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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print

Productivity and Costs: Selected Service-Providing and Mining Industries News Release


For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, May 29, 2013		USDL-13-1041

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:
                  SELECTED SERVICE-PROVIDING AND MINING INDUSTRIES, 2011

Labor productivity – defined as output per hour – rose in 63 percent of the 52 service-providing and 
mining industries studied in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was down 
from 67 percent in 2010. Unit labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit 
of output, declined in 35 percent of the industries in 2011, compared to 44 percent in 2010. 

More industries recorded gains in output and in hours in 2011 than in the previous year. Output rose in 
37 of the 52 service-providing and mining industries studied in 2011, an increase from 32 industries in 
2010. Hours rose in 29 of the industries in 2011 compared to 14 in 2010. Both output and hours rose in 
more industries in 2011 than in any year since 2006.

Unit labor costs fell in 17 of 47 service-providing industries in 2011, down from 23 industries in 2010, 
but in only 1 of the 5 mining industries. Unit labor costs declined more frequently in industries where 
productivity rose, as productivity gains offset movements in hourly compensation. Almost 90 percent of 
the industries with declines in unit labor costs in 2011 posted gains in productivity.

Industry labor productivity measures are updated and revised as data become available. The latest 
productivity measures for service-providing and mining industries and industries in other sectors are 
available on the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs web site at http://www.bls.gov/lpc/iprprodydata.htm.

Service-Providing Industries: Output per hour increased in 2011 in 32 of the 47 industries studied. In 
most of these industries, productivity rose as output growth was accompanied by declines or more 
modest increases in hours. Several industries posted double-digit productivity gains as a result: wireless 
telecommunications carriers; passenger car rental; photography studios, portrait; and photofinishing.  

In a few industries, productivity rose as declining output was met with even greater reductions in hours: 
postal service; couriers and messengers; video tape and disc rental; tax preparation services; drinking 
places (alcoholic beverages); reupholstery and furniture repair; and coin-operated laundries and 
drycleaners. 

Mining Industries: Output per hour declined in four of the five detailed mining industries studied in 
2011, as hours rose while output fell or grew more slowly. Only nonmetallic mineral mining and 
quarrying posted a productivity increase. The overall mining sector experienced a double-digit decline in 
productivity, as labor hours increased more than four times as much as output.

Among the 20 largest service-providing and mining industries, automotive repair and maintenance 
recorded the largest productivity increase, as output growth was accompanied by a modest decrease in 
hours. Productivity fell the most in power generation and supply, where hours rose while output 
declined.

Long-Term Trends

More industries posted productivity gains over the 1987-2011 period than in 2011. Between 1987 and 
2011, labor productivity increased in 85 percent of the detailed service-providing and mining industries, 
with over 70 percent of industries recording average annual productivity growth between 0.1 and 4.0 
percent per year. In 2011, only 27 percent of industries recorded productivity growth in that range. 
Industry productivity performance in 2011 was more widely distributed, with 37 percent of industries 
posting productivity declines and 37 percent posting productivity gains of 4.1 percent or more.

The measures in this news release incorporate data from the 2011 Service Annual Survey published by 
the Census Bureau, as well as the March 2013 annual benchmark revision of the BLS Current 
Employment Statistics (CES) survey. All of the measures for 2011 in this release are preliminary and 
subject to revision. The industries included in this release are classified according to the 2007 NAICS. 
While the rates of change reported in this news release are rounded to one decimal place, all industry 
productivity 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.

Customers can subscribe to the industry productivity program’s news releases on the BLS website at 
https://subscriptions.bls.gov/accounts/USDOLBLS/subscriber/new. More detailed data, including 
indexes, annual rates of change, and levels are available on the Labor Productivity and Costs web site at 
www.bls.gov/lpc. Additional information is available by calling the Division of Industry Productivity 
Studies (202-691-5618) or by sending a request by email 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: 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; 
managerial skill; and the characteristics and effort of the workforce.

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. Other data sources include the Energy Information Administration, U.S. 
Department of Energy; the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation; the 
U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior; the U.S. Postal Service; the Postal Rate 
Commission; and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

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. CES data are 
supplemented with data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to estimate employment and hours 
of self-employed and unpaid family workers in each industry. Data from the CPS, together with CES 
data, are also used to estimate the historical average weekly hours of supervisory workers for each 
industry. CES and CPS data are supplemented or further disaggregated for some industries using data 
from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), the Census Bureau, or other 
sources. Other sources of employment and hours data for some service industries include the Association 
of American Railroads, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Postal Service. 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. 
      
