March 1999 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 (not seasonally adjusted) for March 1999 was 140.4 (June 1989=100), an increase of 3.0 percent from March 1998, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The Employment Cost Index (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, the 3-month increase in compensation costs for civilian workers (private nonfarm industry plus state and local government) was 0.4 percent during the December 1998-March 1999 period, following a gain of 0.7 percent in December. The gain for wages and salaries was 0.5 percent during the December 1998-March 1999 period and 0.7 percent in the previous 3-month period. Benefit costs rose 0.3 percent during the December 1998-March 1999 period and 0.6 percent in the September-December 1998 quarter.

NOTE This release incorporates new seasonal adjustment factors. See page 3 for details.

The 3-month increase in compensation costs for private industry workers was 0.4 percent during the December 1998-March 1999 period. The gain in wages and salaries was 0.4 percent in March; in December, it was 0.7 percent. Benefit costs showed a 3-month rise of 0.2 percent during the March quarter and 0.7 percent during the December period. (See tables A and 1.)

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 0.6 percent during the December 1998-March 1999 period, following a gain of 0.7 percent last quarter. Wages and salaries rose 0.6 percent in March; in December 1998, the increase was 0.8 percent. Benefit costs increased 0.6 percent in the March quarter, the same increase as reported in the December quarter. (See tables A and 1.)

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) increased 3.0 percent for the year ended March 1999. This compares with over-the-year increases of 3.3 percent in March 1998 and 2.9 percent in March 1997. Compensation costs in private industry also rose 3.0 percent in March 1999, following increases of 3.5 percent in March 1998 and 3.0 percent in March 1997. Compensation costs for state and local government increased 2.9 percent for the year ended March 1999. The over-the-year increase in both March 1998 and March 1997 was 2.5 percent. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

Nonfarm private industry

In private industry, wages and salaries rose 3.3 percent for the year ended March 1999. Wages and salaries increased 4.0 percent in March 1998. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers increased 2.2 percent for the year ended in March 1999, compared with 2.3 percent in March 1998. (See chart A and tables B and 8.)

In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.1 percent for white-collar occupations, 2.9 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 3.1 percent for service occupations. Among the occupational groups, rises in compensation costs ranged from 1.8 percent for transportation and material moving occupations to 3.2 percent for sales, administrative support, including clerical, and precision production, craft, and repair occupations. (See table 3.)

For the year ended March 1999, compensation costs rose 2.8 percent in goods-producing industries and 3.1 percent in service-producing industries. For the previous year ended in March 1998, compensation costs rose 2.8 percent in goods-producing industries and 3.9 percent in service- producing industries. Among industry divisions, over-the-year increases ranged from 2.6 percent in manufacturing to 3.8 percent in construction. (See table 3.)

The 3.0 percent over-the year increase in compensation costs for union workers in private industry was the same as the 3.0 percent increase for nonunion workers. In service-producing industries, union compensation increased 2.9 percent, and nonunion compensation increased 3.2 percent. In contrast, in goods-producing industries, the increase for union workers was 3.1 percent, and the increase for nonunion workers was 2.8 percent. Compensation in blue-collar occupations increased 2.9 percent for union workers and 2.8 percent for nonunion workers. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In state and local government, the March 1999 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was 2.9 percent, similar to the 2.8 percent increase in March 1998. Benefit costs for March 1999 increased 2.8 percent. In March 1998, the increase was 1.7 percent. (See tables 5 and 8.)

This release includes annual revisions in seasonally adjusted Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 1994-1998 were revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors for 1999, along with revised seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for the past 5 years, are available 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).

For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to (labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov). For ECI data requests, send e-mail to (ocltinfo@bls.gov).

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