Worker productivity statistics at a glance
Worker productivity is not moving in a straight line. In 2024, some service industries posted broad gains, retail showed stronger productivity than wholesale, manufacturing was uneven, and the OECD picture was generally soft outside a few standout countries.
The numbers below show why productivity analysis is useful: it captures not just output, but how much work it took to produce it. That makes the mix of output, hours worked, and unit labor costs essential for reading the trend correctly.
Table of contents
- What worker productivity statistics measure
- The 2024 service-industry picture
- Wholesale and retail trade in 2024
- Manufacturing and mining in 2024
- OECD and cross-country productivity context
- What the statistics suggest
What worker productivity statistics measure
Worker productivity statistics usually compare output with hours worked. When output rises faster than hours, productivity improves. When hours rise faster than output, productivity weakens. That simple frame is useful across service industries, trade, manufacturing, mining, and country-level comparisons.
A second signal matters just as much: unit labor costs. These can rise even when productivity rises, if compensation grows faster than output per hour. They can also fall when firms get more output from each hour worked or when wage growth slows relative to output.
The 2024 data set shows that productivity, output, hours, and unit labor costs often moved in different directions at the same time. That is the main reason the headline number alone rarely tells the full story.
The 2024 service-industry picture
The service-industry numbers from the BLS show a broad but uneven recovery pattern. Across 31 selected service-providing industries, labor productivity rose in 20 industries in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024). Output rose in 21 industries, while hours worked increased in 13 industries (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
That combination matters. If output rises in more industries than hours worked, productivity gains are easier to achieve. The result in 2024 was a mixed but generally positive year for service-sector efficiency.
Unit labor costs moved in the opposite direction more often than productivity did. They increased in 25 of the 31 selected service-providing industries in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024). In other words, a productivity gain did not automatically prevent labor costs from climbing.
Selected service industries: core 2024 patterns
| Measure | 2024 result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Industries with productivity gains | 20 of 31 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
| Industries with output gains | 21 of 31 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
| Industries with hours worked gains | 13 of 31 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
| Industries with unit labor cost increases | 25 of 31 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
| Industries with both productivity and unit labor cost increases | 14 of 31 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
| Industries with unit labor cost growth above 10.0% | 7 | BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024 |
The spread across industries was wide. Productivity ranged from a 9.6% decline in amusement parks and arcades to a 9.1% gain in travel arrangement and reservation services in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024). That is a large gap inside the same broad sector, and it underscores how different operating models can produce very different results.
Some of the more notable service-industry changes were these:
- Commercial banking productivity increased 1.8% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Limited-service eating places productivity increased 0.6% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Traveler accommodation productivity decreased 0.5% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Warehousing and storage productivity decreased 0.6% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Accounting and bookkeeping services productivity decreased 3.0% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Couriers and messengers productivity decreased 5.7% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Automotive repair and maintenance productivity decreased 6.1% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Medical and diagnostic laboratories productivity increased 8.4% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Amusement parks and arcades productivity decreased 9.6% in 2024 (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
One useful way to read the service data is to separate industries that posted growth in both output and productivity from those where output gains were partly offset by more hours worked. The 2024 figures point to a service economy that still generated gains, but not evenly enough to make broad cost pressure disappear.
Long-term data reinforce that view. Productivity rose in 26 of 31 selected service-providing industries over the long term (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024). The median long-term productivity growth across the 31 industries was 1.7% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
The long-run leaders are especially useful for context:
- Software publishers had long-term output growth of 16.2% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Software publishers had long-term productivity growth of 9.4% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Wireless telecommunications carriers had long-term unit labor cost growth of -8.1% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Couriers and messengers had long-term unit labor cost growth of 5.8% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Median long-term unit labor cost growth across the 31 industries was 1.9% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Median long-term hourly compensation growth across the 31 industries was 3.6% per year (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
That mix tells a clear story: service productivity can advance steadily over time, but unit labor costs often remain under pressure because compensation growth is a separate force.
Wholesale and retail trade in 2024
Trade posted a sharper contrast between wholesale and retail than many readers might expect. Wholesale trade labor productivity grew 1.8% in 2024, while retail trade labor productivity grew 4.6% (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
Output also rose in both sectors. Wholesale trade output grew 2.7% in 2024, and retail trade output grew 3.3% (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024). Hours worked moved differently: wholesale trade hours worked increased 0.9%, while retail trade hours worked decreased 1.2% (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
That pattern helps explain why retail productivity outpaced wholesale productivity. When output rises and hours fall, productivity tends to climb faster.
Unit labor costs also diverged. Wholesale trade unit labor costs rose 1.1% in 2024, while retail trade unit labor costs fell 1.8% (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024). Retail therefore combined stronger productivity with lower unit labor costs, which is a favorable combination from an efficiency standpoint.
Trade sector comparison
| Trade measure | Wholesale trade | Retail trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor productivity | 1.8% | 4.6% | BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024 |
| Output | 2.7% | 3.3% | BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024 |
| Hours worked | 0.9% | -1.2% | BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024 |
| Unit labor costs | 1.1% | -1.8% | BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024 |
The largest wholesale and retail industries account for most of the workforce in these sectors. The ten largest wholesale and retail trade industries represented 58.2% of all workers in those sectors (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024). That concentration means performance in a handful of large industries has an outsized effect on the sector.
