December 1998 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), not seasonally adjusted, for December 1998 was 139.8 (June 1989=100), an increase of 3.4 percent from December 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 0.7 percent during the September-December 1998 period, following a gain of 1.0 percent in September 1998. Wages and salaries also increased 0.7 percent during the September-December 1998 period. The increase was 1.2 percent in the June-September 1998 period. Benefit costs increased 0.6 percent in the September-December 1998 period; for each of the two previous quarters, the increase was 0.8 percent.

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 0.7 percent during the September-December 1998 period; in September, the increase was 1.1 percent. The 3-month change in costs of wages and salaries was 0.7 percent in December 1998; in September, it was 1.3 percent. Benefit costs rose 0.6 percent in December 1998; in September, the increase was 0.7 percent. (See tables A and 1.)

The change in compensation costs for workers in the goods-producing industries was 0.6 percent during the September-December period and 0.7 percent in the previous 3-month period. The change in compensation costs in the service-producing industries was 0.8 percent in December 1998, down from 1.3 percent in September 1998. The 3-month change in wages and salaries in the service-producing industries was 0.7 percent after a 1.5 percent gain in September. Benefit costs rose 0.8 percent in December for workers in the service-producing industries, the same gain as in September. (See table 1.)

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 0.6 percent during the September-December 1998 period, following a gain of 0.8 percent in September. Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent in December, following gains of 0.7 percent in each of the previous three quarters. Benefit costs increased 0.4 percent in the December quarter; the previous quarterly increase was 1.0 percent. (See tables A and 1.)

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) were up 3.4 percent for the year ended in December 1998. This compares with increases of 3.3 percent in December 1997 and 2.9 percent in December 1996. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.5 percent in December 1998, compared with a 3.4 percent increase in December 1997 and 3.1 percent in December 1996. Compensation costs for state and local governments increased 3.0 percent for the year ended in December 1998. The gain in local and state governments for the year ended in December 1997 was 2.3 percent, and, in December 1996, the increase was 2.6 percent. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

Private industry

In private industry, wages and salaries rose 3.9 percent for the year ended in December 1998, the same as reported for the year ended in December 1997. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers increased 2.4 percent for the year ended in December 1998, compared with 2.3 percent in December 1997. (See chart A and tables B and 8.)

In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.9 percent for white-collar occupations, 2.7 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 2.9 percent for service occupations. Among the occupational groups, changes in compensation costs ranged from 1.4 percent for transportation and material moving occupations to 6.8 percent for sales occupations. Compensation costs for executive, administrative, and managerial occupations increased 3.2 percent. (See table 3.)

The changes in private industry compensation costs were 3.8 percent in service-producing industries and 2.8 percent in goods-producing industries for the year ended December 1998. Compensation costs had risen 3.9 percent in service-producing industries and 2.4 percent in goods-producing industries in the prior year. Among industry divisions, December 1997-to- December 1998 changes ranged from 2.7 percent in manufacturing to 5.9 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate. (See table 3.)

The changes in compensation costs for nonunion workers in private industry were reported at 3.5 percent, while costs for union workers were 3.0 percent. Compensation costs in service-producing industries increased 3.9 percent for nonunion workers and 3.0 percent for union workers. At the same time, compensation costs in goods-producing industries increased 3.0 percent for union workers and 2.7 percent for nonunion workers. In manufacturing, the total compensation increase was 2.7 percent for union workers and 2.6 percent for nonunion workers. Compensation in blue-collar occupations increased 2.8 percent for both union and nonunion workers. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In state and local governments, the December 1998 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was 3.1 percent, less than the 3.9 percent recorded in private industry. In December 1997, the increase was 2.7 percent. The December 1998 increase includes health services at 2.9 percent, educational services at 3.0 percent, and public administration at 3.4 percent. State and local government benefit costs for December 1998 increased 3.0 percent, up from the December 1997 increase of 1.3 percent. (See tables 5 and 8.)

Starting in March 1999, seasonal adjustment factors will be published to reflect the new seasonal patterns exhibited over the past year. The new factors for 1999, along with revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past five years, will be available Tuesday, April 27, 1999. These data can be obtained on the Internet site (http://stats.gov/ecthome.htm) or upon request.

ECI data are 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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