Internet: http://www.bls.gov/lpc/home.htm USDL 08-1184
Technical information: (202) 691-5618 For release: 10:00 a.m. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, August 21, 2008
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY:
WHOLESALE TRADE, RETAIL TRADE, AND
FOOD SERVICES AND DRINKING PLACES INDUSTRIES, 2007
Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - increased in wholesale trade and retail
trade, and fell in food services and drinking places in 2007 as follows:
2.1 percent in wholesale trade
3.7 percent in retail trade and
-0.5 percent in food services and drinking places.
Output grew in each of these sectors in 2007. Hours increased in wholesale trade and in food
services and drinking places, and declined in retail trade. Productivity rose in 34 of the 50 detailed
industries studied. (See table 1.) Unit labor costs declined in 22 of these industries, were unchanged
in the retail trade sector, and increased in the wholesale trade and food services and drinking places
sectors.
From a longer term perspective, labor productivity increased at the following average annual
rates between 1987 and 2007:
3.3 percent in wholesale trade
3.3 percent in retail trade and
0.6 percent in food services and drinking places.
Output and hours increased in all of these sectors over the period. Productivity rose in 48 of the 50
detailed industries. (See table 2.) Unit labor costs fell in 17 industries and in the retail trade sector,
but grew in the wholesale trade and food services and drinking places sectors during the period.
2006-2007 change
Wholesale trade: Labor productivity increased 2.1 percent, as output grew 3.8 percent and
hours rose 1.7 percent. Output per hour grew in 12 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade industries in
2007. Commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) experienced the largest productivity gain,
13.7 percent. Unit labor costs fell in seven of the 19 detailed industries, but rose 1.9 percent in
wholesale trade overall.
Retail trade: Labor productivity grew 3.7 percent as output increased 3.0 percent while
hours fell 0.6 percent. Output per hour rose in 20 of the 27 detailed retail trade industries in 2007.
The largest increases in productivity occurred in lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores
(NAICS 4442) and electronics and appliance stores (NAICS 4431), 17.3 percent and 14.3 percent,
respectively. Although unit labor costs fell in 14 of the 27 industries studied, unit labor costs in the
retail sector as a whole were unchanged.
Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity fell 0.5 percent as output increased
1.7 percent and hours grew 2.2 percent. Two of the four industries in food services and drinking
places registered productivity gains in 2007. The largest increase in productivity, 7.0 percent,
occurred in drinking places (NAICS 7224). Unit labor costs grew in three of the four detailed
industries and increased 4.6 percent in food services and drinking places overall.
Long-term trends
Wholesale trade: Labor productivity rose 3.3 percent per year, on average, between 1987
and 2007. Output increased 4.1 percent per year and hours grew 0.7 percent per year. Labor
productivity rose in 17 of the 19 detailed industries. The fastest growth in output per hour occurred
in commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) and electric goods wholesalers (NAICS
4236), 15.6 percent and 8.9 percent per year, respectively. Unit labor costs rose in all but two of the
wholesale trade industries over the period, and increased 0.9 percent per year overall in the
wholesale trade sector.
Retail trade: Labor productivity increased an average 3.3 percent per year from 1987 to
2007, while output rose 4.1 percent per year and hours grew 0.7 percent. Output per hour increased
in all 27 detailed industries. Labor productivity rose the fastest in electronics and appliance stores
(NAICS 4431), 13.4 percent per year, followed by electronic shopping and mail-order houses
(NAICS 4541) at 12.2 percent per year. Unit labor costs declined in 15 of the 27 industries in this
sector during the time period and declined 0.2 percent per year in retail trade overall.
Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity grew 0.6 percent per year on
average, as output increased 2.4 percent per year and hours grew 1.8 percent per year. Productivity
increased in all of the food services and drinking places industries from 1987-2007. Unit labor
costs also increased in each of the detailed industries, and rose 3.2 per year in food services and
drinking places overall.
Additional Information
The measures in this news release incorporate current data from the Census Bureau’s
Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (May 2008) and Monthly Retail Trade Survey (April 2008). Also
included in this release are BLS employment and hours from the March 2008 Current Employment
Statistics (CES) survey and wages from the July 2008 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
The measures replace the wholesale trade, retail trade, and food services and drinking places series
published on the BLS website, in the news release Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale
Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places, 2006 (released August 28, 2007) and
in table 50 of the Monthly Labor Review. All of the measures for 2007 in this release are
preliminary and subject to revision.
