailed wholesale trade, retail trade, and food services and drinking places industries,
ranked by employment size, output rose in 10 industries and hours rose in 8. Productivity growth was
greatest in health and personal care stores, where output grew and hours declined. Productivity fell the
most in special food services, where strong growth in hours outpaced the increase in output.
Labor Productivity Trends in Selected Time Periods
From 1987 to 2014, productivity increased at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent in wholesale trade,
2.8 percent in retail trade, and 0.4 percent in food services and drinking places. Unit labor costs rose in
wholesale trade and in food services and drinking places, and were unchanged in retail trade from 1987
to 2014.
Among the detailed 4-digit NAICS industries, productivity rose in approximately 89 percent of
wholesale trade industries, 100 percent of retail trade industries, and 67 percent of food services and
drinking places industries from 1987 to 2014. Median productivity growth among these industries was
2.2 percent per year. Productivity growth over the long term was associated with rising output in many
industries, while hours increased in slightly more than half.
Productivity also increased in about two-thirds of the detailed industries studied between 2007 and 2014,
despite the fact that the period encompassed a recession. However, only 55 percent of the industries saw
increases in output, while 37 percent experienced growth in hours.
Additional Information
The trade and food services and drinking places measures in this release incorporate preliminary data
from the Census Bureau’s Annual Wholesale Trade Report (February 2015), Monthly Wholesale Trade
Survey (May 2015), Annual Retail Trade Survey (March 2015), and the Annual Revision of the
Monthly Retail and Food Services: Sales and Inventories (May 2015), as well as data from the Census
Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics (May 2015). The labor productivity and output series for all industries
have been revised for 2013 and earlier years as a result. This news release also incorporates the annual
benchmark revision of the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey published in February
2015. In addition, the unit labor cost measures incorporate preliminary data from the BLS Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (June 2015). All of the measures for 2014 in this release are
preliminary and subject to revision.
For the first time, the industries included in this news release are classified according to the 2012
NAICS. Indexes have been rebased from 2002=100 to 2007=100 starting with this release. While the
rates of change reported by BLS in this release are rounded to one decimal place, all percent changes are
calculated using index numbers rounded to three decimal places.
Year-to-year movements in industry productivity may be erratic, particularly in smaller industries. The
annual measures based on sample data may differ from measures generated by a census of
establishments in the industry. Annual changes in an industry’s output and use of labor may reflect
cyclical changes in the economy as well as long-term trends. As a result, long-term productivity trends
tend to be more reliable indicators of industry performance than year-to-year changes.
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Technical Note
Labor Productivity: The industry labor productivity measures describe the relationship between
industry output and the labor time involved in its production. They show the changes from period to
period in the amount of goods and services produced per hour. Although the labor productivity measures
relate output to hours of all persons in an industry, they do not measure the specific contribution of labor
or any other factor of production. 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.
Output: Industry output is measured as an annual-weighted index of the changes in the various products
or services (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 BLS 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
primarily from BLS.
Labor Hours: Labor hours reflect 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 the Current Population Survey (CPS). CES data on the number of total and nonsupervisory
worker jobs held by wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments are supplemented with CPS
self-employed and unpaid family worker data to estimate industry employment. Hours worked estimates
are derived using CES and CPS employment, CES data on average weekly hours paid of nonsupervisory
workers, CPS data on hours of supervisory, self-employed, and unpaid family workers, and ratios of
hours-worked to hours-paid based on data from the BLS 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.
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 labor compensation by an
index of real industry output. Unit labor costs also describe the relationship between compensation per
