March 2002 Employment Cost Index

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The Employment Cost Index for total compensation increased 3.9 percent (civilian workers, not seasonally adjusted) for the year ended March 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, 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 (nonfarm private industry plus State and local government) was 0.8 percent during the December 2001-March 2002 period, following a gain of 1.0 percent in September-December 2001. Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent during the December 2001-March 2002 period, following a 0.9 percent increase during the previous 3-month period. Benefit costs rose 1.0 percent during the March quarter, following a 1.2 percent gain in the December quarter.

The 3-month increase in compensation costs for private industry workers was 0.9 percent during the December 2001-March 2002 period, following an increase of 1.0 percent during the previous 3-month period. The gain in wages and salaries was 0.9 percent in the quarter ended in March, identical to the change in the previous 3-month period. Benefit costs showed a 3-month rise of 1.1 percent during the March quarter, compared with a 1.3 percent gain during the December quarter. (See tables A and 1.)

Compensation costs for State and local government workers increased 0.7 percent during the December 2001-March 2002 period; in the September- December 2001 period, the increase was 0.6 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.7 percent in the quarter ended in March, identical to the increase of the previous quarter. Benefit costs rose 0.7 percent during the March quarter; in the December quarter, the increase was 0.8 percent.

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) increased 3.9 percent for the 12 months ended in March 2002 to 158.4 (June 1989=100). This compares with over-the-year increases of 4.1 percent in March 2001 and 4.3 percent in March 2000. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.9 percent in the year ended March 2002, compared with increases of 4.2 percent in March 2001 and 4.6 percent in March 2000. In State and local government, compensation costs increased 3.9 percent for the year ended March 2002; over-the-year increases were 3.3 percent in March 2001 and 3.6 percent in March 2000. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

Nonfarm private industry

In private industry, wages and salaries rose 3.5 percent for the year ended March 2002, after increasing 3.8 percent in the year ended March 2001. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers increased 4.8 percent for the year ended in March 2002, compared with an increase of 5.0 percent in March 2001. (See chart A and tables B and 8.)

In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were 4.0 percent for white-collar occupations, 3.6 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 4.3 percent for service occupations. Among the occupational groups, increases in compensation costs ranged from 3.3 percent for professional specialty and technical workers to 4.5 percent for executive, administrative, and managerial employees. (See table 3.)

For the year ended March 2002, the compensation cost increase was 3.6 percent for goods-producing industries, compared with a 4.1 percent increase for the year ended March 2001. The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-producing industries was 4.0 percent, compared with a 4.3 percent increase for the year ended March 2001. Among service- producing industry divisions, the 12-month increases ranged from 3.2 percent for retail trade to 6.6 percent for banking, savings and loan, and other credit agencies. (See table 3.)

Compensation costs for union workers rose 4.7 percent over the year, greater than the 3.8 percent increase for nonunion workers. In service- producing industries, union compensation increased 5.7 percent, greater than the 3.8 percent increase for nonunion workers. In goods-producing industries, the increases for both union and nonunion workers were 3.7 percent. Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs ranged from 3.4 percent in the South to 4.4 percent in the Northeast. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In State and local government, the March 2002 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was 3.4 percent, compared with a gain of 3.5 percent for March 2001. The 12-month gain in benefit costs for March 2002 was 5.0 percent, significantly higher than the 2.8 percent gain for March 2001. (See tables B, 5, and 8.)

This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 1997-2001 were revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and historical listing containing revised seasonally adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm or upon request.

ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.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 webmaster@bls.gov. For ECI data requests, send e-mail to ocltinfo@bls.gov.

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