September 1998 Employment Cost Index

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The Employment Cost Index (ECI), not seasonally adjusted, for September 1998 was 139.0 (June 1989=100), an increase of 3.7 percent from September 1997, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The ECI measures changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

On a seasonally adjusted basis, compensation costs for civilian workers (private industry plus state and local government) rose 1.0 percent during the June-September 1998 period, following a gain of 0.9 percent in June 1998. Since September 1991, three-month increases in compensation costs have ranged from 0.6 percent to 1.0 percent. Wages and salaries increased 1.2 percent during the June-September 1998 period. The increase was 0.9 percent in the March-June 1998 period. Benefit costs increased 0.8 percent in the June-September 1998 period, the same as reported in the March-June 1998 quarter.

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.1 percent during the June-September 1998 period; in June, the increase was 0.9 percent. Wages and salaries rose 1.3 percent in September 1998; in June, the increase was 1.0 percent. Benefit costs rose 0.7 percent in September 1998; in June, the increase was 0.8 percent. (See tables A and 1.)

Compensation costs for workers in manufacturing increased 0.9 percent in September 1998, up from June's 0.5 percent increase. Over the last five years, compensation costs have ranged from 0.3 percent to 0.9 percent in manufacturing industries. Wages and salaries increased 1.0 percent in September 1998, following a gain of 0.7 percent in June. Benefit costs rose 0.4 percent in September 1998; in June, the increase was 0.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 0.8 percent during the June-September 1998 period, following a gain of 0.7 percent in June. Wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent in September, the same as in the March and June periods. Benefits increased 1.0 percent in the September quarter; in the previous quarter, the increase was 0.7 percent. (See tables A and 1.)

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) were up 3.7 percent for the year ended in September 1998. This compares with increases of 3.0 percent in September 1997 and 2.8 percent in September 1996. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.8 percent in September 1998, up from 3.2 percent in September 1997 and 2.9 percent in September 1996. Compensation costs for state and local governments increased 3.0 percent for the year ended in September 1998. The gain for the year ended in September 1997 was 2.4 percent, and, in September 1996, the increase was 2.5 percent. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

Private industry

In private industry, wages and salaries rose 4.3 percent for the year ended September 1998. Wages and salaries increased 3.6 percent in September 1997. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers increased 2.6 percent for the year ended in September 1998, compared with 2.0 percent in September 1997. (See chart A and tables B and 8.) The over-the-year increase in September 1998 was due, in part, to increases in employer costs for Social Security and paid leave.

In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were 4.4 percent for white-collar occupations, 2.7 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 3.2 percent for service occupations. Among the occupational groups, increases ranged from 2.1 percent for transportation and material moving occupations to 6.2 percent for sales occupations. Executive, administrative, and managerial occupations increased 5.0 percent, contributing to the overall white-collar increase. (See table 3.)

Private industry compensation costs increased more rapidly in service- producing industries (4.3 percent) than in goods-producing industries (2.6 percent) for the year ended September 1998. Compensation costs had risen 3.3 percent in service-producing industries and 2.7 percent in goods- producing industries in the prior year. Among industry divisions, September 1997-to- September 1998 increases ranged from 2.7 percent in manufacturing to 8.0 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate. (See table 3.)

The 4.0 percent over-the-year increase in compensation costs for nonunion workers in private industry outpaced the 2.7 percent increase for union workers. The pattern was similar for service-producing industries where nonunion compensation increased 4.5 percent and union compensation increased 3.0 percent. In goods-producing industries, the increase for nonunion workers was 2.8 percent and for union workers was 2.5 percent. Compensation in blue-collar occupations increased 2.8 percent for nonunion workers and 2.6 percent for union workers. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In state and local governments, the September 1998 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was 3.0 percent, less than the 4.3 percent recorded in private industry. In September 1997, the increase was 2.7 percent. The September 1998 increase includes health services at 3.6 percent, educational services at 2.7 percent, and public administration at 3.5 percent. State and local government benefit costs for September 1998 increased 2.8 percent, up from the September 1997 increase of 1.5 percent. (See tables 5 and 8.)

ECI data, as well as other data produced by BLS, are now available on the ECI home page (http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). To access data using Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address (ftp://ftp.bls.gov).

Send e-mail for technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site (labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov) or for ECI data requests (ocltinfo@bls.gov).

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