Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade News Release - 2021 A01 Results — 2022-07-28

Labor productivity rose 5.7 percent in wholesale trade and 6.6 percent in retail trade in 2021, 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 both wholesale trade and retail trade. Annual productivity growth for retail trade slowed from its peak growth in 2020, with hours worked and output both increasing at the fastest rates since measurement began in 1987. For wholesale trade, output was the second highest since 1987, and productivity and hours rose at the fastest rates since 2010 and 2011, respectively. Among the 6 four-digit NAICS industries with the highest productivity growth, all reported growth in output while two showed declines in hours worked. Productivity growth was greatest in shoe stores (+34.9 percent) where there was a significant growth in output and a small decline in hours worked.