Internet: http://www.bls.gov/lpc/home.htm USDL 08-1184 

Technical information: (202) 691-5618 For release: 10:00 a.m. EDT 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, August 21, 2008 

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY: 

WHOLESALE TRADE, RETAIL TRADE, AND 

FOOD SERVICES AND DRINKING PLACES INDUSTRIES, 2007 

 Labor productivity – defined as output per hour – increased in wholesale trade and retail 

trade, and fell in food services and drinking places in 2007 as follows: 

2.1 percent in wholesale trade 

 3.7 percent in retail trade and 

 -0.5 percent in food services and drinking places. 

Output grew in each of these sectors in 2007. Hours increased in wholesale trade and in food 

services and drinking places, and declined in retail trade. (See chart 1.) Productivity rose in 34 of 

the 50 detailed industries studied. (See table 1.) Unit labor costs declined in 22 of these industries, 

were unchanged in the retail trade sector, and increased in the wholesale trade and food services and 

drinking places sectors. 

Chart 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, and hours, 2006-2007

(Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places)

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Output

per Hour

Output Hours Output

per Hour

Output Hours Output

per Hour

Output Hours

Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Food Services and Drinking

Places

% Chang

e
 From a longer term perspective, labor productivity increased at the following average annual 

rates between 1987 and 2007: 

3.3 percent in wholesale trade 

3.3 percent in retail trade and 

0.6 percent in food services and drinking places. 

Output and hours increased in all of these sectors over the period. (See chart 2.) Productivity rose 

in 48 of the 50 detailed industries. (See table 2.) Unit labor costs fell in 17 industries and in the 

retail trade sector, but grew in the wholesale trade and food services and drinking places sectors 

during the period. 

 

Chart 2. Average annual percent change in output per hour, output, and hours, 1987-2007

(Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places)

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Output

per Hour

Output Hours Output

per Hour

Output Hours Output

per Hour

Output Hours

Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Food Services and Drinking

Places

% Chang

e

2006-2007 change 

Wholesale trade: Labor productivity increased 2.1 percent, as output grew 3.8 percent and 

hours rose 1.7 percent. Output per hour grew in 12 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade industries in 

2007. Commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) experienced the largest productivity gain, 

13.7 percent. Unit labor costs fell in seven of the 19 detailed industries, but rose 1.9 percent in 

wholesale trade overall. 

Retail trade: Labor productivity grew 3.7 percent as output increased 3.0 percent while 

hours fell 0.6 percent. Output per hour rose in 20 of the 27 detailed retail trade industries in 2007. 

The largest increases in productivity occurred in lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores 

(NAICS 4442) and electronics and appliance stores (NAICS 4431), 17.3 percent and 14.3 percent, 

respectively. Although unit labor costs fell in 14 of the 27 industries studied, unit labor costs in the 

retail sector as a whole were unchanged. 

 

Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity fell 0.5 percent as output increased 

1.7 percent and hours grew 2.2 percent. Two of the four industries in food services and drinking 

places registered productivity gains in 2007. The largest increase in productivity, 7.0 percent, 
occurred in drinking places (NAICS 7224). Unit labor costs grew in three of the four detailed 

industries and increased 4.6 percent in food services and drinking places overall. 

Chart 3 shows the 2007 productivity changes for the twenty largest trade and food services 

and drinking places industries. 

Chart 3. Percent change in output per hour for the largest (by employment) trade and 

food services and drinking places industries, 2006-2007

14.3

13.7

10.4

9.6

7.1

5.7

3.5

3.5

3.2

2.0

1.4

1.2

0.3

-0.3

-0.9

-1.1

-3.3

-3.9

-5.0

-1.1

-8.0 -4.0 0.0 4.0 8.0 12.0 16.0

Electronics and appliance stores

Commercial equipment wholesalers

Clothing stores

Office supplies, stationery and gift stores

Other general merchandise stores

Grocery and related products wholesalers

Gasoline stations

Electronic markets and agents and brokers

Automobile dealers

Grocery stores

Building material and supplies dealers

Special food services

Machinery and supplies wholesalers

Health and personal care stores

Full-service restaurants

Limited-service eating places

Sporting goods and musical instrument stores

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

Miscellaneous nondurable goods wholesalers

Department stores

% Change

Long-term trends 

Wholesale trade: Labor productivity rose 3.3 percent per year, on average, between 1987 

and 2007. Output increased 4.1 percent per year and hours grew 0.7 percent per year. Labor 

productivity rose in 17 of the 19 detailed industries. The fastest growth in output per hour occurred 

in commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) and electric goods wholesalers (NAICS 

4236), 15.6 percent and 8.9 percent per year, respectively. Unit labor costs rose in all but two of the 

wholesale trade industries over the period, and increased 0.9 percent per year overall in the 

wholesale trade sector. 

