Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

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.

Https

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.

Labor productivity rose in 17 of 28 selected service-providing industries in 2016

May 30, 2017

Labor productivity rose in 17 of 28 selected service-providing industries in 2016. This was greater than in 2015, when labor productivity increased in 14 of 28 industries. In 2016, output and hours increased in fewer industries than in 2015.  

Among service industries with increasing productivity, output grew in 13 industries. Hours worked grew in 15 of the 28 industries. Productivity gains of at least 8.0 percent occurred in 3 industries where increases in output coincided with declines in hours worked: cable and other subscription programming (19.1 percent), wireless telecommunications carriers (12.7 percent), and accounting and bookkeeping services (8.8 percent).

Percent change in output and hours worked in selected service-providing industries, 2015–2016
Industry Percent change 2016 employment
Labor productivity Output Hours worked

Utilities

       

Power generation and supply

-1.0% -0.7% 0.3% 393,600

Natural gas distribution

1.0 -0.8 -1.8 112,500

Water, sewage and other systems

-5.2 -3.3 2.1 50,100

Transportation and Warehousing

       

Air transportation

0.4 3.4 2.9 448,100

Line-haul railroads

9.6 -0.1 -8.9 173,100

General freight trucking, local

-2.8 -3.7 -0.9 317,400

General freight trucking, long-distance

-2.6 -1.7 0.9 884,100

Specialized freight trucking

6.5 3.4 -2.9 469,700

Postal service

1.3 1.2 -0.2 608,900

Couriers and messengers

-1.5 3.6 5.2 675,400

Warehousing and storage

-8.8 5.1 15.2 922,100

Information

       

Newspaper publishers

4.3 -5.8 -9.7 183,000

Periodical publishers

2.7 -4.2 -6.7 108,400

Software publishers

-2.1 1.8 4.0 356,100

Radio and television broadcasting

2.3 1.3 -0.9 223,000

Cable and other subscription programming

19.1 6.6 -10.5 54,200

Wired telecommunications carriers

3.0 1.4 -1.6 590,600

Wireless telecommunications carriers

12.7 8.5 -3.8 122,500

Finance and Insurance

       

Commercial banking

-3.5 -0.6 3.1 1,307,000

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

       

Truck, trailer, and RV rental and leasing

-1.4 4.2 5.7 76,300

Professional and Technical Services

       

Accounting and bookkeeping services

8.8 8.1 -0.6 1,145,400

Engineering services

-0.2 0.2 0.4 973,000

Administrative and Waste Services

       

Travel arrangement and reservation services

0.3 6.6 6.2 238,400

Health Care and Social Assistance

       

Medical and diagnostic laboratories

2.1 2.2 0.1 271,200

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

       

Amusement parks and arcades

3.4 2.7 -0.7 208,800

Gambling industries

1.3 2.1 0.8 136,100

Other Services

       

Automotive repair and maintenance

-0.8 -0.5 0.3 1,113,500

Drycleaning and laundry services

1.3 2.4 1.0 316,600

Three industries recorded productivity declines despite output gains of at least 3.0 percent because of larger increases in hours worked: warehousing and storage (−8.8 percent); couriers and messengers (−1.5 percent); and truck, trailer, and RV rental and leasing (−1.4 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 — 2016" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor productivity rose in 17 of 28 selected service-providing industries in 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/labor-productivity-rose-in-17-of-28-selected-service-providing-industries-in-2016.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle