Historical, technical USDL 09-0546 

 information: (202) 691-5618 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 a.m. EDT 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, May 20, 2009 

Internet: http://www.bls.gov/lpc/ 

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY: 

SELECTED SERVICE-PROVIDING AND MINING INDUSTRIES, 2007 

Labor productivity, defined as output per hour, rose in 66 percent of the detailed 

service-providing and mining industries in 2007, about the same as in 2006. Unit labor 

costs, which reflect hourly compensation and productivity, rose in 70 percent of the 

industries, compared to 76 percent in 2006. 

Over the longer period, 1987 to 2007, labor productivity increased in 86 percent 

of the industries studied. Unit labor costs rose in 78 percent of the industries. 

Productivity and cost measures for three industries are presented for the first time: 

support activities for mining (NAICS 213), accommodation (NAICS 721), and 

reupholstery and furniture repair (NAICS 81142). The addition of labor productivity 

measures for accommodation (NAICS 721), along with the previously published BLS 

measures for food services and drinking places (NAICS 722), completes coverage of the 

accommodation and food services sector (NAICS 72). Measures for NAICS 72 are also 

published here for the first time. 

 BLS updates the industry labor productivity measures as data become available. 

Productivity measures for industries in manufacturing, retail trade, and wholesale trade 

are published in separate releases that can be accessed online at 

http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/prin_nr.htm. 

2006-2007 change 

In 2007, output per hour increased in 31 of the 45 detailed service-providing 

industries and in two of the five detailed mining industries studied. (See table 1.) Output 

rose in 66 percent of the industries in 2007, while labor hours declined in 48 percent. 

Among the largest industries included, those with employment over one million, 

productivity rose 0.9 percent in commercial banking (NAICS 52211) and 5.4 percent in 

janitorial services (NAICS 56172), but declined 1.8 percent in traveler accommodation 
(NAICS 7211); 1.4 percent in full-service restaurants (NAICS 7221); and 0.9 percent in 

automotive repair and maintenance (NAICS 8111). The limited-service eating places 

industry (NAICS 7222) had no change in productivity. 

Chart 1 shows the 2007 productivity changes in the twenty largest serviceproviding and mining industries studied. 

Chart 1. Percent change in output per hour in the largest (by employment) 

service-providing and mining industries, 2006-2007

5.4

3.7

2.5

2.1

1.8

1.8

1.7

0.9

0.7

0.0

-0.1

-0.9

-1.4

-1.8

-1.8

-4.3

-4.5

-5.6

-6.4

-2.7

-8.0 -4.0 0.0 4.0 8.0

Janitorial services

Hair, nail and skin care services

Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)

Special food services

Air transportation

General freight trucking, long-distance

Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers

Commercial banking

Postal service

Limited-service eating places

Wired telecommunications carriers

Automotive repair and maintenance

Full-service restaurants

Electric power generation, transmission and distribution

Traveler accommodation

Engineering services

Drycleaning and laundry services

General warehousing and storage

Couriers and messengers

Mining

Percent Change

Three service-providing industries recorded productivity growth greater than 

fifteen percent in 2007: video tape and disc rental (NAICS 53223), 26.5 percent; bowling 

centers (NAICS 71395), 19.7 percent; and passenger car rental (NAICS 532111), 16.8 

percent. Each of these industries posted large reductions in hours. Productivity fell most, 

11.4 percent, in diagnostic imaging centers (NAICS 621512), due mostly to a rapid rise 

in hours. 

Labor productivity fell 6.4 percent in the overall mining sector (NAICS 21), led 

by a large productivity decline of 15.4 percent in metal ore mining (NAICS 2122), where 

hours rose rapidly. 

Unit labor costs rose in two-thirds of the service-providing industries and in all of 

the mining industries in 2007. Declines in unit labor costs were greatest in the two 

industries with the largest productivity increases: video tape and disc rental (NAICS 

53223) and bowling centers (NAICS 71395), where unit labor costs fell by 9.2 and 6.9 

percent, respectively. 
Long-term trends 

Between 1987 and 2007, labor productivity increased in 38 of the 45 detailed 

service-providing industries and in all of the covered mining industries. Software 

publishers (NAICS 5112) recorded the greatest productivity growth over the period, 15.6 

percent per year on average, followed by wireless telecommunications carriers (NAICS 

5172), with average yearly growth of 9.4 percent.

 As shown in chart 2, labor productivity declined in more of the detailed serviceproviding and mining industries in 2007 than over the longer-term period. 

Chart 2. Distribution of annual percent change in output per hour, 

service-providing and mining industries, 1987-2007 and 2006-2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

-10 or less

-9.9 to -8.0

-7.9 to -6.0

-5.9 to -4.0

-3.9 to -2.0

-1.9 to -0.1

0.0 to 1.9

2.0 to 3.9

4.0 to 5.9

6.0 to 7.9

8.0 to 9.9

10.0 or more

Percent Change

Note: For NAICS industries 49311 and 49312, average annual percent changes are for 1992-2007. 

 For NAICS industries 56131, 621511, and 621512, average annual percent changes are for 1994-2007.

Number of Industries

2006 - 2007

1987 - 2007

Unit labor costs increased in 78 percent of the detailed service-providing 

industries and in all but one mining industry from 1987 to 2007. Unit labor costs grew 

most rapidly in oil and gas extraction (NAICS 2111), 5.9 percent per year on average. 

The most rapid declines in unit labor costs occurred in the two industries with the fastest 

productivity growth, with software publishers (NAICS 5112) declining 8.9 percent and 

wireless telecommunications carriers (NAICS 5172) falling 6.0 percent.
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 employees or 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. 

Long-term productivity trends tend to be 

more reliable indicators of the performance of an 

industry than are year-to-year changes. The annual 

changes in an industry’s output and use of labor may 

reflect cyclical changes in the economy as well as 

long-term trends. 

Output: Industry output is measured as an annualweighted index of the changes in the various 

products or services (in real terms) provided for sale 

outside the industry. Real industry output is usually 

derived by deflating nominal sales or values of 

production using BLS price indexes, but for some 

industries it is measured by physical quantities of 

output. 

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. Output 

measures for some mining and utilities industries are 

based on physical quantity data from the Energy 

Information Administration, U.S. Department of 

Energy, while output measures for some 

transportation industries are based on physical 

quantity data from the Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. Other 

data sources for some industries include the U.S. 

Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior; 

the U.S. Postal Service; the Postal Rate 

Commission; and the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation. 

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 or further 

disaggregated for some industries using data from the 

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 

(QCEW), the Bureau of the Census, or other sources. 

Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) are also 

used to supplement the CES data. The industry 

productivity program estimates the average weekly 

hours of supervisory workers for each industry using 

data from the CPS together with the CES data. Data 

from the CPS are also used to estimate the employment 

and hours of self-employed and unpaid family workers 

in each industry. Other sources of employment and 

hours data for some service industries include the 

Association of American Railroads, the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, and the U.S. Postal Service. Hours of 

all workers 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 compensation per hour and real output per hour 

(labor productivity). 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. 
Additional Information: Measures for the three 

added industries were developed using standard BLS 

methods as described above. Output measures for all 

three industries are based on receipts data from the 

U.S. Census Bureau, deflated with price indexes 

from BLS. Revenues for support activities for 

mining are based on additional data from the 

Department of Energy. The labor input measures for 

all three new industries were constructed using 

employment and hours data from BLS surveys. 

The industries included in this release are 

classified according to the 2002 NAICS. Industry 

productivity measures for service-providing 

industries will be classified according to the 2007 

NAICS in 2010, with the publication of data for 

2008 and the inclusion of data from the 2007 

economic censuses. All of the measures for 2007 in 

this release are preliminary and subject to revision. 

Industry productivity and related indexes and 

rates of change can be accessed online by visiting the 

Labor Productivity and Costs web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/lpc/. Data on industry employment, 

hours, labor compensation, value of production, and the 

implicit price deflator for output for these industries are 

available upon request by calling the Division of 

Industry Productivity Studies (202-691-5618) or by 

sending a request by e-mail to dipsweb@bls.gov. 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 to three decimal places. 

