Employment Cost Index news release text
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http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2000
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-MARCH 2000
The Employment Cost Index for March 2000 was 146.5 (June 1989=100),
not seasonally adjusted, an increase of 4.3 percent from March 1999, the
U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures changes in compensation costs, which
include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 3-month increase in compensation
costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry plus State and local
government) was 1.4 percent during the December 1999-March 2000 period,
following a gain of 1.0 percent in September-December 1999. Wages and
salaries increased 1.1 percent during the December 1999-March 2000 period;
in the September-December 1999 period, it was 0.9 percent. Benefit costs
rose 2.0 percent during the March 2000 quarter, following a 1.2 percent
increase in the December 1999 quarter.
Table A. 3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, seasonally
adjusted
June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar.
Compensation Component 1998 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 1999 2000
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.4
Wages and salaries 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.5 1.2 0.9 0.9 1.1
Benefit costs 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.3 1.0 0.8 1.2 2.0
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.8 1.1 0.6 0.4 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.5
Wages and salaries 0.9 1.2 0.7 0.4 1.2 0.9 0.9 1.2
Benefit costs 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.3 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.3
State and local government
Compensation costs 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.8
Wages and salaries 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9
Benefit costs 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 1.2 1.0
NOTE: This release incorporates new seasonal adjustment factors. See page
3 for details.
The 3-month increase in compensation costs for private industry
workers was 1.5 percent during the December 1999-March 2000 period. The
gain in wages and salaries was 1.2 percent in the March quarter; in the
December period, it was 0.9 percent. Benefit costs showed a strong 3-
month increase of 2.3 percent during the March 2000 quarter, compared with
a 1.1 percent increase during the December 1999 period. (See tables A and
1.) The increase in private industry benefit costs was due, in part, to
increases in health insurance, supplemental pay, and paid leave.
Compensation costs for State and local government workers increased
0.8 percent during the December 1999-March 2000 period; in the September-
December 1999 period, it was 1.1 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.9
percent in March, following a gain of 1.0 percent in December. Benefit
costs increased 1.0 percent in the March quarter; in December, the
increase was 1.2 percent.
Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted)
increased 4.3 percent for the year ended in March 2000. This compares
with over-the-year increases of 3.0 percent in March 1999 and 3.3 percent
in March 1998. Compensation costs in private industry rose 4.6 percent in
the year ending March 2000, following increases of 3.0 percent for March
1999 and 3.5 percent for March 1998. In State and local government,
compensation costs increased 3.6 percent for the year ended March 2000;
over-the-year increases were 2.9 percent in March 1999 and 2.5 percent in
March 1998. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)
Nonfarm private industry
In private industry, wages and salaries rose 4.2 percent for the year
ended March 2000, up from a 3.3 percent increase in the year ended March
1999. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers
increased 5.5 percent for the year ended in March 2000, a significant
increase from 2.2 percent in March 1999. (See chart A and tables B and
8.) As with the over-the-quarter increases for private industry, the rise
in benefit costs was due, in part, to higher payments for health
insurance, supplemental pay, and paid leave.
In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were
4.8 percent for white-collar occupations, 4.2 percent for blue-collar
occupations, and 3.2 percent for service occupations. Among the
occupational groups, changes in compensation costs ranged from 3.2 percent
for service occupations to 6.7 percent for sales occupations. (See table
3.)
Table B. 12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, not seasonally
adjusted
Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.
Compensation Component 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 2.9 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.0 4.3
Wages and salaries 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.7 3.3 4.0
Benefit costs 2.8 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 5.0
Private industry
Compensation costs 2.9 2.7 3.0 3.5 3.0 4.6
Wages and salaries 2.9 3.2 3.4 4.0 3.3 4.2
Benefit costs 2.9 1.6 2.0 2.3 2.2 5.5
State and local government
Compensation costs 3.1 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.9 3.6
Wages and salaries 3.2 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.8
Benefit costs 2.5 2.7 2.0 1.7 2.8 3.2
For the year ended March 2000, the private industry compensation cost
increase was 4.6 percent for service-producing industries, up from 3.1
percent for the year ended March 1999. The over-the-year increase in
compensation costs for goods-producing industries was 4.2 percent, up from
2.8 percent the previous year. Among industry divisions, March 1999-to-
March 2000 changes ranged from 2.6 percent in transportation to 9.3
percent in banking, savings and loan, and other credit agencies. (See
table 3.)
