Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places News Release — 2017-08-03

Labor productivity rose 1.2 percent in wholesale trade, 4.6 percent in retail trade, and 1.3 percent in food services and drinking places in 2016, 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, rose in food services and drinking places and fell in wholesale trade and retail trade. For wholesale trade in 2016, productivity, output, and hours worked all increased at a slower rate than in 2015. In retail trade, the growth in output far outpaced the growth in hours worked leading to a bigger productivity increase in 2016 than in 2015. Productivity growth in food services and drinking places in 2016 was slightly less than that of 2015 as output increased at a slower rate.