Several specific trade industries recorded especially strong productivity growth in 2024:
- Clothing stores posted 7.6% productivity growth among the ten largest trade industries (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Nonstore retailers posted 12.8% productivity growth in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Electronics and appliance stores posted 10.5% productivity growth in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers posted 12.9% productivity growth in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Florists posted 24.1% productivity growth in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Electronic shopping and mail-order houses posted 16.2% productivity growth in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
At the weaker end of the trade group, some large industries lost ground:
- Machinery and supply merchant wholesalers had productivity growth of -4.2% among the ten largest trade industries in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Department stores had productivity growth of -2.4% among the ten largest trade industries in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Grocery and related product wholesalers had productivity growth of -2.0% among the ten largest trade industries in 2024 (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
The contrast between e-commerce-linked categories and more traditional formats is especially noticeable in the trade data. But the source statistics themselves stay neutral: they simply show that different retail and wholesale models produced very different output-per-hour results in the same year.
Manufacturing and mining in 2024
Manufacturing is often where productivity statistics get the most attention, but the 2024 data show a sector that was mixed rather than uniformly strong.
Labor productivity decreased in 52 of 86 four-digit manufacturing industries in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024). That means a majority of manufacturing industries saw weaker output per hour, even though some subgroups posted large gains.
The contrast by manufacturing type was still visible. Durable manufacturing industries saw productivity increases in 22 of 51 four-digit industries, while nondurable goods manufacturing industries saw productivity increases in 11 of 35 four-digit industries (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
The biggest productivity gains were concentrated in a few industries:
- Household appliances posted the largest productivity gain among durable manufacturing industries at 17.2% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Fiber, yarn, and thread mills posted the largest productivity gain among nondurable goods manufacturing industries at 12.5% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
Unit labor costs rose more broadly than productivity did. Manufacturing unit labor costs increased in 20 of 21 three-digit industries in 2024, and they increased at an average rate of 6.1% across those 21 industries (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024). That is a strong signal that productivity gains were not enough to offset rising labor costs across most of manufacturing.
A few of the largest manufacturing cost increases were:
- Nonmetallic mineral products had the largest manufacturing unit labor cost increase at 12.1% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Transportation equipment unit labor costs rose 9.5% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Textile product mills unit labor costs rose 9.4% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Furniture and related products unit labor costs rose 9.4% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
Mining was also uneven. Mining productivity declined in 2 of 3 three-digit mining industries in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024). Oil and gas extraction productivity increased 0.2%, while oil and gas extraction output increased 2.1% and hours worked increased 1.9% (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024). That is a near-flat productivity result, but it still remained positive.
The rest of mining moved in the opposite direction:
- Mining except oil and gas productivity fell 5.7% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Mining except oil and gas output fell 5.2% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Mining except oil and gas hours worked rose 0.5% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
- Support activities for mining unit labor costs increased 18.5% in 2024 (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
Taken together, manufacturing and mining show a classic productivity lesson: a sector can contain high-performing pockets while the overall distribution still leans negative or cost-heavy.
OECD and cross-country productivity context
The OECD data widen the lens from industries to countries and regions. The global picture in 2024 was modest rather than strong.
The OECD estimated average labor productivity growth for OECD countries excluding Türkiye at 0.4% in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025). OECD Europe was also estimated at 0.4%, while OECD Asia and North America were each estimated at 0.2% (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
The G7 stood out for weakness: its average labor productivity was estimated to decline 0.3% in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
The United States was estimated to have 1.5% labor productivity growth in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025). That places it above the OECD average in the source data and far above the G7 average.
A few countries were estimated to exceed 2.5% labor productivity growth in 2024, including Croatia, Finland, Luxembourg, and Chile (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025). That matters because it shows the OECD distribution still has a small upper tail, even in a subdued year.
The regional estimates make the wider slowdown clear:
- OECD countries outside Europe were estimated to have only 0.2% labor productivity growth in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
- South America was estimated to have about 1.2% labor productivity growth in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
- OECD Europe averaged 0.4% in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
- OECD Asia averaged 0.2% in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
- North America averaged 0.2% in 2024 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2025).
The 2023 OECD compendium helps frame the change. Average labor productivity growth across OECD countries excluding Türkiye was about 1.4% in 2023, Europe averaged 1.5%, Asia averaged 1.8%, and the United States was estimated to rebound from -1.6% in 2022 to 1.5% in 2023 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2024).
The level data also show how large cross-country gaps remain. Average labor productivity in the OECD area was slightly above USD 67 per hour in 2022, and the cross-country standard deviation of OECD labor productivity levels was about USD 32 per hour in 2022 (OECD Compendium of Productivity Indicators 2024). That spread is substantial relative to the average itself.
What the statistics suggest
The main takeaway from the 2024 worker productivity statistics is not that one sector “won” and another “lost.” It is that productivity still depends on the balance between output growth, hours worked, and cost pressure.
Three patterns stand out:
- Service industries posted more productivity gains than losses, but unit labor costs still rose in most industries (BLS Selected Service-Providing Industries 2024).
- Retail trade looked stronger than wholesale trade because output rose while hours fell, which helped productivity and lowered unit labor costs (BLS Wholesale and Retail Trade 2024).
- Manufacturing and mining remained highly uneven, with a majority of manufacturing industries seeing productivity declines and most manufacturing industries seeing higher unit labor costs (BLS Manufacturing and Mining 2024).
For readers tracking worker productivity statistics over time, the important habit is to read each number alongside the others. A productivity percentage, an output percentage, and a unit labor cost percentage describe the same economy from different angles. When they move together, the signal is clearer. When they diverge, the story becomes more interesting.