While the index numbers and rates of change reported by BLS in this news release are
rounded to one decimal place, all industry productivity percent changes are calculated using index
numbers to three decimal places.
Industry productivity and cost measures are produced as data become available. Measures
for industries in other sectors have been published in separate releases that can be accessed online
at: http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/prin_nr.htm. Indexes and rates of change for all covered
industries can be accessed electronically by visiting the Labor Productivity and Costs web site at
http://www.bls.gov/lpc/#tables. Data on industry employment, hours, labor compensation, value of
production, and the implicit price deflator for output for these industries are available upon request
by calling the Division of Industry Productivity Studies (202-691-5618) or by sending a request by
e-mail to dipsweb@bls.gov.
Information in this report will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon
request. Voice phone: 202-691-5618; TDD message referral phone number:
1-800-877-8339.
Technical Note
Labor Productivity
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 labor productivity measures relate output to the 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 service inputs, including contract employment services; the organization of
production; managerial skill; and the characteristics and effort of the workforce.
Long-term productivity trends tend to be more reliable indicators of industry
performance than are year-to-year changes. The annual changes in an industry’s output
and use of labor may reflect cyclical changes in the economy as well as long-term trends.
Output
Industry output is measured as sectoral output, the value, in real terms, of goods
and services produced for sale outside the industry. Industry output measures for the
trade and food services and drinking places industries are constructed by deflating
nominal dollar revenues from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce,
with price indexes primarily from BLS.
Labor Hours
The primary source of industry employment and hours data is the BLS
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. The CES provides monthly data on the
number of total and nonsupervisory worker jobs held by wage and salary workers in
nonfarm establishments, as well as data on the average weekly hours of nonsupervisory
workers in those establishments. Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) are
used to supplement the CES data. The industry productivity program estimates the
average weekly hours of supervisory workers for each industry using data from the CPS
together with the CES data. Data from the CPS are also used to estimate the employment
and hours of self-employed and unpaid family workers in each industry. Hours of all
workers in an industry are treated as homogeneous and are directly aggregated.
Unit Labor Costs
Unit labor costs represent the cost of labor required to produce one
unit of output. Indexes of unit labor costs are computed by dividing an index of industry
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 compensation increases and lower unit labor costs.
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 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.
Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2006-2007
Percent change, 2006-2007
2007 ---------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor
code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs
Wholesale Trade
42 Wholesale trade 6227 2.1 3.8 1.7 5.8 1.9
423 Durable goods 3232 2.2 3.8 1.5 5.0 1.2
4231 Motor vehicles and parts 369 -0.5 1.1 1.7 4.2 3.0
4232 Furniture and furnishings 120 0.4 3.2 2.8 2.1 -1.1
4233 Lumber and construction supplies 266 -8.0 -11.4 -3.7 -3.0 9.5
4234 Commercial equipment 674 13.7 13.2 -0.4 7.5 -5.1
4235 Metals and minerals 134 -5.5 -3.5 2.2 5.1 8.9
4236 Electric goods 364 5.8 9.0 3.0 6.2 -2.6
