Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-09-1303
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 30, 2009
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EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX - SEPTEMBER 2009
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending
September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Both components of compensation--wages and salaries
(which make up about 70 percent of compensation) and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation)--
increased the same amount, 0.4 percent.
Civilian Worker Data
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.5 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. This
was smaller than the 2.9 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in September 2008. Wages and salaries increased
1.5 percent for the current 12-month period, slowing from a 3.1 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in
September 2008. Benefit costs rose 1.6 percent, down from a 2.6 percent increase for the 12-month period ending September
2008.
Private Industry Worker Data
Compensation costs, wages and salaries, and benefit costs decelerated for private industry workers for the 12-month
period ending September 2009, registering the smallest increases since each series began, but the differences were not
statistically different from last quarter. Compensation costs increased 1.2 percent, the smallest percent change published
since the series began in 1980. The wage and salary series, which began in 1975, increased 1.4 percent for the current
12-month period. The cost of benefits, which have been measured since 1980, increased 1.1 percent for the 12-month
period ending September 2009. Employer costs for health benefits increased 4.7 percent for the 12-month period ending
September 2009. In September 2008, the 12-month percent change was 3.9 percent.
Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending
September 2009 ranged from 0.8 percent for sales and office workers to 2.1 percent for service occupations.
Among industries, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current 12-month period ranged
from 0.7 percent for information to 2.1 percent for education and health services.
The Employment Cost Index for December 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, January 29, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Beginning with this release, estimates for selected metropolitan areas, previously published only online, are now
incorporated into table 13 of this release.
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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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table A. Major series of the Employment Cost Index
(Percent change)
Category 3-month, seasonally adjusted 12-month, not seasonally adjusted
June 2009 Sep. 2009 Sep. 2008 Dec. 2008 Mar. 2009 June 2009 Sep. 2009
CIVILIAN WORKERS(1)
Compensation(2) 0.4 0.4 2.9 2.6 2.1 1.8 1.5
Wages and salaries 0.4 0.4 3.1 2.7 2.2 1.8 1.5
Benefits 0.3 0.4 2.6 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6
PRIVATE INDUSTRY
Compensation(2) 0.2 0.5 2.8 2.4 1.9 1.5 1.2
Wages and salaries 0.2 0.5 2.9 2.6 2.0 1.6 1.4
Benefits 0.2 0.3 2.4 2.0 1.6 1.3 1.1
STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Compensation(2) 1.0 0.0 3.4 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.4
Wages and salaries 1.0 -0.1 3.5 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.1
Benefits 1.0 0.3 3.3 2.9 3.4 3.6 3.2
(1) Includes private industry and state and local government.
(2) Includes wages and salaries and benefits.