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 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, unit labor costs, and related data, 2010-2011
Industry NAICS code 2011
Employment
(thousands)
Percent change, 2010-2011
Output per hour Output Hours Labor compensation Unit labor costs

Mining Industries

Mining

21

759.3 -11.3 4.2 17.5 16.6 11.9

Oil and gas extraction

211

173.0 -11.0 4.7 17.6 10.3 5.4

Oil and gas extraction

2111

173.0 -11.0 4.7 17.6 10.3 5.4

Mining, except oil and gas

212

221.2 -5.1 2.7 8.2 10.2 7.3

Coal mining

2121

87.5 -4.6 5.0 10.1 12.3 6.9

Metal ore mining

2122

42.4 -18.5 -2.0 20.2 19.8 22.3

Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying

2123

91.3 2.8 4.3 1.4 0.9 -3.3

Support activities for mining

213

365.1 -3.0 19.9 23.6 27.3 6.2

Support activities for mining

2131

365.1 -3.0 19.9 23.6 27.3 6.2

Utilities

Power generation and supply

2211

398.4 -5.6 -4.5 1.1 3.9 8.8

Natural gas distribution

2212

107.9 4.3 0.7 -3.4 3.9 3.2

Transportation and Warehousing

Air transportation

481

425.2 0.3 1.9 1.6 3.7 1.7

Line-haul railroads

482111

179.4 -2.7 3.8 6.8 10.5 6.4

Truck transportation

484

1,495.8 1.1 5.1 4.0 7.5 2.3

General freight trucking

4841

1,078.7 2.3 5.3 2.9 6.5 1.1

General freight trucking, local

48411

281.8 2.4 7.7 5.2 7.0 -0.7

General freight trucking, long-distance

48412

796.9 2.5 4.8 2.2 6.3 1.4

Used household and office goods moving

48421

86.6 -12.1 -3.5 9.8 5.7 9.5

Postal service

491

630.9 1.1 -2.7 -3.8 -0.5 2.3

Postal service

4911

630.9 1.1 -2.7 -3.8 -0.5 2.3

Couriers and messengers

492

561.3 0.6 -0.5 -1.1 5.0 5.6

Warehousing and storage

493

659.4 3.3 8.1 4.6 4.1 -3.7

Warehousing and storage

4931

659.4 3.3 8.1 4.6 4.1 -3.7

General warehousing and storage

49311

552.6 6.0 10.1 3.9 3.8 -5.8

Refrigerated warehousing and storage

49312

51.0 -11.8 -1.8 11.3 5.5 7.5

Information

Publishing

511

788.8 1.0 2.4 1.4 6.2 3.7

Newspaper, book, and directory publishers

5111

517.2 -1.7 -2.5 -0.8 1.6 4.2

Software publishers

5112

271.6 1.0 6.4 5.3 10.3 3.7

Motion picture and video exhibition

51213

124.3 -0.1 -2.3 -2.2 -1.4 0.9

Broadcasting, except internet

515

291.4 3.5 2.9 -0.6 3.6 0.7

Radio and television broadcasting

5151

215.9 0.5 0.8 0.3 2.8 2.1

Cable and other subscription programming

5152

75.5 7.5 4.8 -2.5 5.1 0.3

Wired telecommunications carriers

5171

590.1 6.3 0.9 -5.2 -2.8 -3.7

Wireless telecommunications carriers

5172

169.6 10.0 10.5 0.5 5.6 -4.5

Finance and Insurance

Commercial banking

52211

1,314.5 -2.8 -1.0 1.8 5.2 6.3

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Passenger car rental

532111

101.0 15.2 12.9 -2.0 2.7 -9.1

Truck, trailer and RV rental and leasing

53212

55.8 5.9 4.1 -1.7 3.9 -0.2

Video tape and disc rental

53223

41.2 43.3 -16.0 -41.4 -30.4 -17.1

Professional and Technical Services

Tax preparation services

541213

147.7 1.2 -0.4 -1.6 7.7 8.1

Architectural services

54131

177.4 5.3 3.9 -1.4 2.6 -1.2

Engineering services

54133

921.9 -1.7 1.9 3.6 3.6 1.7

Advertising agencies

54181

194.6 -0.8 5.0 5.9 9.8 4.5

Photography studios, portrait

541921

69.0 11.7 1.4 -9.2 -0.4 -1.9

Administrative and Waste Services

Employment placement agencies

561311

237.9 9.0 15.7 6.1 8.0 -6.7

Travel arrangement and reservation services

