Labor productivity -defined as output per hour -increased 4.3% in wholesale trade in 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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From 1987 to 2006, labor productivity increased at the following average annual rate: 3.5% in wholesale trade.
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2005-2006 Change in Wholesale Trade
Output per hour grew 4.3%, as output increased 6.6% and hours advanced 2.2%.  ; Labor productivity rose 5.1% in durable merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423) and increased 2.7% in nondurable merchant wholesalers (NAICS 424).
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Labor productivity rose in 15 of the 19 detailed wholesale trade industries in 2006, as output grew in 17 industries while hours fell in four. The largest increases in productivity -13% and 11.8% – occurred in motor vehicles and parts wholesalers (NAICS 4231), and farm product raw materials wholesalers (NAICS 4245), respectively.
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Unit labor costs declined in seven of the 19 detailed industries, but grew 0.5% in wholesale trade overall.
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Long-Term Trends
Output per hour increased 3.5% per year, on average, between 1987 and 2006.  ; Output grew 4.2% per year and hours rose 0.7% per year.  ;
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At the subsector level, productivity advanced 5.6% per year in durable merchant wholesale trade (NAICS 423), and increased 1.3% per year, on average, in nondurable merchant wholesale trade (NAICS 424).
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Labor productivity increased in 17 of the 19 detailed industries.  ; Commercial equipment wholesalers (NAICS 4234) and electric goods wholesalers (NAICS 4236), had the largest average annual increases in labor productivity of 15.6% and 9.1% per year, respectively.  ; Output grew in all but one industry, while hours decreased in six industries.  ;
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Unit labor costs increased in all but three of the wholesale trade industries over the period, and rose 0.7% per year overall in the wholesale trade sector.  ;
Measures for industries in other sectors have been published in separate releases and can be accessed online here