 Retail trade: Labor productivity increased an average 3.3 percent per year from 1987 to 

2007, while output rose 4.1 percent per year and hours grew 0.7 percent. Output per hour increased 

in all 27 detailed industries. Labor productivity rose the fastest in electronics and appliance stores 

(NAICS 4431), 13.4 percent per year, followed by electronic shopping and mail-order houses 

(NAICS 4541) at 12.2 percent per year. Unit labor costs declined in 15 of the 27 industries in this 

sector during the time period and declined 0.2 percent per year in retail trade overall. 
 Food services and drinking places: Labor productivity grew 0.6 percent per year on 

average, as output increased 2.4 percent per year and hours grew 1.8 percent per year. Productivity 

increased in all of the food services and drinking places industries from 1987-2007. Unit labor 

costs also increased in each of the detailed industries, and rose 3.2 per year in food services and 

drinking places overall. 

Additional Information 

 The measures in this news release incorporate current data from the Census Bureau’s 

Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey (May 2008) and Monthly Retail Trade Survey (April 2008). Also 

included in this release are BLS employment and hours from the March 2008 Current Employment 

Statistics (CES) survey and wages from the July 2008 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. 

The measures replace the wholesale trade, retail trade, and food services and drinking places series 

published on the BLS website, in the news release Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale 

Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places, 2006 (released August 28, 2007) and 

in table 50 of the Monthly Labor Review. All of the measures for 2007 in this release are 

preliminary and subject to revision. 

While the index numbers and 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. 

Industry productivity and cost measures are produced as data become available. Measures 

for industries in other sectors have been published in separate releases that can be accessed online 

at: http://www.bls.gov/schedule/archives/prin_nr.htm. Indexes and rates of change for all covered 

industries can be accessed electronically by visiting the Labor Productivity and Costs web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/lpc/#tables. 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. 

 

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. 
Technical Note 

Labor Productivity: 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 labor productivity measures 

relate output to the 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 service 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 industry 

performance 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 

sectoral output, the value, in real terms, of 

goods and services produced for sale outside 

the industry. Industry output measures for 

the trade and food services and drinking 

places industries are constructed by deflating 

nominal dollar revenues from the Bureau of 

the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

with price indexes 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. Data from 

the Current Population Survey (CPS) are 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. 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. Indexes of unit labor costs 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. 
Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2006-2007

2007 Percent change, 2006-2007

NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor

code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs

Wholesale Trade

42 Wholesale trade 6227 2.1 3.8 1.7 5.8 1.9

423 Durable goods 3232 2.2 3.8 1.5 5.0 1.2

4231 Motor vehicles and parts 369 -0.5 1.1 1.7 4.2 3.0

4232 Furniture and furnishings 120 0.4 3.2 2.8 2.1 -1.1

4233 Lumber and construction supplies 266 -8.0 -11.4 -3.7 -3.0 9.5

4234 Commercial equipment 674 13.7 13.2 -0.4 7.5 -5.1

4235 Metals and minerals 134 -5.5 -3.5 2.2 5.1 8.9

4236 Electric goods 364 5.8 9.0 3.0 6.2 -2.6

4237 Hardware and plumbing 265 0.2 -1.4 -1.6 3.8 5.2

4238 Machinery and supplies 709 0.3 4.1 3.8 4.5 0.3

4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 332 -3.2 2.0 5.3 6.1 4.1

424 Nondurable goods 2160 1.7 3.6 1.9 4.6 1.0

4241 Paper and paper products 145 6.9 -1.8 -8.1 -3.1 -1.3

4242 Druggists' goods 224 -4.9 0.5 5.7 6.5 6.0

4243 Apparel and piece goods 163 1.2 3.8 2.6 0.3 -3.4

4244 Grocery and related products 760 5.7 6.6 0.9 5.2 -1.3

4245 Farm product raw materials 76 6.0 3.6 -2.3 1.9 -1.6

4246 Chemicals 140 1.5 4.1 2.6 5.5 1.3

4247 Petroleum 103 -0.2 5.0 5.2 7.6 2.5

4248 Alcoholic beverages 158 1.0 4.9 3.8 5.1 0.2

4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods 391 -3.9 -0.1 4.0 6.1 6.2

425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 835 3.5 5.1 1.6 11.8 6.3

4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 835 3.5 5.1 1.6 11.8 6.3

Retail Trade

44-45 Retail trade 16547 3.7 3.0 -0.6 3.0 0.0

441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 2007 2.2 3.1 0.9 1.2 -1.8