5615

213.9 -2.0 5.4 7.5 6.7 1.3

Travel agencies

56151

98.2 3.5 6.5 2.9 9.6 2.9

Janitorial services

56172

1,262.2 2.5 4.0 1.5 3.5 -0.5

Health Care and Social Assistance

Medical and diagnostic laboratories

6215

243.6 -2.2 3.9 6.3 3.4 -0.5

Medical laboratories

621511

168.0 -1.1 7.2 8.4 3.8 -3.2

Diagnostic imaging centers

621512

75.7 -2.6 -1.4 1.3 2.8 4.2

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

Amusement and theme parks

71311

144.3 -0.9 4.6 5.5 5.0 0.3

Bowling centers

71395

68.6 -0.6 4.3 4.9 1.0 -3.1

Accommodation and Food Services

Accommodation and food services

72

11,698.6 0.8 3.6 2.7 4.9 1.3

Accommodation

721

1,825.3 4.9 3.6 -1.3 5.1 1.5

Traveler accommodation

7211

1,752.2 4.8 3.5 -1.2 5.1 1.5

Food services and drinking places

722

9,873.3 -0.1 3.6 3.6 4.9 1.2

Full-service restaurants

7221

4,647.7 1.3 5.0 3.7 5.0 0.0

Limited-service eating places

7222

4,165.5 -2.1 2.8 5.0 3.7 0.9

Special food services

7223

692.4 3.3 2.5 -0.8 8.6 6.0

Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)

7224

367.7 2.1 -0.3 -2.4 3.3 3.7

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

8111

1,034.9 7.7 3.4 -4.0 -0.9 -4.1

Reupholstery and furniture repair

81142

19.7 5.5 -0.3 -5.5 2.7 3.0

Personal care services

8121

1,104.3 6.6 3.2 -3.2 -3.0 -6.0

Hair, nail and skin care services

81211

923.1 5.4 2.1 -3.2 -2.7 -4.7

Funeral homes and funeral services

81221

104.3 -4.5 0.3 5.0 2.8 2.4

Drycleaning and laundry services

8123

320.4 9.4 3.6 -5.3 0.7 -2.8

Coin-operated laundries and drycleaners

81231

41.9 15.7 -0.3 -13.8 2.0 2.3

Drycleaning and laundry services

81232

155.1 9.4 1.9 -6.9 -2.0 -3.8

Linen and uniform supply

81233

123.4 7.5 6.5 -0.9 2.4 -3.8

Photofinishing

81292

14.4 16.6 10.4 -5.3 13.9 3.2






Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, unit labor costs, and related data, 1987-2011
Industry NAICS code Average annual percent change, 1987-2011
Output per hour Output Hours Labor compensation Unit labor costs

Mining Industries

Mining

21

-0.4 0.1 0.5 5.2 5.1

Oil and gas extraction

211

0.5 -0.2 -0.7 5.5 5.7

Oil and gas extraction

2111

0.5 -0.2 -0.7 5.5 5.7

Mining, except oil and gas

212

1.5 0.4 -1.1 2.3 1.9

Coal mining

2121

1.6 -0.1 -1.7 1.3 1.5

Metal ore mining

2122

1.5 1.9 0.4 5.0 3.0

Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying

2123

0.7 -0.3 -1.0 2.5 2.8

Support activities for mining

213

1.3 4.1 2.7 8.4 4.1

Support activities for mining

2131

1.3 4.1 2.7 8.4 4.1

Utilities

Power generation and supply

2211

1.9 0.7 -1.2 2.9 2.2

Natural gas distribution

2212

2.7 1.2 -1.5 3.4 2.1

Transportation and Warehousing

Air transportation

481

3.1 2.7 -0.4 2.8 0.1

Line-haul railroads

482111

3.9 2.0 -1.8 1.5 -0.5

Truck transportation(1)

484

0.6 1.7 1.1 2.5 0.8

General freight trucking(1)

4841

1.4 2.3 0.9 3.0 0.7

General freight trucking, local(1)

48411

3.0 3.6 0.6 3.7 0.1

General freight trucking, long-distance

48412

1.4 2.3 0.9 2.3 0.0

Used household and office goods moving

48421

-1.2 -1.1 0.1 1.9 3.0

Postal service

491

0.9 -0.3 -1.2 3.5 3.8

Postal service

4911

0.9 -0.3 -1.2 3.5 3.8

Couriers and messengers

492

-0.8 1.2 2.0 4.6 3.3

Warehousing and storage(1)

493

2.9 5.8 2.8 5.2 -0.5

Warehousing and storage(1)

