December 2019 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.

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in December 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent and benefit costs increased 0.5 percent from September 2019. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Civilian Workers

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019, compared to 2.9 percent in December 2018. Wages and salaries increased 2.9 percent over the year and increased 3.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2018. Benefit costs increased 2.2 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019. In December 2018, the increase was 2.8 percent. (See tables A, 4, 8, and 12.)

Private Industry Workers

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.7 percent over the year, compared with a compensation cost increase of 3.0 percent in December 2018. Wages and salaries increased 3.0 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019 and increased 3.1 percent in December 2018. The cost of benefits rose 1.9 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019 and increased 2.6 percent in December 2018. (See tables A, 5, 9, and 12.)

Employer costs for health benefits increased 2.2 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019. (For further information, see www.bls.gov/web/eci/echealth.pdf.)

Among private industry occupational groups, compensation cost increases for the 12-month period ending in December 2019 ranged from 2.2 percent for management, professional, and related occupations to 3.7 percent for service occupations. (See table 5.)

Among private industry supersectors, compensation cost increases for the 12-month period ending in December 2019 ranged from 1.0 percent for information to 3.5 percent for construction. (See table 5.)

State and Local Government Workers

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 2.9 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019. In December 2018, the increase was 2.6 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019 and 2.4 percent a year ago. Benefit costs increased 3.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2019. The prior year increase was 3.1 percent. (See tables A, 7, 11, and 12.)

The Employment Cost Index for March 2020 is scheduled for release on April 30, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

BLS news releases, including the Employment Cost Index, are available through an email subscription service at www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.

Videos and information graphics explaining the Employment Cost Index and how it is used are available at www.bls.gov/eci/videos.htm.

Highlights of recent National Compensation Survey data are available in The Economics Daily at www.bls.gov/opub/ted/national-compensation-survey.htm.

An overview of available BLS compensation measures and an interactive guide on choosing among them are available at the BLS Commissioner’s Corner on “Making it Easier to Find Data on Pay and Benefits” at blogs.bls.gov/blog/2018/10/24/making-it-easier-to-find-data-on-pay-and-benefits.

Seasonal Factors

The 2020 seasonal factors for directly adjusted series and revised seasonally adjusted series for the past five years are scheduled for release with the March 2020 Employment Cost Index on April 30, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT), see www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ectsfact.htm.