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. 
2007 

NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor

code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs

Mining Industries

21 Mining 664 -6.4 0.0 6.9 12.1 12.1

211 Oil and gas extraction 146 -3.3 1.3 4.8 9.4 8.1

2111 Oil and gas extraction 146 -3.3 1.3 4.8 9.4 8.1

212 Mining, except oil and gas 223 -5.3 -3.8 1.6 4.0 8.0

2121 Coal mining 77 1.2 -2.6 -3.7 0.7 3.3

2122 Metal ore mining 36 -15.4 0.6 18.8 15.9 15.3

2123 Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying 110 -8.5 -7.7 0.8 2.1 10.7

213 Support activities for mining 294 6.7 19.7 12.2 21.2 1.2

2131 Support activities for mining 294 6.7 19.7 12.2 21.2 1.2

Service-Providing Industries

Utilities

2211 Power generation and supply 398 -1.8 1.0 2.9 6.6 5.6

2212 Natural gas distribution 107 0.5 6.5 6.0 5.4 -1.1

Transportation and Warehousing

481 Air transportation 433 1.8 3.1 1.3 2.6 -0.5

482111 Line-haul railroads 186 -4.5 -4.4 0.1 1.4 6.0

48412 General freight trucking, long-distance 920 1.8 0.5 -1.3 2.5 2.0

48421 Used household and office goods moving 102 4.9 -4.1 -8.5 0.1 4.3

491 Postal service 762 0.7 -1.3 -1.9 14.2 15.6

4911 Postal service 762 0.7 -1.3 -1.9 14.2 15.6

492 Couriers and messengers 614 -5.6 -3.6 2.1 -1.0 2.8

493 Warehousing and storage 670 -3.3 1.4 4.9 8.0 6.5

4931 Warehousing and storage 670 -3.3 1.4 4.9 8.0 6.5

49311 General warehousing and storage 566 -4.5 1.0 5.8 8.3 7.2

49312 Refrigerated warehousing and storage 49 5.9 3.8 -2.0 8.8 4.7

Information

511 Publishing 936 4.0 4.0 0.0 6.1 2.0

5111 Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 679 1.7 -0.7 -2.3 3.0 3.7

