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For short takes read The Economics Daily. Spotlight on Statistics are analyses told through charts and maps. Beyond the Numbers offers research summaries. For more in-depth analysis read the Monthly Labor Review.
In addition, the Commissioner’s Corner provides information on the many other areas in which BLS is involved and highlights our testimony before Congressional committees, public speeches by BLS leadership, awards and recognition, and outstanding new products on the BLS website.
Labor productivity rose in wholesale trade and in retail trade in 2021. In wholesale trade, productivity rose 5.7 percent as output growth (+8.7 percent) surpassed growth in hours worked (+2.8 percent). In retail trade, productivity increased by 6.6 percent as output growth (+10.4 percent) exceeded growth in hours worked (+3.6 percent). read more »
This article examines the revisions to the BLS labor productivity and costs estimates, with the goal of developing intervals to help data users better assess the size of the revisions. read more »
In this Beyond the Numbers article, we review the timeline for the development and implementation of new retail technologies in grocery stores. Then, check out the shifts in products and services offered by grocery stores over time. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the article looks at the trends in employment and hours to show how all of these factors influenced labor productivity in grocery stores. read more »
Labor productivity rose for most industries during the first decade of the millennium. The expansion of information technology that fueled rapid productivity growth during the 1990s continued after 2000, and improvements in IT hardware and software, mobile telecommunications, data communications, and the growth of the internet contributed further to productivity growth. read more »