hour and real output per hour (labor productivity). Increases in hourly compensation increase unit labor
costs; increases in labor productivity offset hourly compensation increases and lower unit labor costs.
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. Percent change in labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data, 2013-2014
Industry
2012 NAICS code
2014 Employment (thousands)
Percent change, 2013-2014
Labor productivity
Output
Hours
Labor compensation
Unit labor costs
Wholesale Trade
Wholesale trade
42
5,983.0
2.6
4.3
1.7
4.9
0.5
Durable goods
423
2,986.5
2.4
4.7
2.3
4.5
-0.2
Motor vehicles and parts
4231
337.7
2.6
3.0
0.4
8.4
5.2
Furniture and furnishings
4232
104.0
0.7
3.3
2.6
3.2
-0.1
Lumber and construction supplies
4233
203.9
1.4
1.8
0.4
5.8
3.9
Commercial equipment
4234
636.5
3.1
5.4
2.2
3.8
-1.5
Metals and minerals
4235
129.2
2.7
8.6
5.7
7.0
-1.4
Appliances and electric goods
4236
327.5
1.8
7.9
6.0
3.9
-3.7
Hardware and plumbing
4237
238.7
1.1
3.2
2.0
3.9
0.7
Machinery and supplies
4238
685.2
3.6
6.1
2.4
4.9
-1.2
Miscellaneous durable goods
4239
323.8
-1.5
-1.4
0.1
2.0
3.4
Nondurable goods
424
2,090.2
3.1
4.1
1.0
5.3
1.2
Paper and paper products
4241
125.7
2.4
3.7
1.3
2.8
-0.9
Druggists' goods
4242
196.1
6.6
7.0
0.3
9.2
2.1
Apparel and piece goods
4243
151.4
9.7
8.4
-1.2
1.9
-6.0
Grocery and related products
4244
773.2
2.3
2.9
0.5
6.0
3.1
Farm product raw materials
4245
81.7
6.2
11.7
5.1
-0.4
-10.8
Chemicals
4246
132.8
3.1
4.9
1.8
5.8
0.9
Petroleum
4247
100.9
-3.6
2.5
6.3
6.7
4.1
Alcoholic beverages
4248
187.1
2.0
2.1
0.1
5.2
3.0
Miscellaneous nondurable goods
4249
341.3
-2.1
-1.5
0.7
2.9
4.5
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
425
906.3
2.4
3.6
1.2
5.2
1.6
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
4251
906.3
2.4
3.6
1.2
5.2
1.6
Retail Trade
Retail trade
44-45
16,196.5
1.9
3.9
2.0
4.8
0.8
Motor vehicle and parts dealers
441
1,921.7
3.7
7.5
3.7
6.3
-1.1
Automobile dealers
4411
1,219.2
4.4
8.1
3.6
7.4
-0.6
Other motor vehicle dealers
4412
143.0
3.8
8.4
4.5
5.3
-2.8
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores
4413
559.5
-2.4
1.1
3.6
2.9
1.8
Furniture and home furnishings stores
442
491.2
-0.2
6.1
6.4
7.2
1.0
Furniture stores
4421
229.5
1.7
7.5
5.8
6.5
-1.0
Home furnishings stores
4422
261.7
-2.4
4.5
7.0
8.0
3.3
Electronics and appliance stores
443
516.2
5.7
9.3
3.5
2.2
-6.5
Electronics and appliance stores
4431
516.2
5.7
9.3
3.5
2.2
-6.5
Building material and garden supply stores
444
1,278.5
3.6
4.6
0.9
4.0
-0.5
Building material and supplies dealers
4441
1,106.9
4.4
4.0
-0.4
2.9
-1.1
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores
4442
171.6
-1.1
8.1
9.4
12.5
4.0
Food and beverage stores
445
3,090.1
-1.3
1.3
2.7
4.4
3.1
Grocery stores
4451
2,671.6
-2.0
0.9
2.9
4.4
3.5
Specialty food stores
4452
255.4
3.0
6.7
3.5
7.3
0.6
Beer, wine and liquor stores
4453
163.1
6.7
3.7
-2.9
-0.2
-3.8
Health and personal care stores
446
1,065.7
5.0
3.9
-1.0
3.2
-0.8
Health and personal care stores
4461
1,065.7
5.0
3.9
-1.0
3.2
-0.8
Gasoline stations
447
889.6
-0.4
-0.1
0.3
4.0
4.1
Gasoline stations
4471
889.6
-0.4
-0.1
0.3
4.0
4.1
Clothing and clothing accessories stores
448
1,468.9
1.5
2.3
0.8
3.2
0.8
Clothing stores
4481
1,079.9
4.7
2.0
-2.6
1.4
-0.6
Shoe stores
4482
206.2
-7.2
2.9
10.8
5.4
2.4
Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores
4483
182.8
-2.9
3.4
6.5
7.9
4.4
Sports, hobby, music instruments, book stores
451
676.4
-2.1
1.3
3.4
3.9
2.6
Sporting goods and musical instrument stores
4511
578.3
-1.0
1.7
2.7
4.6
2.8
Book stores and news dealers
4512
98.1
-8.2
-1.0
7.8
0.0
1.0
General merchandise stores
452
3,123.5
2.8
2.6
-0.2
3.1
0.5
Department stores
4521
1,349.5
1.2
-0.8
-2.0
1.1
2.0
Other general merchandise stores
4529
1,774.0
2.6
3.8
1.2
4.4
0.6
Miscellaneous store retailers
453
976.4
0.3
2.6
2.3
5.1
2.5
Florists
4531
88.7
-11.7
4.4
18.2
14.0
9.2
Office supplies, stationery and gift stores
4532
307.9
3.7
0.9
-2.7
-1.9
-2.8
Used merchandise stores
4533
219.6
2.8
4.0
1.2
6.9
2.8
Other miscellaneous store retailers
4539
360.2
-0.5
3.0
3.4
8.3
5.2
Nonstore retailers
454
698.3
-1.8
6.3
8.2
11.1
4.6
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses
4541
387.6
-1.3
8.5
9.9
15.3
6.3
Vending machine operators
4542
46.9
-6.8
-1.7
5.5
3.6
5.4
Direct selling establishments
4543
263.8
-8.2
-2.7
6.1
4.1
6.9
Food Services and Drinking Places
Food services and drinking places
722
10,932.9
0.3
3.7
3.3
5.4
1.6
Special food services
7223
774.1
-4.7
4.0
9.0
2.3
-1.6
Drinking places, alcoholic beverages
7224
371.3
0.0
1.3
1.4
3.6
2.2
Restaurants and other eating places
7225
9,787.5
0.9
3.8
2.9
5.8
2.0
Restaurants and other eating places
72251
9,787.5
0.9
3.8
2.9
5.8
2.0
Full-service restaurants
722511
5,091.1
2.5
4.9
2.4
5.8
0.9
Limited-service eating places
722513,4,5
4,696.4
-0.8
2.6
3.4
5.8
3.0
Table 2. Average annual percent change in labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data, 1987-2014
United States Department of Labor