4411 Automobile dealers 1307 3.2 3.4 0.2 0.8 -2.5

4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 181 3.0 4.7 1.6 3.2 -1.4

4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 519 -3.3 -1.1 2.3 1.9 3.0

442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 633 6.6 2.3 -4.0 -2.1 -4.3

4421 Furniture stores 309 3.7 2.5 -1.1 -2.7 -5.1

4422 Home furnishings stores 325 9.7 2.1 -6.9 -1.4 -3.4

443 Electronics and appliance stores 580 14.3 12.2 -1.9 5.4 -6.1

4431 Electronics and appliance stores 580 14.3 12.2 -1.9 5.4 -6.1

444 Building material and garden supply stores 1358 3.1 -2.1 -5.1 -1.2 0.9

4441 Building material and supplies dealers 1193 1.4 -3.5 -4.8 -1.1 2.5

4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores 165 17.3 8.9 -7.1 -2.1 -10.1

445 Food and beverage stores 2957 2.6 1.3 -1.3 3.7 2.4

4451 Grocery stores 2550 2.0 1.0 -1.0 3.8 2.7

4452 Specialty food stores 252 4.3 -0.4 -4.5 3.3 3.6

4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 155 7.3 5.4 -1.7 3.5 -1.9

446 Health and personal care stores 1031 -0.3 4.1 4.4 7.6 3.4

4461 Health and personal care stores 1031 -0.3 4.1 4.4 7.6 3.4

447 Gasoline stations 876 3.5 0.0 -3.4 2.9 2.9

4471 Gasoline stations 876 3.5 0.0 -3.4 2.9 2.9
Table 1. Percent change in output per hour, output, hours, compensation, and unit labor costs, 2006-2007

2007 Percent change, 2006-2007

NAICS Industry Employment Output Labor Unit labor

code (thousands) per hour Output Hours compensation costs

448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 1595 8.7 4.5 -3.9 3.0 -1.4

4481 Clothing stores 1199 10.4 6.5 -3.5 4.9 -1.5

4482 Shoe stores 193 -2.5 0.4 2.9 2.6 2.2

4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 204 9.8 -1.6 -10.4 -2.9 -1.3

451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 750 -1.6 4.5 6.3 4.1 -0.4

4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument stores 546 -1.1 7.3 8.5 6.4 -0.8

4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 204 -3.1 -2.2 0.9 -1.7 0.5

452 General merchandise stores 3005 1.8 4.0 2.1 5.1 1.1

4521 Department stores 1587 -5.0 -0.6 4.7 3.4 4.0

4529 Other general merchandise stores 1419 7.1 6.8 -0.3 7.0 0.2

453 Miscellaneous store retailers 1058 3.8 2.1 -1.6 1.3 -0.7

4531 Florists 123 -8.4 0.5 9.7 10.8 10.2

4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 407 9.6 5.2 -4.0 -0.8 -5.7

4533 Used merchandise stores 177 8.6 5.2 -3.1 -8.4 -12.9

4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 351 1.2 -0.8 -1.9 5.1 5.9

454 Nonstore retailers 697 11.1 9.8 -1.1 5.8 -3.6

4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 299 11.6 11.7 0.1 6.7 -4.5

4542 Vending machine operators 69 5.3 5.4 0.1 7.7 2.2

4543 Direct selling establishments 329 8.6 5.6 -2.7 4.5 -1.1

Food Services and Drinking Places 

722 Food services and drinking places 9909 -0.5 1.7 2.2 6.4 4.6

7221 Full-service restaurants 4634 -0.9 1.7 2.6 7.2 5.4

7222 Limited-service eating places 4199 -1.1 1.1 2.2 6.3 5.2

7223 Special food services 699 1.2 2.3 1.1 5.3 2.9

7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 377 7.0 6.6 -0.4 0.6 -5.6
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