4237 Hardware and plumbing 265 0.2 -1.4 -1.6 3.8 5.2
4238 Machinery and supplies 709 0.3 4.1 3.8 4.5 0.3
4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 332 -3.2 2.0 5.3 6.1 4.1
424 Nondurable goods 2160 1.7 3.6 1.9 4.6 1.0
4241 Paper and paper products 145 6.9 -1.8 -8.1 -3.1 -1.3
4242 Druggists' goods 224 -4.9 0.5 5.7 6.5 6.0
4243 Apparel and piece goods 163 1.2 3.8 2.6 0.3 -3.4
4244 Grocery and related products 760 5.7 6.6 0.9 5.2 -1.3
4245 Farm product raw materials 76 6.0 3.6 -2.3 1.9 -1.6
4246 Chemicals 140 1.5 4.1 2.6 5.5 1.3
4247 Petroleum 103 -0.2 5.0 5.2 7.6 2.5
4248 Alcoholic beverages 158 1.0 4.9 3.8 5.1 0.2
4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods 391 -3.9 -0.1 4.0 6.1 6.2
425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 835 3.5 5.1 1.6 11.8 6.3
4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 835 3.5 5.1 1.6 11.8 6.3
Retail Trade
44-45 Retail trade 16547 3.7 3.0 -0.6 3.0 0.0
441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 2007 2.2 3.1 0.9 1.2 -1.8
4411 Automobile dealers 1307 3.2 3.4 0.2 0.8 -2.5
4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 181 3.0 4.7 1.6 3.2 -1.4
4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 519 -3.3 -1.1 2.3 1.9 3.0
442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 633 6.6 2.3 -4.0 -2.1 -4.3
4421 Furniture stores 309 3.7 2.5 -1.1 -2.7 -5.1
4422 Home furnishings stores 325 9.7 2.1 -6.9 -1.4 -3.4
443 Electronics and appliance stores 580 14.3 12.2 -1.9 5.4 -6.1
4431 Electronics and appliance stores 580 14.3 12.2 -1.9 5.4 -6.1
444 Building material and garden supply stores 1358 3.1 -2.1 -5.1 -1.2 0.9
4441 Building material and supplies dealers 1193 1.4 -3.5 -4.8 -1.1 2.5
4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stor 165 17.3 8.9 -7.1 -2.1 -10.1
445 Food and beverage stores 2957 2.6 1.3 -1.3 3.7 2.4
4451 Grocery stores 2550 2.0 1.0 -1.0 3.8 2.7
4452 Specialty food stores 252 4.3 -0.4 -4.5 3.3 3.6
4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 155 7.3 5.4 -1.7 3.5 -1.9
446 Health and personal care stores 1031 -0.3 4.1 4.4 7.6 3.4
4461 Health and personal care stores 1031 -0.3 4.1 4.4 7.6 3.4
447 Gasoline stations 876 3.5 0.0 -3.4 2.9 2.9
4471 Gasoline stations 876 3.5 0.0 -3.4 2.9 2.9
448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 1595 8.7 4.5 -3.9 3.0 -1.4
4481 Clothing stores 1199 10.4 6.5 -3.5 4.9 -1.5
4482 Shoe stores 193 -2.5 0.4 2.9 2.6 2.2
4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 204 9.8 -1.6 -10.4 -2.9 -1.3
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 750 -1.6 4.5 6.3 4.1 -0.4
4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument store 546 -1.1 7.3 8.5 6.4 -0.8
4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 204 -3.1 -2.2 0.9 -1.7 0.5
452 General merchandise stores 3005 1.8 4.0 2.1 5.1 1.1
4521 Department stores 1587 -5.0 -0.6 4.7 3.4 4.0
4529 Other general merchandise stores 1419 7.1 6.8 -0.3 7.0 0.2
453 Miscellaneous store retailers 1058 3.8 2.1 -1.6 1.3 -0.7
4531 Florists 123 -8.4 0.5 9.7 10.8 10.2
4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 407 9.6 5.2 -4.0 -0.8 -5.7
4533 Used merchandise stores 177 8.6 5.2 -3.1 -8.4 -12.9
4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 351 1.2 -0.8 -1.9 5.1 5.9
454 Nonstore retailers 697 11.1 9.8 -1.1 5.8 -3.6
4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 299 11.6 11.7 0.1 6.7 -4.5
4542 Vending machine operators 69 5.3 5.4 0.1 7.7 2.2
4543 Direct selling establishments 329 8.6 5.6 -2.7 4.5 -1.1
Food Services and Drinking Places
722 Food services and drinking places 9909 -0.5 1.7 2.2 6.4 4.6
7221 Full-service restaurants 4634 -0.9 1.7 2.6 7.2 5.4
7222 Limited-service eating places 4199 -1.1 1.1 2.2 6.3 5.2
7223 Special food services 699 1.2 2.3 1.1 5.3 2.9
7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 377 7.0 6.6 -0.4 0.6 -5.6
Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 1987-2007
Average annual percent change, 1987-2007
----------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry Output Labor Unit labor
