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PRODUCTIVITY   •  Mar 2024  •  Volume 13 / Number 2
Tracking productivity in line-haul railroads

Tracking productivity in line-haul railroads

This Beyond the Numbers article will examine labor productivity in the line-haul railroads industry from 2012–21. Specifically, we will explore how rail companies implemented a labor-saving operating system called precision scheduled railroading. This article will analyze how the implementation of PSR caused a decline in employment leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Recent articles
EMPLOYMENT & UNEMPLOYMENT

Projected employment growth for community and social service occupations, 2022–32

As Americans confront health and social problems, community and social service occupations are there to help. Trends, such as increased need for elderly care, mental health services, treatment of substance use disorders, and public health and preventative care, are contributing to strong demand for jobs associated with healthcare and social assistance throughout the next decade. But not all jobs associated with these trends provide medical care. Jobs in the community and social service occupational group, which include therapy, counseling, social work, and community outreach, are also expected to see strong employment demand because of these health-related trends. This Beyond the Numbers article explores the various trends supporting growth for community and social service occupations.

PRICES & SPENDING

How have the pandemic and online spending affected Black Friday shopping? Analyzing retail trade margins 2009–22

This Beyond the Numbers article will explore how Black Friday has changed over the years by using CPI and PPI commodity indexes to analyze prices. We’ll look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Black Friday, and how the continuing growth of online shopping has affected the holiday shopping season.

PRICES & SPENDING

Nonresidential building construction overhead and profit markups: 2018 through 2022

In 2004, the Producer Price Index (PPI) introduced indexes tracking the average changes in prices received by the nonresidential building construction sector. For these calculations, PPI has collected information describing costs for labor and materials, as well as builder overhead and markup for construction activities. This Beyond the Numbers article provides updated information that supplements two previous articles from the PPI relating to nonresidential building construction.