Internet: http://www.bls.gov/lpc/ USDL 09-1022
Technical information: (202) 691-5618 For release: 10:00 a.m. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 28, 2009
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY: WHOLESALE TRADE, RETAIL
TRADE, AND FOOD SERVICES AND DRINKING PLACES INDUSTRIES, 2008
Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - fell in wholesale trade, retail trade, and
food services and drinking places in 2008 as follows:
-0.3 percent in wholesale trade
-1.8 percent in retail trade and
-0.7 percent in food services and drinking places.
Both output and hours declined in each of these sectors in 2008. Productivity fell in 26
of the 50 detailed industries studied. (See table 1.) Unit labor costs rose in 29 of the detailed
industries and in all three sectors.
Over the longer term, output per hour increased at the following average annual rates
between 1987 and 2008:
3.0 percent in wholesale trade
3.0 percent in retail trade and
0.6 percent in food services and drinking places.
Output and hours grew in all three sectors over the period. Productivity increased in 46
of the 50 detailed industries. (See table 2.) Unit labor costs rose in 32 of the 50 industries and in
each of the three sectors between 1987 and 2008.
2007-2008 change
Wholesale trade: Labor productivity fell 0.3 percent as output declined 0.8 percent and
hours declined 0.5 percent. Output per hour fell in 10 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade
industries in 2008. Commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) experienced the largest
labor productivity gain, 9.2 percent, while furniture and home furnishing wholesalers (NAICS
4232) recorded the largest decline, 15.9 percent. The largest employer in the wholesale trade
sector, electronic markets and agents and brokers (NAICS 4251), experienced a productivity
decline of 2.6 percent. Unit labor costs rose in 13 of the 19 detailed industries, and grew 1.9
percent in the wholesale trade sector overall.
Retail trade: Labor productivity fell 1.8 percent as output declined 3.6 percent and hours
decreased 1.8 percent. Output per hour fell in 15 of the 27 retail trade industries in 2008. Lawn
and garden equipment and supplies stores (NAICS 4442) had the largest labor productivity gain,
20.8 percent, while automotive dealers (NAICS 4411) posted the largest decline, 9.3 percent.
Grocery stores (NAICS 4451), the largest employer among the retail trade industries, saw a 1.4
percent decline in productivity in 2008. Unit labor costs rose in 13 of the 27 detailed industries,
and rose 2.4 percent in the retail trade sector overall.
Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity fell 0.7 percent as output and
hours fell 1.0 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. Output per hour grew in three of the four
detailed industries in 2008 including the largest employer, full-service restaurants (NAICS 7221).
Drinking places (NAICS 7224) experienced the largest labor productivity increase, 4.1 percent,
while limited-service eating places (NAICS 7222) recorded the only decline, -3.1 percent. Unit
labor costs rose in three of the four detailed industries and rose 3.7 percent in the food services
and drinking places overall.
Long-term trends
Wholesale trade: Labor productivity rose 3.0 percent per year, on average, between 1987
and 2008. Output grew 3.7 percent per year and hours increased 0.7 percent per year. Labor
productivity rose in 16 of the 19 detailed industries. Commercial equipment wholesalers
(NAICS 4234) and electric goods wholesalers (NAICS 4236) posted the highest average growth
in output per hour, 14.9 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. Unit labor costs rose in 17 of the
19 detailed industries between 1987 and 2008, and grew at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent
per year overall in the wholesale trade sector.
Retail trade: Labor productivity grew 3.0 percent per year, on average, between 1987 and
2008, while output and hours increased 3.7 percent and 0.6 percent per year, respectively. Labor
productivity grew in all but one of the detailed industries in this period. Electronics and
appliance stores (NAICS 4431) and electronic shopping and mail-order houses (NAICS 4541)
experienced the fastest labor productivity growth, 13.5 percent and 11.2 percent per year,
respectively. Unit labor costs fell in 14 of the 27 detailed industries in retail trade, but rose 0.1
percent per year, on average, in the retail trade sector overall.
Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity increased at an average annual rate
of 0.6 percent per year between 1987 and 2008, as output and hours increased 2.2 percent and
1.6 percent, respectively. Labor productivity rose in the four detailed food services and drinking
places industries during the period. Unit labor costs rose in all four industries and rose 3.2
percent per year, on average, in food services and drinking places overall.
