Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places News Release — 2018-07-19

Labor productivity rose 2.7 percent in wholesale trade and 2.8 percent in retail trade, and declined by 2.2 percent in food services and drinking places in 2017, 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 2017, productivity, output, and hours worked all increased at a faster rate than in 2016. In retail trade, the growth in output continued to outpace the growth in hours worked in 2017 but led to a smaller productivity increase than in 2016. Productivity in food services and drinking places declined in 2017 due to hours worked increasing at a faster rate than output.