August 23, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity in trade and food services, 2005

Labor productivity—defined as output per hour—rose 0.6 percent in wholesale trade, 3.4 percent in retail trade, and 1.6 percent in food services and drinking places in 2005.

[Chart data—TXT]

In wholesale trade, output per hour grew 0.6 percent as output rose 3.1 percent and hours increased 2.5 percent. The fastest productivity growth among individual wholesale trade industries was recorded for two nondurable wholesale industries: paper and paper products wholesaling, and apparel, piece goods, and notions wholesaling.

In retail trade, output per hour increased 3.4 percent as output and hours grew 4.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Florists registered the highest productivity growth rate.

In food services and drinking places, output per hour rose 1.6 percent as output increased 3.5 percent and hours grew 1.9 percent. Productivity grew 2.6 percent in full-service restaurants, the largest industry in this sector.

This information is from the BLS Productivity and Costs Program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available from "Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, and Food Services and Drinking Places, 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1476.