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http://www.bls.gov/ect FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-DECEMBER 2008
Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.5 percent from September to
December 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
reported today. This follows three consecutive quarterly increases of 0.7 percent. In the December
quarter, wages and salaries rose 0.5 percent and benefits rose 0.4 percent. The Employment Cost
Index (ECI), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation
costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government workers).
Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted
Compensation Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec.
component 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5
Wages and salaries 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.5
Benefit costs 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.5
Wages and salaries 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6
Benefit costs -0.3 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4
State and local government
Compensation costs 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.5
Wages and salaries 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.4
Benefit costs 1.7 1.6 0.9 1.2 0.3 1.1 0.7 0.8
Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.5 percent from September to December 2008; the prior
quarter increase was 0.6 percent. For the December quarter, state and local government compensation
increased 0.5 percent. The prior quarter’s increase was 0.9 percent. Wages and salaries for private
industry workers increased 0.6 percent for the September to December 2008 period, the same as for the
prior quarter. In state and local government, wages and salaries increase was 0.4 percent--smaller than
the 1.0 percent increase in the prior quarter. Benefit costs for private industry rose 0.4 percent,
compared to 0.6 percent in the previous quarter. For state and local government, benefit costs
increased 0.8 percent, compared to the 0.7 percent increase in the previous quarter.
(See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Data Series
Effective with this release, compensation and wage and salary data aggregated across all metropolitan
and nonmetropolitan areas--which previously appeared in tables 6 and 10--have been discontinued as a result
of classification changes to metropolitan statistical areas.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.6 percent for the year ended December 2008, less
than the 3.3 percent increase for the year ended December 2007. In private industry, compensation costs
rose 2.4 percent in the year ended December 2008, less than the increase for the year ended December 2007,
which was 3.0 percent. For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month period ended
December 2008 was 3.0 percent, less than the December 2007 increase of 4.1 percent. Wages and salaries
for civilian workers increased 2.7 percent for the 12-month period; down from the December 2007 increase
of 3.4 percent. Private industry wages and salaries increased 2.6 percent in December 2008. In December 2007
the increase was 3.3 percent. State and local government wages and salaries increased 3.1 percent for
the year ended December 2008. The increase for the 12-month period ending December 2007 was 3.5 percent.
Benefits increased 2.2 percent for civilian workers. In private industry, benefit costs increased
2.0 percent, less than the increase for state and local government, which was 2.9 percent for the 12-month
period ended December 2008. (See table B.)
Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.
component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 3.9 3.7 3.1 3.3 3.3 2.6
Wages and salaries 2.9 2.5 2.6 3.2 3.4 2.7
Benefit costs 6.4 6.7 4.5 3.6 3.1 2.2
Private industry
Compensation costs 4.0 3.8 2.9 3.2 3.0 2.4
Wages and salaries 3.1 2.6 2.5 3.2 3.3 2.6
Benefit costs 6.5 6.7 4.0 3.1 2.4 2.0
State and local government
Compensation costs 3.5 3.6 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.0
Wages and salaries 2.2 2.1 3.1 3.5 3.5 3.1
Benefit costs 6.3 6.7 6.3 5.2 5.5 2.9
Nonfarm private industry
For the year ended December 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 2.4 percent for
goods-producing industries, the same as the increase in December 2007. Compensation costs for manufacturing
increased 2.0 percent for the year ended December 2008, also the same as for the year ended December 2007.
In the construction industry, compensation costs rose 3.1 percent compared to 3.9 percent for the 12-month
period ending December 2007. (See table 5.)
The over-the-year increase for December 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing industries slowed
to 2.5 percent. The December 2007 increase was 3.2 percent. Among the major service-providing industries,
changes in compensation costs ranged from 1.2 percent in information to 3.8 percent in professional and
business services. (See table 5.)
Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 1.7 percent for
sales and office occupations to 2.9 percent for management, professional, and related occupations. (See table 5.)
Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.8 percent in the year ended December 2008, while compensation
costs for nonunion workers increased 2.4 percent. Wages and salaries for union workers increased 3.2 percent
in the 12-month period ended December 2008. Nonunion workers saw a smaller increase of 2.5 percent. Benefit
costs rose 1.9 percent in the 12-month period for both union and nonunion workers. (See tables C, 6, 10, and 12.)
Table C. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, private industry workers, by bargaining status, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.
Component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Union workers
Compensation costs 4.6 5.4 2.8 3.0 2.0 2.8
Wages and salaries 2.5 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.3 3.2
Benefit costs 8.5 9.9 3.3 4.2 1.5 1.9
Nonunion workers
Compensation costs 4.0 3.5 2.9 3.2 3.2 2.4
Wages and salaries 3.1 2.6 2.5 3.3 3.5 2.5
Benefit costs 6.0 6.0 4.2 2.9 2.6 1.9
State and local government
For the year ended December 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.1 percent.
The increase for the 12-month period ended December 2007 was 3.5 percent. Benefit costs increased 2.9 percent
for the current 12-month period, less than the 5.5 percent increase for the previous year. Public administration
wages and salaries increased 2.8 percent, also less than its December 2007 12-month percent increase of
3.8 percent. (See tables B, 11, and 12.)
Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted
After adjusting for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, wages and salaries for civilian
workers increased 2.6 percent for the 12-month period ended December 2008, compared to a 0.7 percent decrease
for the 12-month period ended December 2007. The increase for private industry was 2.5 percent compared to a
decrease of 0.7 percent for the year ended December 2007. State and local government registered a 3.0 percent
increase, compared to a decrease of 0.6 percent for the previous year. (See table D.)
Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index, constant
dollars, not seasonally adjusted
Ownership sector, Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.
occupational group, and industry 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers 1.0 -0.7 -0.8 0.7 -0.7 2.6
Occupation
Management, professional, and related 1.4 -0.8 -0.9 1.0 -0.6 3.0
Sales and office 0.9 -0.3 -0.5 0.4 -0.9 1.7
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 0.8 -0.9 -0.7 0.9 -0.6 3.2
Production, transportation, and material moving 0.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.1 -1.4 2.6
Service 0.5 -1.2 -1.0 0.6 -0.1 2.8
Industry
Goods producing 0.6 -0.8 -0.5 0.3 -1.0 2.7
Service providing 1.1 -0.7 -0.9 0.8 -0.7 2.6
Private industry 1.2 -0.7 -0.9 0.6 -0.7 2.5
State and local government 0.4 -1.2 -0.3 1.0 -0.6 3.0
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE:
This quarter’s ECI estimates for 14 individual localities (introduced in the June 2008 reference
period) will be released Tuesday, February 24, 2009. For each locality, two private industry estimates
are provided: 12-month percent change for total compensation and 12-month percent change for wages and
salaries. The data will be available at www.bls.gov/ect as well as in news releases for each area. The
regional news releases providing ECI estimates for the four regions and nine census divisions have been
discontinued. However, those estimates are still included in tables 6 and 10 of this news release.
For additional information, see "BLS Introduces New Employment Cost Indexes for 14 Metropolitan Areas,"
at www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20080922ar01p1.htm.
The ECI for March 2009 is scheduled for release on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 8:30 AM EDT.
New seasonal factors for 2009, along with revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past five years
will be available Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or by calling
(202) 691-6199.
ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at www.bls.gov/ect. For ECI data requests,
send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov or call (202) 691-6199. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet
site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov.
BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the
subscription link at www.bls.gov/ect or www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service Number: 1-800-877-8339.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), by ownership, occupational group, and industry
Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended-
2005 = 100)
Occupational group and industry
Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec.
2008 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 109.1 109.6 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)(4)......... 107.2 107.7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .5 .5
Manufacturing(3)....................... 105.6 106.0 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5 .4
Service-providing industries(3)(5)....... 109.5 110.0 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 .6 .5
Education and health services(3)....... 110.4 110.9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9 .6 .5
Education services(3)................ 110.5 110.9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .4
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 110.4 111.0 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .8 1.2 .6 .5
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 110.6 110.7 .8 1.1 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9 .1
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 110.3 110.9 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .8 .5 .5
Hospitals(3)....................... 110.1 110.9 .9 .9 .7 .8 .7 .9 .7 .7
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 109.0 109.7 .6 .7 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .6 .6
Public administration(3)............... 111.6 112.1 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2 .4
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 108.6 109.1 .7 .8 .8 .9 .8 .6 .6 .5
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 109.6 110.2 .7 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .7 .5
Management, business, and financial.... 109.2 110.0 .6 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 .6 .6 .7
Professional and related............... 109.8 110.5 .7 1.0 .8 .8 .7 .7 .7 .6
Sales and office......................... 107.7 108.0 .7 .7 .7 1.0 .6 .5 .4 .3
Sales and related...................... 105.8 105.5 .5 .7 .4 1.3 .3 .5 -.2 -.3
Office and administrative support...... 109.1 109.8 .9 .7 .9 .8 .7 .6 .7 .6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 108.9 109.7 .4 .7 1.0 .9 .9 .4 .6 .7
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 110.2 111.0 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2 .6 .6 .7
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 107.3 108.2 .0 .4 1.1 .8 .6 .0 .8 .8
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 106.6 106.9 .2 .8 .6 .6 1.0 .5 .6 .3
Production............................. 105.9 106.1 .1 .7 .5 .6 .9 .4 .7 .2
Transportation and material moving..... 107.5 108.0 .5 .9 .6 .7 1.1 .5 .4 .5
Service occupations...................... 109.5 109.8 1.3 .8 1.1 .7 .7 .8 .7 .3
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 107.1 107.7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .4 .6
Construction........................... 110.4 111.1 1.1 .8 .9 1.0 1.2 .7 .5 .6
Manufacturing.......................... 105.6 106.0 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5 .4
