4.3 percent in wholesale trade
4.9 percent in retail trade and
2.4 percent in food services and drinking places.
Output grew in each of these sectors in 2006. Hours rose in wholesale trade and in food services and drinking places, but fell in retail trade. Productivity advanced in 42 of the 50 industries studied, as output grew in 40 industries while hours declined in 21 industries. Unit labor costs fell in half of the detailed industries measured and in the retail trade sector, but increased in the wholesale trade and food services and drinking places sectors overall.
From 1987 to 2006, labor productivity increased at the following average annual rates:
3.5 percent in wholesale trade
3.4 percent in retail trade and
0.8 percent in food services and drinking places.
Output and hours rose in each of these sectors over the period. Productivity and output increased in 47 of the 50 detailed industries, while hours fell in 13 industries. Unit labor costs declined in 18 industries and in the retail trade sector, but rose in the wholesale
trade and food services and drinking places sectors during this period.
2005-2006 change
Wholesale trade: Output per hour grew 4.3 percent, as output increased 6.6 percent and hours advanced 2.2 percent. Labor productivity rose 5.1 percent in durable merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423) and increased 2.7 percent in nondurable merchant wholesalers (NAICS 424). Labor productivity rose in 15 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade industries in 2006, as output grew in 17 industries while hours fell in four. The largest increases in productivity-13.0 percent and 11.8 percent-occurred in motor vehicles and parts wholesalers (NAICS 4231), and farm product raw materials wholesalers (NAICS 4245), respectively. Unit labor costs declined in seven of the 19 detailed industries, but grew 0.5 percent in wholesale trade overall.
Retail trade: Output per hour increased 4.9 percent as output grew 4.1 percent while hours declined 0.8 percent. Labor productivity rose in 24 of the 27 detailed retail trade industries in 2006. Output increased in 20 industries, while hours declined in 16 industries. Specialty food stores (NAICS 4452) and electronic shopping and mail-order houses (NAICS 4541) had the largest productivity increases—20 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively. Productivity also grew in each of the six largest retail trade industries, those with more than one million employees. Unit labor costs fell 1.5 percent in the retail trade sector and declined in 18 of the 27 industries studied; the largest decline, 12.2 percent, occurred in specialty food stores (NAICS 4452).
Food services and drinking places: Output per hour rose 2.4 percent as output and hours grew 4.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. Three of the four industries in food services and drinking places registered productivity gains in 2006. Output and hours grew in each of the food services industries, but fell in drinking places (NAICS 7224). The largest increase in productivity, 3.2 percent, occurred in limited-service eating places (NAICS 7222), while output per hour in special food services (NAICS 7223), declined 2.4 percent. Unit labor costs rose in each of the detailed industries and grew 2.1 percent in food services and drinking places overall.
Long-term trends
Wholesale trade: Output per hour increased 3.5 percent per year, on average, between 1987 and 2006. Output grew 4.2 percent per year and hours rose 0.7 percent per year. At the subsector level, productivity advanced 5.6 percent per year in durable merchant wholesale trade (NAICS 423), and increased 1.3 percent per year, on average, in nondurable merchant wholesale trade (NAICS 424). Labor productivity increased in 17 of the 19 detailed industries. Commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) and electric goods wholesalers (NAICS 4236), had the largest average annual increases in labor productivity of 15.6 percent and 9.1 percent per year, respectively. Output grew in all but one industry, while hours decreased in six industries. Unit labor costs increased in all but three of the wholesale trade industries over the period, and rose 0.7 percent per year overall in the wholesale trade sector.
Retail trade: Output per hour rose an average 3.4 percent per year from 1987 to 2006, as output increased 4.2 percent per year and hours grew 0.8 percent. Output per hour increased in all 27 detailed industries. Labor productivity rose fastest in electronics and appliance stores (NAICS 443), at an average annual rate of 13.4 percent per year, followed by electronic shopping and mail-order houses (NAICS 4541), which recorded growth in output per hour of 12.0 percent per year. Output increased in 26 of the 27 retail trade industries and hours grew in 18 industries. Unit labor cost fell in 15 of the 27 industries in this sector between 1987 and 2006 and declined 0.2 percent per year in retail trade overall.
Food services and drinking places: Output per hour increased at an average annual rate of 0.8 percent per year as output and hours grew 2.5 percent per year and 1.7 percent per year, respectively. The three food services industries all recorded growth in labor productivity, output, and hours from 1987-2006. During this same period, both output and productivity in drinking places (NAICS 7224) declined 0.5 percent per year while hours were unchanged. Unit labor costs increased in each of the detailed industries and rose 3.0 percent per year in food services and drinking places overall.
