March 2008 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.

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from December 2007 to March 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase for the September to December 2007 period was 0.8 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent and benefits rose 0.6 percent. In the previous quarter, both wages and salaries and benefits increased 0.8 percent. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government workers).

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.8 percent from December 2007 to March 2008; for the prior quarter the increase was 0.9 percent. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 0.8 percent for the December 2007 to March 2008 period, the same as in the previous quarter. In state and local government, the increase was 0.7 percent, compared with 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. Benefit costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent, compared to 0.8 percent in the previous quarter. For state and local government, benefit costs increased 0.3 percent, compared to 1.2 percent in the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

NOTES

This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted data. Effective with the December 2008 release, series for metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas will be discontinued. See page 4 for further details.

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.3 percent for the year ended March 2008. For the year ended March 2007 the increase was 3.5 percent. In private industry, compensation costs rose 3.2 percent in the year ended March 2008, the same as for the year ended March 2007. For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month period ended March 2008 was 3.6 percent, less than the March 2007 increase of 4.6 percent. Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 3.2 percent for the 12-month period; in March 2007, the increase was 3.6 percent. Private industry wages and salaries increased at the same rate as the civilian sector in March 2007 and March 2008. However, state and local government wage and salary increased 3.5 percent for the year ended March 2008. In March 2007, the increase was 3.8 percent. Benefits--which increased 3.5 percent for civilian workers--differed by ownership sector. Private industry benefit costs increased 3.2 percent, less than the state and local government increase of 4.1 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008. (See table B.)

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended March 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 3.1 percent for goods-producing industries, compared to a 2.6 percent increase in March 2007. Compensation cost increases for manufacturing remained low, at 2.6 percent for the year ended March 2008, compared to 1.9 percent for the year ended March 2007. Compensation costs for the construction industry rose 4.0 percent, the same as in the previous year. (See table 5.)

The over-the-year increase for March 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing industries was 3.3 percent. The March 2007 increase was also 3.3 percent. Among the major service-providing industries, compensation gains ranged from 1.7 percent in information to 4.1 percent in professional and business services. (See table 5.)

Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 2.8 percent for sales and office to 3.5 percent for natural resources, construction, and maintenance. (See table 5.)

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 3.1 percent for the year ended March 2008 while compensation cost increases for nonunion workers increased 3.2 percent for the same 12-month period. Wages and salaries for union workers increased 2.6 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008, less than those for nonunion workers, which rose 3.3 percent. Benefit costs for union workers rose 4.1 percent for the 12-month period, which was more than benefit cost increases for nonunion workers, which rose 3.0 percent. (See tables C, 6, 10, and 12.)

State and local government

For the year ended March 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.5 percent. The increase for the 12-month period ended March 2007 was 3.8 percent. Benefit costs increased 4.1 percent, less than the increase of 6.3 percent in the previous year. Wages and salaries for health care and social assistance increased 3.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent a year earlier. Public administration wages and salaries increased 3.5 percent. In March 2007 the increase was 4.0 percent. Education services wages and salaries increased 3.4 percent. A year earlier the increase was 3.6 percent. (See tables B, 11, and 12.)

Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted

After adjusting for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, wages and salaries for civilian workers decreased 0.7 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008, compared to a 0.7 percent increase for the 12-month period ended March 2007. The decrease for private industry was 0.8 percent compared to an increase of 0.7 percent for the year ended March 2007. State and local government registered a 0.5 percent decrease, compared to an increase of 1.0 percent for the previous year. (See table D.)

Effective with the release of December 2008 data, series for metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas, which appear in tables 6 and 10, will be discontinued as a result of the classification changes to metropolitan statistical areas.

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 2003-2007 were revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and historical listings containing revised seasonally adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or telephone to (202) 691-6199.

ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at www.bls.gov/ect. For ECI data requests, send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov.

BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the subscription link at www.bls.gov/ect or www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.htm.