Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade Industries, 2025 — 2026-05-28

Labor productivity grew 4.4 percent in wholesale trade and 2.9 percent in retail trade in 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In wholesale trade, output grew 3.1 percent and hours worked decreased 1.2 percent. In retail trade, output grew 2.5 percent and hours worked decreased 0.4 percent. Unit labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, fell 0.4 percent in wholesale trade and 0.7 percent in retail trade. The ten largest four-digit NAICS industries by employment represent 58.8 percent of all workers in the wholesale and retail trade sectors. Among these ten industries, productivity growth in 2025 was greatest in clothing stores (+11.2 percent), building on its increase in 2024. Four of these ten industries posted productivity declines: building material and supplies dealers (-3.4 percent), grocery stores (-3.1 percent), other general merchandise stores (-2.0 percent), and machinery and supply merchant wholesalers (-0.1 percent).