Wholesale Trade

42 Wholesale trade 3.3 4.1 0.7 5.0 0.9

423 Durable goods 5.4 6.0 0.6 5.1 -0.9

4231 Motor vehicles and parts 4.0 4.0 0.0 4.3 0.3

4232 Furniture and furnishings 2.5 2.7 0.3 5.0 2.2

4233 Lumber and construction supplies 0.7 2.4 1.7 4.3 1.8

4234 Commercial equipment 15.6 16.3 0.6 5.4 -9.3

4235 Metals and minerals -0.4 0.2 0.6 4.9 4.7

4236 Electric goods 8.9 8.9 0.0 5.3 -3.3

4237 Hardware and plumbing 1.3 2.5 1.3 5.3 2.7

4238 Machinery and supplies 2.5 2.8 0.3 4.7 1.9

4239 Miscellaneous durable goods 1.4 2.8 1.4 5.8 2.9

424 Nondurable goods 1.2 1.6 0.4 5.1 3.4

4241 Paper and paper products 2.7 1.8 -0.9 3.9 2.1

4242 Druggists' goods 2.0 4.6 2.6 10.4 5.6

4243 Apparel and piece goods 2.7 2.8 0.0 4.3 1.5

4244 Grocery and related products 1.1 2.1 1.0 5.0 2.9

4245 Farm product raw materials 2.2 -0.5 -2.6 3.4 3.9

4246 Chemicals -0.2 0.7 1.0 5.0 4.2

4247 Petroleum 2.9 0.3 -2.5 3.3 3.0

4248 Alcoholic beverages 0.4 2.1 1.6 5.0 2.9

4249 Miscellaneous nondurable goods 0.3 0.5 0.3 3.8 3.2

425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.1 4.8 2.6 4.9 0.1

4251 Electronic markets and agents and brokers 2.1 4.8 2.6 4.9 0.1

Retail Trade

44-45 Retail trade 3.3 4.1 0.7 3.9 -0.2

441 Motor vehicle and parts dealers 2.6 3.7 1.1 4.2 0.4

4411 Automobile dealers 2.5 3.7 1.1 4.3 0.6

4412 Other motor vehicle dealers 3.5 5.9 2.3 6.3 0.4

4413 Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 2.2 2.8 0.6 3.2 0.4

442 Furniture and home furnishings stores 4.1 5.1 0.9 4.2 -0.8

4421 Furniture stores 3.6 4.4 0.8 3.7 -0.6

4422 Home furnishings stores 4.9 6.0 1.1 4.7 -1.2

443 Electronics and appliance stores 13.4 15.4 1.7 4.9 -9.1

4431 Electronics and appliance stores 13.4 15.4 1.7 4.9 -9.1

444 Building material and garden supply stores 3.2 4.9 1.6 4.4 -0.5

4441 Building material and supplies dealers 3.0 5.0 2.0 4.6 -0.3

4442 Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores 4.5 4.1 -0.4 2.6 -1.4

445 Food and beverage stores 0.6 0.4 -0.1 3.3 2.9

4451 Grocery stores 0.4 0.4 0.0 3.5 3.1

4452 Specialty food stores 0.2 -0.2 -0.4 2.4 2.5

4453 Beer, wine and liquor stores 2.6 1.0 -1.6 2.4 1.4

446 Health and personal care stores 2.5 3.9 1.4 5.3 1.3

4461 Health and personal care stores 2.5 3.9 1.4 5.3 1.3

447 Gasoline stations 2.2 1.6 -0.6 2.5 0.9

4471 Gasoline stations 2.2 1.6 -0.6 2.5 0.9
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

448 Clothing and clothing accessories stores 5.0 5.0 0.0 3.3 -1.6

4481 Clothing stores 5.3 5.6 0.3 3.7 -1.8

4482 Shoe stores 3.9 2.7 -1.2 1.9 -0.8

4483 Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores 4.7 4.4 -0.3 3.1 -1.3

451 Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 4.1 4.9 0.8 4.1 -0.7

4511 Sporting goods and musical instrument stores 4.9 5.7 0.8 4.4 -1.2

4512 Book, periodical, and music stores 2.5 3.2 0.7 3.5 0.3

452 General merchandise stores 3.7 5.5 1.7 4.1 -1.3

4521 Department stores 1.0 2.4 1.4 3.0 0.6

4529 Other general merchandise stores 7.2 9.4 2.1 5.6 -3.4

453 Miscellaneous store retailers 4.6 4.9 0.3 2.9 -1.9

4531 Florists 2.7 0.9 -1.7 1.1 0.2

4532 Office supplies, stationery and gift stores 6.7 6.7 0.0 3.3 -3.2

4533 Used merchandise stores 5.3 6.5 1.1 3.7 -2.6

4539 Other miscellaneous store retailers 2.7 4.0 1.3 2.9 -1.1

454 Nonstore retailers 9.1 9.5 0.3 4.1 -4.9

4541 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 12.2 16.1 3.4 7.9 -7.1

4542 Vending machine operators 1.6 -0.5 -2.1 1.9 2.3

4543 Direct selling establishments 3.4 2.2 -1.2 1.9 -0.3

Food Services and Drinking Places 

722 Food services and drinking places 0.6 2.4 1.8 5.7 3.2

7221 Full-service restaurants 0.7 2.5 1.8 6.7 4.0

7222 Limited-service eating places 0.6 2.6 2.0 5.4 2.8

7223 Special food services 1.5 2.6 1.1 4.0 1.4

7224 Drinking places, alcoholic beverages 0.3 0.3 0.0 2.4 2.1