The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Productivity and Costs: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, Food Services, and Drinking Places Industries News Release
For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, August 30, 2012 USDL-12-1762
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: WHOLESALE TRADE, RETAIL TRADE, AND
FOOD SERVICES AND DRINKING PLACES INDUSTRIES, 2011
Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - rose 1.9 percent in wholesale trade, 2.2 percent in
retail trade and was unchanged in food services and drinking places in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Productivity growth was lower in all three sectors in 2011 compared to 2010.
Output increased in all three sectors, and grew more rapidly in retail trade and in food services and
drinking places in 2011 than in 2010. Notably, hours also rose in all three sectors in 2011, after falling in
wholesale trade and in food services and drinking places in 2010.
Unit labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, rose in
wholesale trade and in food services and drinking places in 2011, but fell in retail trade. (See table 1.) In
2010, unit labor costs declined in wholesale trade and in retail trade and grew in food services and
drinking places.
Productivity increased in 33 of the 50 detailed industries in 2011, compared to 41 industries in 2010.
Output grew in 39 industries and hours increased in 33. In the previous year, output rose in 42 industries,
while hours grew in 19. Unit labor costs fell in 27 industries in 2011, compared to 31 in 2010.
In wholesale trade, labor productivity rose 1.9 percent as output grew 4.8 percent and hours increased
2.9 percent. Productivity grew 6.3 percent in durable goods, but fell 1.1 percent in nondurable goods.
Output per hour increased in all but one of the durable goods industries but in only one of the
nondurable goods industries. Output grew in 13 of the 19 wholesale trade industries and hours rose in
15. Productivity increased most rapidly in machinery and supplies wholesalers, where output rose more
than in any other wholesale trade industry. Unit labor costs declined in 9 industries.
In retail trade, labor productivity grew 2.2 percent - faster than in the other sectors presented here - as
output increased 3.7 percent and hours rose 1.5 percent. Output per hour increased in 21 of the 27
detailed retail trade industries in 2011. Output grew in 23 industries and hours rose in 16. The largest
productivity increases were in florists and vending machine operators, both of which recorded rapid
declines in hours. Unit labor costs fell in 17 industries.
In food services and drinking places, labor productivity recorded no change, as output and hours both
grew 3.4 percent. Output per hour rose in three of the four detailed industries in this sector, but fell in
limited-service eating places, where hours grew at a rate nearly double that of output. Output increased
in three industries and hours grew in two. Unit labor costs rose in three of the four industries.
Over the longer term (1987 to 2011), productivity growth in the wholesale trade, retail trade, and food
services and drinking places sectors advanced more rapidly than in 2011. From 1987 to 2011, output per
hour increased 3.1 percent in wholesale trade, 2.8 percent in retail trade, and 0.6 percent in food services
and drinking places. Between 1987 and 2011, unit labor costs rose in wholesale trade and in food
services and drinking places, but were unchanged in retail trade. (See table 2.)
From 1987 to 2011, productivity rose in 45 of the 50 detailed industries, more than in 2011. Unit labor
costs fell in 16 of the detailed industries over the period.
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.
Industry labor productivity measures are updated as data become available. Productivity measures for
industries in other sectors can be accessed on the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs web site at
www.bls.gov/lpc.
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 derived by
deflating nominal sales using BLS price indexes. 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.
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 the
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. 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 hourly
compensation and labor productivity (real output per hour) and are an indicator of inflationary pressures
on producers. 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: The measures in this news release incorporate preliminary data from the Census Bureau’s
Annual Wholesale Trade Report (March 2012), Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (May 2012), Annual
Retail Trade Survey (March 2012), and the Annual Revision of the Monthly Retail and Food Services:
Sales and Inventories (April 2012), as well as data from the Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics
(August 2012). The labor productivity and output series for all industries have been revised for 2010 and
earlier years as a result. This news release also incorporates the annual benchmark revision of the BLS
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey published in February 2012. In addition, the unit labor cost
measures incorporate preliminary data from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (June
2012). All of the measures for 2011 in this release are preliminary and subject to revision.
Additional Information: The industries included in this release are classified according to the 2007
NAICS. 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 rounded to three
decimal places.
Industry productivity and related indexes; rates of change; and levels of industry employment, hours,
nominal value of production and labor compensation are available on the Labor Productivity and Costs
web site at http://www.bls.gov/lpc/. Additional information can be obtained 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.
To subscribe to the industry productivity program’s news releases, customers can register on the BLS
website at https://subscriptions.bls.gov/accounts/USDOLBLS/subscriber/new.