code per hour Output Hours compensation costs
Wholesale Trade
42 Wholesale trade 3.3 4.1 0.7 5.0 0.9
423 Durable goods 5.4 6.0 0.6 5.1 -0.9
4231 Motor vehicles and parts 4.0 4.0 0.0 4.3 0.3
4232 Furniture and furnishings 2.5 2.7 0.3 5.0 2.2
4233 Lumber and construction supplies 0.7 2.4 1.7 4.3 1.8
4234 Commercial equipment 15.6 16.3 0.6 5.4 -9.3
4235 Metals and minerals -0.4 0.2 0.6 4.9 4.7
4236 Electric goods 8.9 8.9 0.0 5.3 -3.3
4237 Hardware and plumbing 1.3 2.5 1.3 5.3 2.7
4238 Machinery and supplies 2.5 2.8 0.3 4.7 1.9
4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 1.4 2.8 1.4 5.8 2.9
424 Nondurable goods 1.2 1.6 0.4 5.1 3.4
4241 Paper and paper products 2.7 1.8 -0.9 3.9 2.1
4242 Druggists' goods 2.0 4.6 2.6 10.4 5.6
4243 Apparel and piece goods 2.7 2.8 0.0 4.3 1.5
4244 Grocery and related products 1.1 2.1 1.0 5.0 2.9
4245 Farm product raw materials 2.2 -0.5 -2.6 3.4 3.9
4246 Chemicals -0.2 0.7 1.0 5.0 4.2
4247 Petroleum 2.9 0.3 -2.5 3.3 3.0
4248 Alcoholic beverages 0.4 2.1 1.6 5.0 2.9
4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods 0.3 0.5 0.3 3.8 3.2
425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.1 4.8 2.6 4.9 0.1
4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.1 4.8 2.6 4.9 0.1
Retail Trade
44-45 Retail trade 3.3 4.1 0.7 3.9 -0.2
441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 2.6 3.7 1.1 4.2 0.4
4411 Automobile dealers 2.5 3.7 1.1 4.3 0.6
4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 3.5 5.9 2.3 6.3 0.4
4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 2.2 2.8 0.6 3.2 0.4
442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 4.1 5.1 0.9 4.2 -0.8
4421 Furniture stores 3.6 4.4 0.8 3.7 -0.6
4422 Home furnishings stores 4.9 6.0 1.1 4.7 -1.2
443 Electronics and appliance stores 13.4 15.4 1.7 4.9 -9.1
4431 Electronics and appliance stores 13.4 15.4 1.7 4.9 -9.1
444 Building material and garden supply stores 3.2 4.9 1.6 4.4 -0.5
4441 Building material and supplies dealers 3.0 5.0 2.0 4.6 -0.3
4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies store 4.5 4.1 -0.4 2.6 -1.4
445 Food and beverage stores 0.6 0.4 -0.1 3.3 2.9
4451 Grocery stores 0.4 0.4 0.0 3.5 3.1
4452 Specialty food stores 0.2 -0.2 -0.4 2.4 2.5
4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 2.6 1.0 -1.6 2.4 1.4
446 Health and personal care stores 2.5 3.9 1.4 5.3 1.3
4461 Health and personal care stores 2.5 3.9 1.4 5.3 1.3
447 Gasoline stations 2.2 1.6 -0.6 2.5 0.9
4471 Gasoline stations 2.2 1.6 -0.6 2.5 0.9
448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 5.0 5.0 0.0 3.3 -1.6
4481 Clothing stores 5.3 5.6 0.3 3.7 -1.8
4482 Shoe stores 3.9 2.7 -1.2 1.9 -0.8
4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 4.7 4.4 -0.3 3.1 -1.3
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 4.1 4.9 0.8 4.1 -0.7
4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument stores 4.9 5.7 0.8 4.4 -1.2
4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 2.5 3.2 0.7 3.5 0.3
452 General merchandise stores 3.7 5.5 1.7 4.1 -1.3
4521 Department stores 1.0 2.4 1.4 3.0 0.6
4529 Other general merchandise stores 7.2 9.4 2.1 5.6 -3.4
453 Miscellaneous store retailers 4.6 4.9 0.3 2.9 -1.9
4531 Florists 2.7 0.9 -1.7 1.1 0.2
4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 6.7 6.7 0.0 3.3 -3.2
4533 Used merchandise stores 5.3 6.5 1.1 3.7 -2.6
4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 2.7 4.0 1.3 2.9 -1.1
454 Nonstore retailers 9.1 9.5 0.3 4.1 -4.9
4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 12.2 16.1 3.4 7.9 -7.1
4542 Vending machine operators 1.6 -0.5 -2.1 1.9 2.3
4543 Direct selling establishments 3.4 2.2 -1.2 1.9 -0.3
Food Services and Drinking Places
722 Food services and drinking places 0.6 2.4 1.8 5.7 3.2
7221 Full-service restaurants 0.7 2.5 1.8 6.7 4.0
7222 Limited-service eating places 0.6 2.6 2.0 5.4 2.8
7223 Special food services 1.5 2.6 1.1 4.0 1.4
7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 0.3 0.3 0.0 2.4 2.1
United States Department of Labor
