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Labor productivity rose in 15 of 28 selected service-providing industries in 2015

May 24, 2016

In 2015, labor productivity rose in 15 of 28 selected service-providing industries. Output grew in all 15 industries with increasing productivity, except newspaper publishers, where output fell 4.6 percent, and line-haul railroads, where output was unchanged. Hours worked declined in 9 of the 28 industries.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Percent change in output and hours worked in selected service-providing industries, 2014–2015
Industry	Percent change			2015 employment
Industry	Labor productivity	Output	Hours worked	2015 employment
Utilities
Power generation and supply	-1.7	-0.7	1.0	394,600
Natural gas distribution	-4.4	-0.9	3.6	114,100
Water, sewage and other systems	-7.6	-3.7	4.2	50,000
Transportation and Warehousing
Air transportation	-0.3	4.5	4.8	434,600
Line-haul railroads	2.2	0.0	-2.1	189,800
General freight trucking, local	-4.0	-1.4	2.7	313,100
General freight trucking, long-distance	1.1	3.2	2.0	881,100
Specialized freight trucking	-3.0	-2.5	0.5	477,800
Postal service	0.1	1.3	1.2	596,800
Couriers and messengers	-6.1	-1.0	5.5	636,900
Warehousing and storage	-4.4	3.0	7.8	821,200
Information
Newspaper publishers	1.1	-4.6	-5.6	201,900
Periodical publishers	-10.7	-5.2	6.1	114,100
Software publishers	-4.2	3.3	7.8	334,300
Radio and television broadcasting	5.2	5.0	-0.2	227,500
Cable and other subscription programming	4.6	4.3	-0.3	64,700
Wired telecommunications carriers	3.4	0.4	-2.9	595,700
Wireless telecommunications carriers	26.5	11.3	-12.0	131,500
Finance and Insurance
Commercial banking	4.7	2.2	-2.4	1,272,300
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Truck, trailer, and RV rental and leasing	-5.6	6.1	12.5	72,100
Professional and Technical Services
Accounting and bookkeeping services	1.7	5.2	3.5	1,140,000
Engineering services	-7.3	-5.9	1.5	969,900
Administrative and Waste Services
Travel arrangement and reservation services	-3.7	0.3	4.2	222,100
Health Care and Social Assistance
Medical and diagnostic laboratories	2.2	6.8	4.5	268,400
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Amusement parks and arcades	8.0	3.9	-3.8	203,000
Gambling industries	4.6	7.4	2.7	137,600
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance	5.3	6.2	0.8	1,130,500
Drycleaning and laundry services	3.8	3.3	-0.4	310,300

From 2014 to 2015, productivity gains of at least 8 percent occurred in two industries where output increased and hours worked decreased: wireless telecommunications carriers (26.5 percent) and amusement parks and arcades (8.0 percent).

In 2015, 4 industries recorded output gains of at least 3 percent but had productivity declines because of larger increases in hours worked: truck, trailer, and RV rental and leasing (−5.6 percent), warehousing and storage (−4.4 percent), software publishers (−4.2 percent), and air transportation (−0.3 percent).

These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. Data are preliminary and may be revised. To learn more, see "Productivity and Costs by Industry: Selected Service-Providing Industries, 2015" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor productivity rose in 15 of 28 selected service-providing industries in 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/labor-productivity-rose-in-15-of-28-selected-service-providing-industries-in-2015.htm (visited March 12, 2026).

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