Service-Producing and Mining Industries, 1990-99 — 2001-06-06

Labor productivity rose in 1999 in most of the U.S. service-producing and mining industries studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Nearly half of the industries that registered productivity growth also posted declines in unit labor costs. In 1999, labor productivity--defined as output per hour--increased in over 80 percent of the service-producing and mining industries covered in this release. Eighty-six percent of the industries recorded output growth, while hours of labor grew in 69 percent of the industries. The proportion of service-producing and mining industries experiencing productivity growth from 1990 to 1999 was larger than the proportion with productivity growth in 1999; over the 1990-99 period, output per hour advanced in 86 percent of the service-producing and mining industries. Output rose in 92 percent of the industries, while hours of labor grew in 57 percent of the industries.