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 employees or 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; managerial skill; and the characteristics and effort of the workforce.
Long-term productivity trends tend to be more reliable indicators of the performance of an
industry 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 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 is usually
derived by deflating nominal sales or values of production using BLS price indexes, but for some
industries it is measured by physical quantities of output.
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. The measures in this news release incorporate current data from the
Census Bureau’s Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (May 2009), Annual Wholesale Trade Report
(February 2009), Annual Revision of the Monthly Retail and Food Services: Sales and Inventories (April
2009), and the Annual Retail Trade Survey (July 2009).
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 also 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 persons 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.
The unit labor cost indexes 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.
Revisions
Output measures for wholesale trade industries have been revised to include the revenues
of nonemployer firms as well as those of employer firms. Although small, the revision reflects a more
complete accounting of the total sales of each industry, and makes the output measures for wholesale
trade industries consistent with the output series for industries in retail trade and food services and
drinking places, which include nonemployer revenues.
Additional Information
The measures in this news release 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 and Drinking Places,
2007 (released August 21, 2008) and in table 50 of the Monthly Labor Review. The industries included
in this release are classified according to the 2007 NAICS. All of the measures for 2008 in this release
are preliminary and subject to revision.
Industry productivity and related indexes and rates of change can be accessed online by visiting
the Labor Productivity and Costs web site at http://www.bls.gov/lpc/. 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. While the 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.
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.
Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2007-2008
Percent change, 2007-2008
2008 ---------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor
code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs
Wholesale Trade
42 Wholesale trade 6166 -0.3 -0.8 -0.5 1.2 1.9
423 Durable goods 3171 0.4 -1.1 -1.5 0.3 1.4
4231 Motor vehicles and parts 351 -7.7 -10.9 -3.5 -4.2 7.6
4232 Furniture and furnishings 122 -15.9 -10.3 6.8 3.7 15.5
4233 Lumber and construction supplies 240 -1.1 -10.3 -9.3 -7.8 2.8
4234 Commercial equipment 665 9.2 8.8 -0.3 -0.5 -8.6
4235 Metals and minerals 136 -8.5 -7.4 1.2 6.0 14.5
4236 Electric goods 362 2.7 3.4 0.7 0.1 -3.3
4237 Hardware and plumbing 258 -7.3 -9.6 -2.5 0.2 10.8
4238 Machinery and supplies 697 6.5 4.7 -1.7 2.6 -1.9
4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 340 2.9 2.6 -0.2 5.4 2.7
424 Nondurable goods 2141 -0.4 -0.5 -0.1 1.1 1.5
4241 Paper and paper products 143 -8.5 -3.1 6.0 -1.1 2.0
4242 Druggists' goods 215 7.0 3.2 -3.6 -2.0 -5.0
4243 Apparel and piece goods 157 4.6 2.2 -2.3 -4.3 -6.3
4244 Grocery and related products 766 -3.5 -1.9 1.6 1.6 3.6
4245 Farm product raw materials 79 1.7 3.3 1.5 17.8 14.0
4246 Chemicals 134 0.8 -3.3 -4.1 -0.7 2.7
4247 Petroleum 104 1.7 4.4 2.6 2.7 -1.6
4248 Alcoholic beverages 164 -4.2 0.6 5.0 8.1 7.5
