How to read this source
The Employment Cost Index tracks changes in employer compensation costs and separates wages and salaries from benefits. It complements monthly earnings measures rather than duplicating them. Readers following inflation and employment should identify the worker group, the component and the period of change before comparing an ECI headline with a payroll or consumer-price release.
What to check in each release
- Distinguish total compensation from wages alone.
- Check civilian, private-industry and government coverage.
- Compare quarterly and twelve-month changes consistently.
The headlines below retain the publisher’s dates. Open the original release for complete tables, footnotes and any later corrections, and use the accompanying guides to connect the information with a borrowing decision.