Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places, 2014 News Release — 2015-08-06

Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - rose 2.6 percent in wholesale trade, 1.9 percent in retail trade, and 0.3 percent in food services and drinking places in 2014, 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, also rose in all three sectors. Productivity in wholesale trade rose faster in 2014 than in 2013. Both output and hours increased at a higher rate than the previous year. In retail trade, output rose at a slightly slower rate and hours increased after falling the previous year, leading to a smaller productivity rise than in 2013. The productivity increase in food services and drinking places in 2014 resulted from an increase in output that exceeded that of hours.