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
Wholesale Trade
Wholesale trade
42
5,703.9
1.9
4.8
2.9
5.4
0.5
Durable goods
423
2,846.3
6.3
9.1
2.6
6.3
-2.6
Motor vehicles and parts
4231
320.0
6.7
11.4
4.5
5.1
-5.7
Furniture and furnishings
4232
95.4
2.1
-4.2
-6.2
3.7
8.3
Lumber and construction supplies
4233
189.6
5.5
4.5
-1.0
1.5
-2.9
Commercial equipment
4234
630.5
4.1
7.5
3.3
6.0
-1.4
Metals and minerals
4235
117.6
-1.9
5.2
7.2
10.5
5.1
Electric goods
4236
312.6
5.6
7.3
1.5
5.2
-1.9
Hardware and plumbing
4237
226.7
2.9
4.3
1.4
4.1
-0.1
Machinery and supplies
4238
628.8
13.5
15.3
1.6
8.8
-5.6
Miscellaneous durable goods
4239
325.1
3.2
10.3
6.9
7.6
-2.4
Nondurable goods
424
2,013.0
-1.1
0.5
1.6
2.3
1.8
Paper and paper products
4241
122.9
-3.1
-2.1
1.1
0.9
3.0
Druggists' goods
4242
190.9
6.6
6.7
0.0
2.9
-3.5
Apparel and piece goods
4243
146.8
-5.3
-3.4
2.1
1.2
4.7
Grocery and related products
4244
745.2
-0.1
3.2
3.4
1.4
-1.8
Farm product raw materials
4245
78.7
-18.3
-16.0
2.8
7.2
27.6
Chemicals
4246
123.5
-0.4
2.4
2.8
8.7
6.2
Petroleum
4247
95.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.2
1.6
1.8
Alcoholic beverages
4248
166.7
-2.6
1.7
4.4
4.3
2.6
Miscellaneous nondurable goods
4249
342.6
-1.8
-5.0
-3.2
-0.3
4.9
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
425
844.6
-0.6
6.5
7.1
8.7
2.1
Electronic markets and agents and brokers
4251
844.6
-0.6
6.5
7.1
8.7
2.1
Retail Trade
Retail trade
44-45
15,509.9
2.2
3.7
1.5
2.9
-0.8
Motor vehicle and parts dealers
441
1,748.3
2.1
7.0
4.8
6.9
-0.2
Automobile dealers
4411
1,095.0
1.0
8.2
7.1
8.6
0.4
Other motor vehicle dealers
4412
129.9
-0.2
0.7
0.8
2.8
2.2
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores
4413
523.4
0.1
1.3
1.2
2.9
1.6
Furniture and home furnishings stores
442
480.6
5.9
3.2
-2.5
0.0
-3.1
Furniture stores
4421
229.2
5.1
2.9
-2.1
0.2
-2.6
Home furnishings stores
4422
251.4
6.8
3.5
-3.1
-0.2
-3.6
Electronics and appliance stores
443
531.7
2.8
8.9
6.0
5.4
-3.3
Electronics and appliance stores
4431
531.7
2.8
8.9
6.0
5.4
-3.3
Building material and garden supply stores
444
1,193.8
3.3
3.1
-0.1
1.5
-1.5
Building material and supplies dealers
4441
1,039.8
3.0
2.0
-1.0
0.9
-1.1
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores
4442
154.0
3.5
10.0
6.3
6.7
-3.0
Food and beverage stores
445
2,925.1
1.0
1.3
0.3
0.4
-0.9
Grocery stores
4451
2,528.7
0.6
1.3
0.7
0.4
-0.8
Specialty food stores
4452
237.2
0.8
-3.3
-4.1
-3.5
-0.2
Beer, wine and liquor stores
4453
159.2
2.4
4.1
1.6
7.8
3.6
Health and personal care stores
446
1,027.4
0.0
1.5
1.5
3.2
1.6
Health and personal care stores
4461
1,027.4
0.0
1.5
1.5
3.2
1.6
Gasoline stations
447
840.7
-3.7
-3.1
0.7
1.6
4.8
Gasoline stations
4471
840.7
-3.7
-3.1
0.7
1.6
4.8
Clothing and clothing accessories stores
448
1,469.1
-0.3
3.7
4.1
2.9
-0.8
Clothing stores
4481
1,098.0
-0.7
4.1
4.8
0.9
-3.1
Shoe stores
4482
187.9
4.3
3.5
-0.8
1.7
-1.8
Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores
4483
183.2
-3.1
2.1
5.3
10.8
8.5
Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores
451
667.3
6.5
5.5
-1.0
1.9
-3.4
Sporting goods and musical instrument stores
4511
531.3
4.7
7.4
2.5
2.6
-4.4
Book, periodical, and music stores
4512
136.0
13.4
-0.7
-12.5
-0.7
0.1
General merchandise stores
452
3,087.7
-1.5
2.1
3.6
3.2
1.1
Department stores
4521
1,546.7
-5.4
-0.9
4.8
2.5
3.4
Other general merchandise stores
4529
1,541.0
0.8
3.4
2.6
3.8
0.4
Miscellaneous store retailers
453
921.1
10.7
5.9
-4.4
-1.8
-7.3
Florists
4531
82.7
20.6
7.6
-10.8
-16.3
-22.2
Office supplies, stationery and gift stores
4532
321.0
9.3
3.9
-4.9
-5.8
-9.3
Used merchandise stores
4533
185.2
14.2
14.5
0.2
3.2
-9.8
Other miscellaneous store retailers
4539
332.2
10.5
5.3
-4.7
2.9
-2.3
Nonstore retailers
454
617.1
16.9
13.2
-3.2
5.4
-6.9
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses
4541
312.6
14.6
15.9
1.1
10.1
-5.0
Vending machine operators
4542
50.5
18.7
10.7
-6.8
4.2
-5.8
Direct selling establishments
4543
254.0
13.8
4.3
-8.4
-2.1
-6.1
Food Services and Drinking Places
Food services and drinking places
722
9,853.3
0.0
3.4
3.4
4.9
1.4
Full-service restaurants
7221
4,635.1
1.9
5.4
3.4
5.0
-0.4
Limited-service eating places
7222
4,162.6
-2.3
2.5
4.9
3.7
1.2
Special food services
7223
688.1
2.0
0.4
-1.5
8.9
8.5
Drinking places, alcoholic beverages
7224
367.5
1.8
-0.7
-2.5
3.3
4.0
Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, unit labor costs, and related data, 1987-2011
United States Department of Labor