5112 Software publishers 257 3.3 9.4 5.9 10.5 1.1

51213 Motion picture and video exhibition 137 3.1 -2.5 -5.5 6.8 9.6

515 Broadcasting, except internet 337 7.9 5.7 -2.1 5.1 -0.5

5151 Radio and television broadcasting 246 3.7 2.1 -1.5 2.8 0.6

5152 Cable and other subscription programming 91 14.5 10.8 -3.2 13.1 2.0

5171 Wired telecommunications carriers 489 -0.1 -1.5 -1.4 -7.8 -6.4

5172 Wireless telecommunications carriers 207 5.8 10.9 4.9 5.5 -4.8

5175 Cable and other program distribution 142 11.9 9.5 -2.1 6.0 -3.2

Finance and Insurance

52211 Commercial banking 1351 0.9 3.9 3.0 5.9 1.9

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

532111 Passenger car rental 130 16.8 1.1 -13.4 4.9 3.8

53212 Truck, trailer and RV rental and leasing 58 2.9 -1.7 -4.4 -0.5 1.2

53223 Video tape and disc rental 123 26.5 1.3 -19.9 -8.0 -9.2

Professional and Technical Services

541213 Tax preparation services 150 13.7 6.6 -6.2 14.8 7.7

54131 Architectural services 241 4.7 11.1 6.1 9.7 -1.3

54133 Engineering services 961 -2.7 2.4 5.2 9.3 6.7

54181 Advertising agencies 199 3.7 8.5 4.6 7.9 -0.6

541921 Photography studios, portrait 79 5.8 3.8 -1.9 2.6 -1.2

Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2006-2007

Percent change, 2006-2007
2007 

NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor

code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs

Administrative and Waste Services

56131 Employment placement agencies 294 7.2 4.7 -2.4 21.4 16.0

56151 Travel agencies 119 3.9 1.3 -2.5 2.7 1.4

56172 Janitorial services 1228 5.4 8.1 2.6 8.1 0.0

Health Care and Social Assistance

6215 Medical and diagnostic laboratories 223 -2.6 1.1 3.8 9.1 7.9

621511 Medical laboratories 148 2.1 2.4 0.3 7.4 4.9

621512 Diagnostic imaging centers 75 -11.4 -0.7 12.0 12.4 13.2

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

71311 Amusement and theme parks 135 5.6 4.5 -1.0 5.2 0.6

71395 Bowling centers 78 19.7 9.2 -8.7 1.7 -6.9

Accommodation and Food Services

72 Accommodation and food services 11766 -0.7 0.9 1.6 6.3 5.4

721 Accommodation 1907 -1.6 -0.1 1.5 5.9 6.1

7211 Traveler accommodation 1829 -1.8 -0.2 1.6 6.0 6.2

722 Food services and drinking places 9859 -0.4 1.3 1.7 6.5 5.1

7221 Full-service restaurants 4618 -1.4 0.8 2.2 7.2 6.3

7222 Limited-service eating places 4167 0.0 1.5 1.5 6.3 4.8

7223 Special food services 703 2.1 3.1 1.0 5.4 2.2

7224 Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) 372 2.5 0.8 -1.7 0.7 -0.1

Other Services

8111 Automotive repair and maintenance 1170 -0.9 -0.8 0.1 4.6 5.4

81142 Reupholstery and furniture repair 26 5.7 -6.2 -11.3 -6.4 -0.2

81211 Hair, nail and skin care services 923 3.7 1.9 -1.7 -1.8 -3.6

81221 Funeral homes and funeral services 105 -2.4 -6.3 -4.0 4.8 11.9

8123 Drycleaning and laundry services 376 -4.3 -1.4 3.1 6.7 8.1

81292 Photofinishing 26 -1.0 -0.1 0.9 -4.9 -4.7

Percent change, 2006-2007

Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2006-2007
NAICS Industry Output Labor Unit labor

code per hour Output Hours compensation costs

Mining Industries

21 Mining -0.2 -0.3 -0.1 4.8 5.1

211 Oil and gas extraction 1.0 -0.9 -1.8 5.0 5.9

2111 Oil and gas extraction 1.0 -0.9 -1.8 5.0 5.9

212 Mining, except oil and gas 2.1 0.9 -1.2 1.8 0.9

2121 Coal mining 2.8 0.0 -2.8 0.0 0.0

2122 Metal ore mining 1.9 1.9 0.0 4.2 2.2

2123 Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying 1.1 1.1 0.0 3.2 2.1