4931

2.9 5.8 2.8 5.2 -0.5

General warehousing and storage(1)

49311

5.2 8.0 2.7 5.7 -2.2

Refrigerated warehousing and storage(1)

49312

-0.2 3.1 3.3 4.3 1.1

Information

Publishing

511

3.8 3.5 -0.3 5.1 1.5

Newspaper, book, and directory publishers

5111

0.0 -1.8 -1.8 2.2 4.1

Software publishers

5112

13.0 19.7 6.0 11.6 -6.8

Motion picture and video exhibition

51213

1.4 1.6 0.2 3.2 1.6

Broadcasting, except internet

515

2.1 2.6 0.5 4.4 1.8

Radio and television broadcasting

5151

1.0 0.7 -0.4 3.0 2.3

Cable and other subscription programming

5152

3.9 7.5 3.5 10.5 2.8

Wired telecommunications carriers

5171

4.3 3.3 -1.0 2.0 -1.2

Wireless telecommunications carriers

5172

10.4 20.7 9.3 12.2 -7.1

Finance and Insurance

Commercial banking

52211

3.6 3.6 -0.1 5.5 1.9

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Passenger car rental

532111

2.6 2.7 0.1 4.8 2.0

Truck, trailer and RV rental and leasing

53212

2.9 2.0 -0.9 2.9 0.9

Video tape and disc rental

53223

6.4 1.7 -4.4 -0.7 -2.4

Professional and Technical Services

Tax preparation services

541213

0.6 2.7 2.1 4.3 1.6

Architectural services

54131

1.2 2.0 0.8 4.1 2.1

Engineering services

54133

0.9 2.7 1.7 6.1 3.4

Advertising agencies

54181

2.2 2.5 0.3 4.7 2.1

Photography studios, portrait

541921

0.8 1.8 1.0 3.7 1.9

Administrative and Waste Services

Employment placement agencies(2)

561311

6.4 7.2 0.8 5.5 -1.6

Travel arrangement and reservation services(3)

5615

7.5 3.5 -3.6 1.2 -2.3

Travel agencies

56151

5.9 4.2 -1.6 3.1 -1.1

Janitorial services

56172

2.0 3.7 1.6 5.3 1.5

Health Care and Social Assistance

Medical and diagnostic laboratories(2)

6215

2.9 6.2 3.2 5.9 -0.2

Medical laboratories(2)

621511

2.5 5.7 3.1 5.5 -0.3

Diagnostic imaging centers(2)

621512

3.3 6.9 3.5 7.0 0.1

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

Amusement and theme parks

71311

-0.5 2.3 2.8 6.0 3.6

Bowling centers

71395

0.2 -1.6 -1.8 1.0 2.7

Accommodation and Food Services

Accommodation and food services

72

0.8 2.1 1.2 4.9 2.8

Accommodation

721

1.7 2.3 0.6 4.6 2.2

Traveler accommodation

7211

1.7 2.4 0.6 4.6 2.1

Food services and drinking places

722

0.6 2.0 1.4 5.1 3.0

Full-service restaurants

7221

0.6 2.1 1.4 5.9 3.7

Limited-service eating places

7222

0.6 2.1 1.6 4.9 2.7

Special food services

7223

1.4 2.4 0.9 3.7 1.2

Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)

7224

-0.3 -0.7 -0.4 2.4 3.1

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

8111

1.0 1.2 0.1 3.4 2.2

Reupholstery and furniture repair

81142

-0.6 -3.2 -2.6 0.2 3.6

Personal care services

8121

2.2 3.3 1.0 4.9 1.6

Hair, nail and skin care services

81211

2.2 3.0 0.8 4.7 1.7

Funeral homes and funeral services

81221

-0.7 -0.5 0.2 3.8 4.3

Drycleaning and laundry services

8123

1.6 0.5 -1.2 2.4 2.0

Coin-operated laundries and drycleaners

81231

2.5 0.4 -2.0 2.2 1.8

Drycleaning and laundry services

81232

1.1 -1.1 -2.2 1.0 2.1

Linen and uniform supply

81233

1.2 1.8 0.6 3.9 2.1

Photofinishing

81292

2.8 -4.3 -6.9 -2.5 1.9

Footnotes
(1) For NAICS industries 484, 4841, 48411, 493, 4931, 49311, and 49312, average annual percent changes are for 1992-2011.
(2) For NAICS industries 561311, 6215, 621511, and 621512, average annual percent changes are for 1994-2011.
(3) For NAICS industry 5615, average annual percent changes are for 1997-2011.


Last Modified Date: May 29, 2013