Productivity and Costs by Industry: Mining, Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places News Release — 2014-08-07

Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - rose 8.5 percent in mining, 2.3 percent in wholesale trade and 5.0 percent in retail trade, but fell 2.4 percent in food services and drinking places in 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Unit labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, fell in mining, in wholesale trade and in retail trade, but rose in food services and drinking places in 2013. Productivity in mining and in retail trade rose faster in 2013 than in 2012. Output increased at the same rate as in the previous year for mining and more rapidly for retail trade, while hours in both sectors fell slightly after increasing in the previous year.