Over-the-year compensation costs for both union and nonunion workers
increased significantly, 3.6 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. In
service-producing industries, union compensation increased 2.4 percent and
nonunion compensation increased 4.9 percent. In goods-producing
industries, the increase for union workers was 4.8 percent and the
increase for nonunion workers was 4.1 percent. Compensation in blue-
collar occupations rose 4.1 percent for union workers and 4.2 percent for
nonunion workers. (See table 4.)
State and local government
In State and local government, the March 2000 over-the-year increase
in wages and salaries was 3.8 percent, as compared with a 2.9 percent
increase in March 1999. Benefit costs in March 2000 increased 3.2
percent. In March 1999, the increase was 2.8 percent. (See tables 5 and
8.)
__________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:
This release includes annual revisions in seasonally adjusted
Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for total compensation, wages and
salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 1995-1999 were
revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and
historical listing containing revised seasonally adjusted indexes are
available on the Internet site (http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm) or upon
request.
The ECI for June 2000 is scheduled to be released Thursday, July 27,
2000, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
In June 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to expand the
definition of nonproduction bonuses in the ECI to better represent the
compensation packages offered to employees. In addition to the
traditional types of nonproduction bonuses, such as attendance bonuses and
lump sum payments, the ECI will include hiring and referral bonuses.
Hiring bonuses are payments made by the employer to induce an individual
to accept employment; referral bonuses are made by the employer to an
employee for recommending an applicant who is hired by the establishment.
As part of its ongoing research program, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics is currently conducting research on stock option plans. This
research will be completed in stages. BLS has begun testing the incidence
of stock option plans across all industries and occupations. The
prevalence of these plans, based on test results and the potential impact
on compensation costs, will determine the next stage of research. The
results of the incidence survey will be published in late 2000.
ECI data are available on the ECI home page
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). To access data using Anonymous FTP,
use the Internet address (ftp://ftp.bls.gov).
For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail
to (labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov). For ECI data requests, send e-mail to
(ocltinfo@bls.gov).
The ECI news release is now available through an e-mail subscription
service. Please see the subscription link on
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm) or (http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm).
News releases and other information are available from the BLS fax-on-
demand service. To request a document fax, call (202) 691-6325. To
request a catalog of available documents, select option 2 at the initial
voice prompt. To request data found in this news release, enter the
following codes:
Text 4110
Tables 1-4 4115
Tables 5-7 4120
Table 8 4125
Explanatory notes 4190
__________________________________________________________________________
- Table 1.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED: Employment Cost Index for total compensation, wages and
salaries, and benefit costs, by industry and occupational group
- Table 2.
COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total
compensation, civilian and state and local government workers, by industry and
occupational group
- Table 3.
COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total
compensation, private industry workers, by industry and occupational group
- Table 4.
COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total
compensation, private industry workers, by bargaining status, region, and area
- Table 5. WAGES AND
SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and
salaries only, civilian and state and local government workers, by industry
and occupational group
- Table 6. WAGES AND
SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and
salaries only, private industry workers, by industry and occupational group
- Table 7. WAGES AND
SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and
salaries only, private industry workers, by bargaining status, region, and
area
- Table 8. BENEFITS
(NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for benefits only, civilian,
state and local government, and private industry workers, by industry and
occupational group
- Employment Cost
Index explanatory note
- Text version of
entire news release
Bureau of Labor Statistics
mailto:ocltinfo@bls.gov
Last modified:
Thursday, April 27, 2000
URL: /news.release/eci.nr0.htm
Table of Contents 
Employment Cost Trends