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Jobs · ORIGINAL ECONOMIC RELEASE

September 2014 Employment Cost Index

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending September 2014, 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 →

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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 0.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending September 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.8 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.6 percent.

Civilian Workers

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.2 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014. In September 2013, the increase in compensation costs was 1.9 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014, compared with 1.6 percent in September 2013. Benefit costs increased 2.4 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014, compared with a 2.2 percent increase for the 12-month period ending September 2013.

Private Industry Workers

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.3 percent over the year. In September 2013 the increase was 1.9 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.3 percent for the current 12-month period ending September 2014. In September 2013 the increase was 1.8 percent. The increase in the cost of benefits was 2.3 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014. In September 2013, the increase in the cost of benefits was 2.0 percent. Employer costs for health benefits increased 2.6 percent over the year. In September 2013 the increase was 2.7 percent.

Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending September 2014 ranged from 1.8 percent for service occupations to 2.4 percent for natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations and production, transportation, and material moving.

Among industry supersectors, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current 12-month period ranged from 1.4 percent for construction to 4.3 percent for information.

State and Local Government Workers

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014, compared with 1.7 percent for September 2013. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014, compared with 0.9 percent in September 2013. Benefit costs increased 3.0 percent in September 2014. In September 2013, the increase was 2.9 percent. (See tables A, 7, 11, and 12.)

BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service at: www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.

Category 3-month, 12-month, seasonally adjusted not seasonally adjusted June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. 2014 2014 2013 2013 2013 2014 2014

CIVILIAN WORKERS[1]

PRIVATE INDUSTRY

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

[1] Includes private industry and State and local government. [2] Includes wages and salaries and benefits.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Original release Oct 31, 2014.

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
Benchmark30 days earlierOct 1, 2014Publication referenceOct 31, 201430 days laterNov 30, 2014
30-year fixed mortgageNational weekly averageFreddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®4.20%Observed 3.98%Observed −22 bps vs. earlier reference3.97%Observed −1 bps vs. publication reference
10-year TreasuryDaily par yieldU.S. Department of the TreasuryUnavailableBefore 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

Jul 31, 2014 – Jan 31, 2015
Historical mortgage and Treasury observations around Oct 31, 2014Each dot is a published observation. No missing values are estimated. The dashed vertical line marks the article’s publication calendar date. Rates and yields are percentages.3.50%4.00%4.50%Publication date30-year fixed mortgage: 4.12% · Jul 31, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.14% · Aug 7, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.12% · Aug 14, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.10% · Aug 21, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.10% · Aug 28, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.10% · Sep 4, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.12% · Sep 11, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.23% · Sep 18, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.20% · Sep 25, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.19% · Oct 2, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.12% · Oct 9, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.97% · Oct 16, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.92% · Oct 23, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.98% · Oct 30, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.02% · Nov 6, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 4.01% · Nov 13, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.99% · Nov 20, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.97% · Nov 26, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.89% · Dec 4, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.93% · Dec 11, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.80% · Dec 18, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.83% · Dec 24, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.87% · Dec 31, 201430-year fixed mortgage: 3.73% · Jan 8, 201530-year fixed mortgage: 3.66% · Jan 15, 201530-year fixed mortgage: 3.63% · Jan 22, 201530-year fixed mortgage: 3.66% · Jan 29, 2015Jul 31, 2014Oct 31, 2014Jan 31, 2015
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$1,428.79/month

3.98% · Oct 30, 2014

At the later reference$1,427.06/month

3.97% · Nov 26, 2014

The illustrative principal-and-interest payment is $1.73 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

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.

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