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Unit labor costs decreased in 5 of 29 selected service-providing industries in 2019
June 02, 2020
Labor productivity rose in 14 of 29 selected service-providing industries in 2019, compared to 2018 when labor productivity increased in 21 of 29 industries. Unit labor costs declined in 5 industries in 2019. Each of the industries with a decline in unit labor costs also recorded an increase in productivity.
Percent change in labor productivity and unit labor costs for selected service-providing industries, 2018 to 2019
Industry
Labor productivity
Unit labor costs
2019 employment
Wireless telecommunications carriers
13.2%
-0.5%
106,900
Gambling industries
8.8
-5.3
124,200
Periodical publishers
5.9
-6.7
90,200
Warehousing and storage
5.6
2.6
1,197,700
Wired telecommunications carriers
5.5
2.1
523,600
Line-haul railroads
5.3
-1.9
158,800
Software publishers
4.8
-1.1
461,100
Automotive repair and maintenance
3.7
0.6
1,165,000
Air transportation
2.5
3.5
492,500
Commercial banking
2.5
0.8
1,391,200
Newspaper publishers
1.5
5.9
144,400
Power generation and supply
1.1
5.2
385,500
Radio and television broadcasting
0.6
4.4
222,800
Restaurants and other eating places
0.3
3.9
11,008,100
Travel arrangement and reservation services
0.0
6.4
248,800
Amusement parks and arcades
-0.7
4.6
229,300
Medical and diagnostic laboratories
-1.2
6.9
299,300
Accounting and bookkeeping services
-1.8
4.5
1,191,600
Natural gas distribution
-2.2
3.2
110,300
Engineering services
-2.3
3.4
1,044,300
Cable and other subscription programming
-2.4
5.4
54,900
Postal service
-2.7
11.4
607,300
Drycleaning and laundry services
-3.4
3.4
306,000
Water, sewage and other systems
-3.7
8.1
53,200
General freight trucking, long-distance
-5.5
9.8
930,400
Truck, trailer, and RV rental and leasing
-5.7
10.4
91,800
Specialized freight trucking
-6.0
10.2
491,400
Couriers and messengers
-10.8
13.2
872,500
General freight trucking, local
-11.2
18.4
343,900
From 2018 to 2019, the largest declines in unit labor costs were in periodical publishers (−6.7 percent) and gambling industries (−5.3 percent). Each of the industries where productivity fell also recorded an increase in unit labor costs. The largest increases in unit labor costs were in general freight, local (18.4 percent) and couriers and messengers (13.2 percent), where labor productivity decreased by 11.2 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.
These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. Unit labor costs represent the cost of labor required to produce one unit of output. The unit labor cost indexes are computed by dividing an index of nominal industry labor compensation by an index of real industry output. Unit labor costs also describe the relationship between compensation per hour and real output per hour (labor productivity). Increases in hourly compensation increase unit labor costs; increases in labor productivity offset compensation increases and reduce unit labor costs. To learn more, see "Productivity and Costs by Industry: Selected Service-Providing Industries — 2019." We also have more charts on productivity and costs in service-providing industries.
United States Department of Labor