4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods 379 -6.9 -10.4 -3.8 1.5 13.3
425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 854 -2.6 -0.2 2.5 4.5 4.7
4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 854 -2.6 -0.2 2.5 4.5 4.7
Retail Trade
44-45 Retail trade 16328 -1.8 -3.6 -1.8 -1.3 2.4
441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 1931 -8.9 -12.5 -3.9 -6.2 7.1
4411 Automobile dealers 1240 -9.3 -14.2 -5.4 -8.0 7.3
4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 175 1.6 -4.2 -5.7 -8.2 -4.2
4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 516 -3.9 -3.6 0.4 1.2 4.9
442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 579 0.3 -7.4 -7.6 -10.2 -3.1
4421 Furniture stores 281 -1.3 -6.6 -5.4 -11.0 -4.8
4422 Home furnishings stores 298 1.9 -8.3 -10.0 -9.4 -1.2
443 Electronics and appliance stores 577 15.9 7.8 -7.0 -0.1 -7.3
4431 Electronics and appliance stores 577 15.9 7.8 -7.0 -0.1 -7.3
444 Building material and garden supply stores 1305 0.8 -4.2 -4.9 -2.9 1.3
4441 Building material and supplies dealers 1147 -2.1 -7.1 -5.1 -3.3 4.0
4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stor 158 20.8 16.6 -3.5 1.1 -13.3
445 Food and beverage stores 2978 -1.8 -0.6 1.2 4.5 5.1
4451 Grocery stores 2558 -1.4 -0.6 0.8 4.3 5.0
4452 Specialty food stores 257 -8.1 -7.0 1.2 3.3 11.1
4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 163 -4.9 2.9 8.2 9.4 6.3
446 Health and personal care stores 1048 0.4 1.9 1.5 3.1 1.2
4461 Health and personal care stores 1048 0.4 1.9 1.5 3.1 1.2
447 Gasoline stations 860 -0.6 -4.4 -3.8 -0.7 3.9
4471 Gasoline stations 860 -0.6 -4.4 -3.8 -0.7 3.9
448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 1577 3.2 -2.4 -5.4 -1.7 0.7
4481 Clothing stores 1179 6.9 -0.8 -7.2 -2.3 -1.5
4482 Shoe stores 197 -1.2 -0.6 0.6 -1.8 -1.2
4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 201 -9.1 -11.8 -2.9 0.4 13.8
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 727 3.2 0.7 -2.4 -2.7 -3.3
4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument store 532 3.4 2.6 -0.8 -2.1 -4.6
4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 194 2.6 -4.1 -6.5 -4.1 0.0
452 General merchandise stores 3070 -0.8 1.8 2.6 1.1 -0.7
4521 Department stores 1557 -6.7 -4.5 2.4 -3.9 0.6
4529 Other general merchandise stores 1513 2.4 5.3 2.8 6.1 0.8
453 Miscellaneous store retailers 1013 2.2 -1.2 -3.3 -5.2 -4.1
4531 Florists 111 19.0 0.5 -15.5 -8.5 -9.0
4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 389 -2.9 -6.0 -3.1 -7.1 -1.2
4533 Used merchandise stores 172 12.7 5.9 -6.1 -1.1 -6.5
4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 342 -1.5 0.7 2.2 -4.0 -4.7
454 Nonstore retailers 665 1.5 -0.4 -1.9 1.1 1.6
4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 305 -3.4 3.7 7.5 7.8 3.9
4542 Vending machine operators 58 13.1 -2.2 -13.5 -5.4 -3.2
4543 Direct selling establishments 303 -0.5 -9.8 -9.4 -5.9 4.4
Food Services and Drinking Places
722 Food services and drinking places 9877 -0.7 -1.0 -0.2 2.7 3.7
7221 Full-service restaurants 4640 0.5 -0.5 -0.9 2.1 2.6
7222 Limited-service eating places 4191 -3.1 -2.6 0.5 3.3 6.1
7223 Special food services 683 1.8 1.8 0.0 3.8 1.9
7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 364 4.1 4.1 -0.1 1.2 -2.7
Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 1987-2008
Average annual percent change, 1987-2008
----------------------------------------------------
NAICS Industry Output Labor Unit labor
code per hour Output Hours compensation costs
Wholesale Trade
42 Wholesale trade 3.0 3.7 0.7 4.9 1.1
423 Durable goods 4.9 5.4 0.5 4.8 -0.6
4231 Motor vehicles and parts 3.1 2.9 -0.2 3.9 0.9
4232 Furniture and furnishings 1.2 1.7 0.6 4.9 3.1
4233 Lumber and construction supplies 0.7 1.9 1.2 3.8 1.9