213 Support activities for mining 3.5 5.9 2.3 8.5 2.5

2131 Support activities for mining 3.5 5.9 2.3 8.5 2.5

Service-Providing Industries

Utilities

2211 Power generation and supply 2.8 1.2 -1.5 2.9 1.6

2212 Natural gas distribution 2.9 1.3 -1.5 3.4 2.1

Transportation and Warehousing

481 Air transportation 3.2 3.4 0.3 3.1 -0.3

482111 Line-haul railroads 4.3 2.3 -2.0 1.3 -1.0

48412 General freight trucking, long-distance 1.5 3.2 1.7 3.7 0.5

48421 Used household and office goods moving -0.7 0.3 1.0 4.1 3.8

491 Postal service 1.1 1.0 0.0 4.6 3.5

4911 Postal service 1.1 1.0 0.0 4.6 3.5

492 Couriers and messengers -0.6 2.5 3.1 5.4 2.8

493 Warehousing and storage 1/ 2.8 6.2 3.3 6.2 -0.1

4931 Warehousing and storage 1/ 2.8 6.2 3.3 6.2 -0.1

49311 General warehousing and storage 1/ 4.8 8.2 3.2 6.8 -1.3

49312 Refrigerated warehousing and storage 1/ -0.6 3.0 3.6 4.8 1.7

Information

511 Publishing 4.3 4.9 0.5 6.0 1.0

5111 Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 0.4 -0.4 -0.8 3.7 4.1

5112 Software publishers 15.6 23.5 6.9 12.6 -8.9

51213 Motion picture and video exhibition 1.0 1.7 0.7 3.9 2.2

515 Broadcasting, except internet 1.5 2.7 1.3 5.4 2.6

5151 Radio and television broadcasting 0.6 0.8 0.2 4.5 3.6

5152 Cable and other subscription programming 3.0 8.2 5.0 10.7 2.3

5171 Wired telecommunications carriers 4.7 2.9 -1.7 1.9 -1.0

5172 Wireless telecommunications carriers 9.4 23.3 12.7 16.0 -6.0

5175 Cable and other program distribution 0.8 6.0 5.1 10.1 3.9

Finance and Insurance

52211 Commercial banking 2.6 2.6 0.0 5.9 3.1

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

532111 Passenger car rental 1.7 3.3 1.6 6.4 3.0

53212 Truck, trailer and RV rental and leasing 5.4 4.6 -0.7 3.6 -1.0

53223 Video tape and disc rental 5.5 5.9 0.4 3.8 -1.9

Professional and Technical Services

541213 Tax preparation services 1.8 4.3 2.5 4.9 0.6

54131 Architectural services 1.6 4.3 2.6 6.4 2.0

54133 Engineering services 1.0 3.3 2.3 6.9 3.4

54181 Advertising agencies 1.9 2.4 0.5 5.1 2.7

541921 Photography studios, portrait 0.3 2.7 2.4 4.9 2.1

Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 1987-2007

Average annual percent change, 1987-2007
NAICS Industry Output Labor Unit labor

code per hour Output Hours compensation costs

Administrative and Waste Services

56131 Employment placement agencies 2/ 3.2 5.5 2.3 10.1 4.3

56151 Travel agencies 3.9 2.9 -1.0 4.2 1.3

56172 Janitorial services 2.5 4.6 2.1 6.1 1.4

Health Care and Social Assistance

6215 Medical and diagnostic laboratories 2/ 3.1 6.6 3.4 6.3 -0.3

621511 Medical laboratories 2/ 2.7 5.6 2.8 5.4 -0.1

621512 Diagnostic imaging centers 2/ 3.4 8.4 4.8 8.4 0.0

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

71311 Amusement and theme parks -0.4 2.7 3.1 6.5 3.7

71395 Bowling centers 0.7 -0.9 -1.7 1.5 2.4

Accommodation and Food Services

72 Accommodation and food services 0.7 2.4 1.6 5.6 3.2

721 Accommodation 1.2 2.5 1.3 5.6 3.0

7211 Traveler accommodation 1.3 2.6 1.3 5.6 3.0

722 Food services and drinking places 0.6 2.4 1.7 5.7 3.2

7221 Full-service restaurants 0.6 2.4 1.8 6.7 4.1

7222 Limited-service eating places 0.6 2.5 1.9 5.4 2.8

7223 Special food services 1.5 2.6 1.1 4.1 1.4

7224 Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) 0.0 -0.1 -0.1 2.4 2.5

Other Services

8111 Automotive repair and maintenance 1.3 2.2 0.9 4.5 2.3

81142 Reupholstery and furniture repair 0.0 -1.8 -1.8 1.3 3.1

81211 Hair, nail and skin care services 2.4 3.4 0.9 5.5 2.1

81221 Funeral homes and funeral services -0.3 -0.2 0.2 4.4 4.6

8123 Drycleaning and laundry services 0.8 0.5 -0.3 3.3 2.7

81292 Photofinishing 0.7 -4.6 -5.3 -1.9 2.8

1/ For NAICS industries 493, 4931, 49311, and 49312, average annual percent changes are for 1992-2007.

2/ For NAICS industries 56131, 6215, 621511, and 621512, average annual percent changes are for 1994-2007.

Average annual percent change, 1987-2007

Table 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 1987-2007