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Productivity and Costs by Industry: Selected Service-Providing Industries News Release
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, June 30, 2022 USDL-22-1352
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
SELECTED SERVICE-PROVIDING INDUSTRIES - 2021
Labor productivity rose in 24 of 30 selected service-providing industries in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Increases in both output and hours worked were widespread in 2021.
Output rose in 27 industries, more than twice the 11 industries that saw increases in 2020. Hours worked
increased in 18 industries in 2021. This was three times as many as the 6 industries which had growth in
hours worked in 2020. In 2020, labor productivity increased in 17 of 30 industries as declines in hours
outpaced declines in output for many industries.
Change in productivity is approximately equal to the change in output minus the change in hours worked.
In three of the six industries with the largest change in productivity, hours worked fell while output
increased, leading to productivity gains. This was the case in travel arrangement and reservation services,
the industry with the highest productivity growth, as well as two broadcasting industries: radio and
television broadcasting and cable and other subscription programming.
Productivity also increased in three industries where hours worked increased at a slower rate than output.
This was the case in amusement parks and arcades, air transportation, and full-service restaurants.
Trends in Labor Productivity in 2021
• Labor productivity rose in 24 of 30 industries in 2021.
• There were 4 industries where productivity rose more than 25 percent: travel arrangement and
reservation services (136.8 percent), amusement parks and arcades (87.4 percent), air
transportation (61.8 percent), and full-service restaurants (25.3 percent). In all 4 of those
industries, output grew more than 44 percent.
• The three industries with the greatest productivity gains in 2021 also saw the largest declines in
2020. In each industry productivity fell over 20 percent and output fell by over 40 percent.
• Hours worked increased in 18 of the 30 industries.
• Hours worked rose in each of the five industries which recorded declines in productivity. Two
of these industries had double-digit growth in hours worked: warehousing and storage (15.8
percent) and couriers and messengers (10.5 percent).
Unit labor costs decreased in 20 industries in 2021. In 19 of these industries, productivity increased.
Unit labor costs reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output. Unit labor costs
increase when hourly compensation growth exceeds productivity growth. Changes in labor productivity
counter the impact of changes in hourly compensation on unit labor costs facing employers. Hourly
compensation increased more than productivity in all four industries with both rising productivity and
unit labor costs.
Trends in Unit Labor Costs in 2021
• The largest declines in unit labor costs were in air transportation (-37.2 percent), amusement
parks and arcades (-44.8 percent), and travel arrangement and reservation services (-51.6
percent). Productivity rose by more than 60 percent in each of these industries.
• Two industries had double-digit rates of growth in unit labor costs: couriers and messengers
(15.8 percent) and medical and diagnostic laboratories (13.7 percent). Both industries also
had double-digit gains in output, hours worked, and hourly compensation.
• Hourly compensation rose in 26 of the 30 industries measured.
2019 to 2021 Trends
Although 27 selected service-providing industries increased output from 2020 to 2021, not all these
industries saw their output return to their pre-pandemic levels. Eight industries had levels of
output that were lower in 2021 than in 2019, despite seeing positive output growth from 2020 to 2021. Of
these eight industries, the two with the steepest average annual declines in output from 2019 to 2021 were
air transportation (-17.6 percent) and line-haul railroads (-7.5 percent).
The 2019 to 2021 trends in hours worked show a similar result. Of the 18 selected service-providing
industries that increased hours worked from 2020 to 2021, 7 of these had hours worked that were still
below their pre-pandemic levels. Of these 7 industries, the 2 with the largest average annual decreases in
hours worked from 2019 to 2021 were amusement parks and arcades (-14.6 percent) and gambling industries (-7.1 percent).
Long term productivity rose in 44 out of 58 service-providing industries. For most industries
studied, this period extends from 1987 to 2020, the latest year for which data are available for all
58 selected service-providing industries published on the BLS website. None of the rates in this
section incorporate data for 2021.
Trends in Long Term Productivity
• Median long term productivity growth for all 58 industries was approximately 1.5 percent
per year.
• Output increased over the long term in 41 industries while hours worked increased in 31
industries.
• Productivity increased in 43 of the 58 industries over the business cycle preceding the
pandemic: 2007 to 2019. During this period, 40 industries had increases in output and 27
experienced growth in hours worked.
Additional Information
The productivity and costs measures in this release incorporate data from the Census Bureau's Service
Annual Survey (November 2021). Accordingly, the labor productivity and output series for all industries
have been revised for 2020 and earlier years.
The following NAICS codes are included in Tables 1 and 3 but not counted in the short-term count of 30
selected industries because they are duplicate codes or aggregates for which full underlying coverage is
published: 22, 221, 484, 4841, 4911, 4931, 511, 5111, 515, 5173, 54121, 722, and 72251.
The following NAICS codes are included in Table 2 but not counted in the long-term count of 58
selected industries because they are duplicate codes or aggregates for which full underlying coverage is
published: 22, 221, 484, 4841, 4842, 491, 493, 4931, 511, 5111, 515, 5151, 5173, 5412, 54121, 5615,
6215, 6221,3, 7131, 72, 721, 7211, 722, 72251, 8121, and 8123.
Access productivity data at www.bls.gov/productivity/tables/labor-productivity-detailed-industries.xlsx for
• Additional industries and sectors
• Detailed data series: indexes of productivity and related measures; rates of change; and levels of
industry employment, hours worked, nominal value of production, and labor compensation
• Additional years and long-term data
Subscribe to productivity news releases on the BLS website at
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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 and real output per hour (labor productivity). Increases in hourly
compensation increase unit labor costs; increases in labor productivity offset compensation
increases and reduce unit labor costs.
Output: Real 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 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 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. Postal Service; the Postal Rate Commission; and the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Data from the Quarterly Service Survey from the Census
Bureau are used to construct preliminary output measures for 2021 for some industries. Data from
both the Census Bureau's Quarterly Service Survey and Monthly Retail Trade Survey are used to
construct preliminary output measures for 2021 for some industries.
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 self-employed and unpaid family worker data 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.
Additional sources of employment and hours data for certain service industries include the
Association of American Railroads, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Postal
Service. 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 economic censuses and annual surveys of the Census
Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. The estimates for 2021 are constructed using data from
the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).
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Table 1. Recent labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data
Drycleaning and laundry services (except coin-operated)
81232
99.9
0.5
2.2
-2.3
-2.8
-0.1
Linen and uniform supply
81233
112.7
2.5
0.6
2.9
0.3
3.5
Photofinishing
81292
6.9
2.0
1.9
-5.2
-7.0
-3.4
Footnotes (1) For NAICS industries 484, 4841, 48411, 493, 4931, 49311, and 49312, average annual percent changes are for 1992-2020. (2) For NAICS industries 4842, 48422, 48423, 71391, and 71394, average annual percent changes are for 2002-2020. (3) For NAICS industries 491 and 4911, average annual percent changes are for the fiscal year ending in September. (4) For NAICS industries 5412, 54121, 541211, 541219, 5615, and 7132, average annual percent changes are for 1997-2020. (5) For NAICS industry 54194, average annual percent changes are for 2004-2020. (6) For NAICS industries 56131, 6215, 621511, and 621512, average annual percent changes are for 1994-2020. (7) For NAICS industry 6221,3, average annual percent changes are for 1993-2019. Employment is for 2019. (8) For NAICS industry 7131, average annual percent changes are for 2007-2020.
Table 3. Labor productivity, unit labor costs, and related data, 2019-2021
United States Department of Labor
