September 1994 Employment Cost Index

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) increased 1.0 percent before seasonal adjustment in the 3 months ended in September 1994, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The September 1994 ECI level of 123.3 (June 1989=100) was 3.2 percent higher than the index in September 1993. The ECI measures changes in compensation costs, including wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the ECI rose 0.7 percent in the June- September 1994 quarter, compared with a 0.9 percent gain in the March-June 1994 quarter. Compensation cost increases have been in the 0.7-1.0 percent range since September 1991. Wage and salary gains, 0.7 percent in June-September 1994, also have varied within a relatively small range over the past 3 years. Benefit costs rose 1.0 percent in June-September 1994, in line with increases in the past year but below those in the preceding 6 years.

Compensation costs... 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.7 3.2

Wages and salaries.. 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 2.9

Private industry workers showed the same pattern as civilian workers. Both compensation costs and wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent in June- September 1994, about the same as the 0.9 percent increase in March-June 1994 and in line with increases over the past 3 years. Benefit cost gains (1.1 percent) were similar to those over the past year.

Compensation cost increases for state and local government workers, in contrast, slowed to 0.6 percent in June-September 1994, down from 0.9 percent in the preceding quarter. This slowdown was due primarily to smaller gains in benefit costs (0.5 percent in June-September 1994, down from 1.3 percent).

Over-the-year changes, unadjusted

Compensation costs (not seasonally adjusted) increased 3.2 percent for the year ended in September 1994, the same as the gains for the years ended in both March and June 1994. These increases are the lowest since the series began in 1981. This pattern of moderate increases held for both private industry workers (3.3 percent in September 1993-94 and 3.4 percent in June 1993-94) and state and local governments (3.0 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively).

Private industry workers' wage and salary gains slowed from 3.1 percent in June 1993-94 to 2.9 percent in September 1993-94. This slowdown was due largely to sales workers; excluding sales workers, the wage and salary increases were about the same in the two periods (2.9 percent and 3.0 percent).

For the year ended September 1994, compensation cost gains in private industry were about the same in goods-producing industries (3.3 percent) and service-producing industries (3.2 percent). Compensation cost increases in goods-producing industries ranged from 2.9 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing to 3.9 percent in construction. Gains in service-producing industries ranged from 2.3 percent in health services to 4.3 percent in transportation.

Over-the-year compensation cost increases in private industry were higher for white-collar workers (3.4 percent) than for blue-collar workers (3.0 percent) or service workers (2.4 percent). Compensation cost increases for white-collar occupations ranged from 3.1 percent for sales workers to 3.8 percent for executive, administrative, and managerial occupations. Within blue-collar occupations, compensation cost gains ranged from 2.4 percent for machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors to 3.8 percent for transportation and material moving occupations.

Compensation cost increases over the year ended September 1994 were about the same for union (3.2 percent) and nonunion workers (3.3 percent). There was, however, a very different pattern in goods-producing than in service- producing industries. In goods-producing industries, union increases averaged 2.8 percent, compared with 3.5 percent for nonunion workers; in service- producing industries, union gains averaged 3.6 percent compared with 3.2 percent for nonunion.

Beginning with the March 1995 news release, ECI estimates will be based on 1990 counts of occupational employment by industry, rather than on 1980 employment counts.