Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending June 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries--which make up about 70 percent of…
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics2 min read
Historical releaseThe figures below describe the original reporting period. They are not today’s rates or a current economic forecast.Today’s market brief →
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.
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending June 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries--which make up about 70 percent of compensation--also increased 0.4 percent for the 3-month period ending June 2009. Benefit costs--which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation--increased 0.3 percent.
Civilian Worker Data
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2009. This was smaller than the 3.1 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in June 2008. Wages and salaries increased 1.8 percent for the current 12-month period, slowing from a 3.2 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in June 2008. Benefit costs rose 1.8 percent, down from a 2.9 percent increase for the 12-month period ending June 2008.
Private Industry Worker Data
Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.5 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2009. This is the smallest percent change published for this series since it began in 1980. The deceleration of cost increases was evident in both wages and salaries as well as benefits, registering the smallest increases published in the series history. The wage and salary series, which began in 1975, increased 1.6 percent for the current 12-month period. The cost of benefits, which has been measured since 1980, increased 1.3 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2009. Employer costs for health benefits increased 4.4 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2009. In June 2008, the 12-month percent change was 4.2 percent.
Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending June 2009 ranged from 0.7 percent for sales and office workers to 2.0 percent for both production, transportation, and material moving occupations and service occupations.
Among industries, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current 12-month period ranged from 0.6 percent for financial activities to 2.5 percent for the leisure and hospitality industry.
Beginning with the September 2009 news release, estimates for metropolitan areas, currently published online, will be incorporated into this release.
For detailed information on the Employment Cost Index, see Chapter 8. National Compensation Measures of the BLS Handbook of Methods at: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf.
BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service at: www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.
3-month, 12-month, seasonally adjusted not seasonally adjusted Category Mar. June June Sep. Dec. Mar. June 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009
Archived Nov 11, 2026. Source reuse policy. Formatting has been adapted for reading; the source’s conclusions remain attributed to its publisher.
MortgageRates.news analysis · Historical context
The mortgage market around this release
This original analysis is separate from the source article. It compares observed benchmarks around ; historical averages and yields are not current mortgage offers.
Read compensation costs separately from job growth
The Employment Cost Index tracks changes in employers’ hourly compensation costs, including wages, salaries and benefits. Its fixed employment weights limit the effect of shifts between industries and occupations; it does not count newly created jobs. Compare wage and benefit components, and check whether the quoted change is for three months or twelve months and whether it is seasonally adjusted. Compensation trends are one part of the inflation and policy picture, without determining a particular mortgage rate. BLS Employment Cost Index.
Nearest published observation on or before each target date
UnavailableBefore available coverage, which starts Jan 4, 2016.
UnavailableBefore available coverage, which starts Jan 4, 2016.
UnavailableBefore available coverage, which starts Jan 4, 2016.
Calendar references, not an intraday reaction. A same-day market observation may have been published after a morning release. These figures do not show what was known at its exact publication time. One basis point (bp) is 0.01 percentage point; changes use the actual dated observations shown.
Six months around publication
Apr 30, 2009 – Oct 31, 2009
30-year fixed mortgage27 observations
Dots show published observations only. Missing dates remain blank, with no interpolation. The series have different publication schedules and measure different markets.
What that benchmark difference would mean for a $300,000 loan
At the publication reference$1,656.61/month
5.25% · Jul 30, 2009
At the later reference$1,636.23/month
5.14% · Aug 27, 2009
The illustrative principal-and-interest payment is $20.38 lower per month. This holds the loan amount and term constant to show the arithmetic effect of the benchmark difference.
Assumptions: two separate hypothetical $300,000 loans, each fully amortizing over 30 years with 360 monthly payments and its stated fixed interest rate. Excludes points, lender fees, taxes, insurance, association charges and other costs. PMMS is a national average, not an APR or a personalized rate offer. These are not two payments on one existing loan.
Sources, historical coverage and calculation limits
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®: available observations from Apr 2, 1971 through Nov 5, 2026. Cached history snapshot. History retrieved or verified Nov 11, 2026.
U.S. Department of the Treasury: available observations from Jan 4, 2016 through Nov 10, 2026. Cached history snapshot. History retrieved or verified Nov 11, 2026.
The 30-day comparisons use calendar days. Each cell selects the last published observation on or before its target; no rates are synthesized for missing dates. Gaps greater than seven days for daily Treasury data or fourteen days for weekly mortgage data are marked unavailable. Forward comparisons require the date to have arrived and source coverage to extend through it.
Historical files may contain revisions and do not reconstruct precisely what every market participant knew at the time. Freddie Mac changed its PMMS collection methodology in November 2022. Cross-period comparisons should account for that change. These windows include other news and cannot establish causation or forecast the next rate move.