4234 Commercial equipment 14.9 15.5 0.5 5.1 -9.0
4235 Metals and minerals -0.9 -0.3 0.6 4.8 5.2
4236 Electric goods 8.5 8.5 0.0 5.1 -3.2
4237 Hardware and plumbing 0.5 1.6 1.1 5.1 3.4
4238 Machinery and supplies 2.5 2.6 0.2 4.6 1.9
4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 1.4 2.7 1.3 5.7 2.9
424 Nondurable goods 0.9 1.3 0.4 4.9 3.5
4241 Paper and paper products 2.1 1.5 -0.6 3.7 2.2
4242 Druggists' goods 2.1 4.3 2.2 9.8 5.2
4243 Apparel and piece goods 2.5 2.4 -0.1 4.0 1.5
4244 Grocery and related products 0.7 1.7 1.0 4.8 3.0
4245 Farm product raw materials 1.8 -0.7 -2.5 4.0 4.7
4246 Chemicals -0.4 0.3 0.7 4.7 4.5
4247 Petroleum 2.6 0.3 -2.3 3.2 2.9
4248 Alcoholic beverages 0.2 2.0 1.8 5.2 3.2
4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods -0.2 -0.1 0.1 3.7 3.8
425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.0 4.7 2.6 4.9 0.2
4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.0 4.7 2.6 4.9 0.2
Retail Trade
44-45 Retail trade 3.0 3.7 0.6 3.8 0.1
441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 2.0 2.8 0.8 3.8 0.9
4411 Automobile dealers 1.8 2.7 0.8 3.7 1.1
4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 3.3 5.3 2.0 5.7 0.3
4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 2.0 2.6 0.5 3.4 0.8
442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 3.8 4.3 0.4 3.5 -0.8
4421 Furniture stores 3.3 3.7 0.4 3.0 -0.6
4422 Home furnishings stores 4.6 5.1 0.5 4.0 -1.0
443 Electronics and appliance stores 13.5 15.0 1.3 4.8 -8.9
4431 Electronics and appliance stores 13.5 15.0 1.3 4.8 -8.9
444 Building material and garden supply stores 3.0 4.4 1.3 4.1 -0.3
4441 Building material and supplies dealers 2.7 4.4 1.6 4.4 0.0
4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies store 5.2 4.7 -0.5 2.6 -2.0
445 Food and beverage stores 0.4 0.3 -0.1 3.3 3.0
4451 Grocery stores 0.3 0.3 0.0 3.5 3.2
4452 Specialty food stores -0.1 -0.4 -0.3 2.1 2.6
4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 2.2 1.0 -1.2 2.6 1.6
446 Health and personal care stores 2.4 3.8 1.4 5.4 1.5
4461 Health and personal care stores 2.4 3.8 1.4 5.4 1.5
447 Gasoline stations 2.0 1.2 -0.7 2.5 1.3
4471 Gasoline stations 2.0 1.2 -0.7 2.5 1.3
448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 4.9 4.5 -0.3 3.2 -1.3
4481 Clothing stores 5.2 5.2 -0.1 3.5 -1.6
4482 Shoe stores 3.7 2.6 -1.1 1.8 -0.8
4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 3.9 3.5 -0.4 3.1 -0.4
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 4.1 4.7 0.6 3.8 -0.8
4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument stores 4.7 5.5 0.7 4.1 -1.3
4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 2.6 2.9 0.3 3.2 0.3
452 General merchandise stores 3.4 5.3 1.8 4.0 -1.2
4521 Department stores 0.6 2.1 1.4 2.7 0.6
4529 Other general merchandise stores 6.9 9.2 2.2 5.7 -3.2
453 Miscellaneous store retailers 4.5 4.6 0.1 2.6 -1.9
4531 Florists 3.5 1.0 -2.5 0.7 -0.3
4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 6.0 5.8 -0.2 2.8 -2.8
4533 Used merchandise stores 5.8 6.6 0.7 3.5 -2.9
4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 2.5 3.9 1.3 2.6 -1.3
454 Nonstore retailers 8.5 8.7 0.2 3.9 -4.5
4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 11.2 15.2 3.6 7.8 -6.4
4542 Vending machine operators 2.1 -0.7 -2.7 1.5 2.2
4543 Direct selling establishments 3.1 1.5 -1.6 1.5 0.0
Food Services and Drinking Places
722 Food services and drinking places 0.6 2.2 1.6 5.5 3.2
7221 Full-service restaurants 0.6 2.3 1.7 6.4 4.0
7222 Limited-service eating places 0.4 2.3 1.8 5.3 3.0
7223 Special food services 1.5 2.6 1.1 4.1 1.4
7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 0.2 0.1 -0.1 2.4 2.2
United States Department of Labor
