Industries with the Highest Labor Costs in the US in 2025

1. HMO Providers in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $9.7B

Over the past five years, gains in Medicare Advantage (MA) penetration and growing enrollment have benefited the HMO Providers industry. In recent years, HMOs (health maintenance organizations) have consistently lost ground in the provision of employer-based coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), HMOs represented 20.3% of insurance enrollment in 2019, a notable drop from 24.0% in 2014 (latest data available). However, this overall decline had been outweighed by growth in the overall number of people with insurance. Prior to 2020, private insurance enrollment had been on the rise, but in 2020, COVID-19 caused insurance enrollment to fall due... Learn More

2. Public Relations Firms in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $9.0B

Public relations (PR) firms manage clients' image, publicize a product or service and communicate with stakeholders. The industry has faced moderate volatility as it is affected by consumer trends and corporate budgets. PR firms faced some revenue volatility, as it experienced revenue losses in 2019 and slow growth in 2020. Agencies are affected by fluctuations in need for public service campaigns and the broader business cycle. As a result, advertising expenditure increases when corporate profit and the number of businesses grow. Higher levels of consumer spending also affect demand for PR services, although it is not always an accurate indicator.... Learn More

3. Forklift & Conveyor Manufacturing in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $8.0B

Forklift and conveyor manufacturing is a mature industry with clearly defined markets and widely accepted product lines that have few substitutes outside of importing. Various downstream markets drive demand for such a diverse set of product lines. Heavy infrastructure construction and inventory management largely drive the need for forklifts, while freight and manufacturing industries make up most of the demand for conveyor systems. The international trade market for forklift and conveyor products will also account for a large portion of industry revenue.

The industry has experienced moderate volatility through the end of 2023. Growing construction activity boosted revenue in some years,... Learn More

4. Book Stores in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $6.0B

Book stores have been fighting an uphill battle for years. Consumers have gone increasingly digital, replacing physical books with smartphones, where streaming services and social media have quickly transfixed users. For avid readers, e-books and audiobooks have been able to fill their shelves instead. Yet, the biggest disruptor to book stores has been Amazon. The largest bookseller in the world, Amazon has strengthened its hold of the book market through low prices and convenience, transforming the competitive landscape of small, local shops to leaders like Barnes and Noble. While many figured book shops were in their final chapter after years... Learn More

5. Automobile Interior Manufacturing in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $4.1B

The performance of automobile interior manufacturers is inseparable from the performance of the automobile industry as a whole. The bulk of the products made by manufacturers is used for brand-new vehicles, so the number of new car sales is representative of the tides of this industry. New car sales have dropped in recent years, particularly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people were stuck at home, pushing transportation down their list of priorities. At the same time, economic conditions were tough and overall consumer spending was dropping off. The recovery of new car sales when pandemic-related restrictions were... Learn More

6. Business Service Centers in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $3.5B

The Business Service Centers industry provides a variety of business outsourcing services, such as printing, photocopying, mailbox rentals and parcel and mail delivery. Thus far in 2023, client businesses and households have increasingly opted for digital communications, lowering demand for industry document and printing services. The growing number of businesses that choose to conduct their operations online has placed pressure on the industry, driving price-based competition. Although the industry has contended with declining demand for its printing and copying services, other services, such as packaging and mailing, have offset this. Additionally, the revenue earned by large operators has been able... Learn More

7. Men's Clothing Stores in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $3.0B

Men's clothing stores have struggled heavily throughout the period. Beginning in 2020, COVID-19 crushed downstream demand for clothing stores, as consumers were required to lock down as the government identified how to weather the pandemic. As a result, men's clothing stores were shut down for the better part of a year, only to reopen to strict social distancing guidelines and mask rules, as COVID-19 remained a threat. Since much of the workforce had to stay at home, much of the workforce had no need for work clothes, dress clothes or even new clothes in general, resulting in a massive decline... Learn More

8. Fence Construction in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $2.8B

Residential and nonresidential building markets determine the performance of fence contractors. Growth in residential building construction activity was a boon to fence contractors for new and existing structures early in the period. Falling nonresidential building construction activity offset gains in the residential market. Overall, revenue declined at a CAGR of 0.1% to $17.8 billion over the past five years, including 4.0% in 2023, as housing starts and private spending on home improvements plummeted because of interest rate hikes.

Fence contractors enjoyed the strong expansion of the residential construction market spurred by COVID-19-induced low-interest rates. Rising disposable income led to growth in... Learn More

9. Metal Tank Manufacturing in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $2.4B

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in drastic contractions across the industry, leading to economic stimulus and a general resumption of regular business activity in 2021. This caused a boom in the industry, with exceptional growth in revenue, employment, and enterprises. The industry is expected to contract slightly in 2023 as it begins to return to normalcy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The industry is forecast to decrease at a CAGR of 1.3% to $9.6 billion over the five years to 2023, including a decline of 6.4% in 2023 alone.

The industry depends on a few key markets to purchase its... Learn More

10. Direct Mail Advertising in the US

Labor Costs for 2025: $2.3B

Direct Mail Advertisers commonly provide a less expensive alternative to traditional advertising outlets, such as TV, radio and magazines, by delivering customized marketing materials and coupons straight to consumers' doorsteps via post. Even so, increasing competition from digital advertising threatens the industry. Recent declines in advertising expenditure caused by the 2020 pandemic darkened the industry's prospects. These factors caused revenue to fall at a CAGR of 2.4% to $10.1 billion over the past five years, dropping 2.0% in 2023 alone.

Over the past five years, direct mail advertising's share of advertising expenditure has decreased as digital media's share of advertising spending... Learn More