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 91.3 90.7 -4.6 1.8 -3.1 -.8 2.7 1.8 .8 -.7
Service-providing industries(7).......... 109.1 109.5 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6 .4
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 107.5 107.6 .1 .9 .6 .8 .7 .9 .3 .1
Wholesale trade...................... 107.1 106.9 .7 .8 -.3 1.2 .3 1.3 .0 -.2
Retail trade......................... 108.1 108.0 .4 .9 1.2 .9 .8 .7 .5 -.1
Transportation and warehousing(3).... 106.6 107.0 .7 .9 .4 .2 1.2 .6 .2 .4
Utilities(3)......................... 108.0 109.5 -7.6 1.6 .6 1.2 .2 1.2 .3 1.4
Information............................ 107.1 107.6 .9 .9 .4 .7 -.3 -.2 1.1 .5
Financial activities................... 107.5 107.4 1.1 .4 1.1 .5 .6 .5 .4 -.1
Finance and insurance(3)............. 107.7 107.6 1.1 .3 1.1 .7 .3 .6 .3 -.1
Credit intermediation and related
activities(3)..................... 106.8 107.0 1.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 .3 .8 .7 .2
Insurance carriers and related
activities(3)..................... 108.3 108.3 .9 1.3 1.1 -.2 1.4 .5 .5 .0
Professional and business services..... 110.8 111.8 1.0 1.1 1.0 .8 1.0 .6 1.1 .9
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(3)............... 112.9 114.2 1.1 1.3 1.1 .9 1.2 .7 1.2 1.2
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(3)......................... 109.0 109.5 1.0 .7 1.0 .9 .8 .5 1.1 .5
Education and health services.......... 110.2 110.7 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .8 .6 .5
Education services................... 110.9 111.2 .6 .8 .8 1.1 .7 1.4 1.1 .3
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 111.2 111.5 .4 1.0 .9 .9 .7 1.6 1.1 .3
Health care and social assistance(6) 110.0 110.6 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .5 .5
Hospitals(3)....................... 110.0 110.8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .9 .8 .7
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 108.7 109.4 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 .8 .7 .6
Leisure and hospitality................ 110.6 111.4 1.5 .8 1.3 .6 .7 .5 1.1 .7
Accommodation and food services(3)... 111.3 112.2 1.6 .8 1.5 .4 .8 .6 1.1 .8
Other services, except public
administration........................ 109.7 110.2 1.2 .3 .8 .9 .7 .6 .4 .5
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 110.9 111.5 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .6 .9 .9 .5
Industry
Education and health services(3)....... 110.6 111.1 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 1.0 .7 .5
Education services(3)................ 110.4 110.9 1.0 1.1 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .7 .5
Schools(3)......................... 110.4 110.9 1.0 1.1 .9 .7 .8 1.0 .7 .5
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 110.4 111.0 1.1 1.0 .8 .7 .8 1.1 .6 .5
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 112.3 113.4 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .5 1.3 .8 1.0
Hospitals(3)....................... 110.5 111.3 1.2 1.0 .5 .9 .9 .8 .4 .7
Public administration(3)............... 111.6 112.1 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2 .4
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first
time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with
March 2003.
4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services, except
public administration; and public administration.
6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
7 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and
remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation;
accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration.
Table 2. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, by ownership, occupational group, and industry
Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended-
2005 = 100)
Occupational group and industry
Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec.
2008 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 109.2 109.7 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.5
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)(3)......... 108.5 109.1 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6 .6
Manufacturing(2)....................... 107.3 107.8 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7 .5
Service-providing industries(2)(4)....... 109.3 109.8 1.1 .7 .9 .8 .7 .8 .6 .5
Education and health services(2)....... 109.9 110.4 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .9 .7 .5
Education services(2)................ 109.6 109.9 .7 .7 1.1 .9 .8 1.0 1.0 .3
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 109.3 109.7 .8 .7 .9 .8 .8 1.0 1.0 .4
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 110.0 110.1 .5 1.0 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9 .1
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 110.3 110.9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9 .7 .5 .5
Hospitals(2)....................... 110.4 111.3 1.0 .9 .9 .8 1.0 .9 .8 .8
Nursing and residential care
facilities(2)..................... 109.1 109.7 .8 .6 1.1 .6 .8 .8 .8 .5
Public administration(2)............... 109.9 110.3 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0 .4
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 109.0 109.6 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7 .6 .6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 110.0 110.7 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .7 .6
Management, business, and financial.... 109.6 110.4 1.2 .7 .9 .7 1.1 .6 .8 .7
Professional and related............... 110.3 111.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .9 .8 .7 .7
Sales and office......................... 107.8 108.1 1.0 .7 .5 1.0 .7 .6 .3 .3
Sales and related...................... 106.0 105.6 .7 .6 .1 1.3 .4 .7 -.4 -.4
Office and administrative support...... 109.2 109.9 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .7 .6 .8 .6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 109.6 110.6 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.1 .6 .6 .9
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 110.7 111.6 1.0 .9 .9 1.2 1.3 .6 .7 .8
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 108.3 109.4 .8 .2 1.2 .8 .7 .5 .7 1.0
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 107.5 107.8 .8 .6 .7 .5 1.0 .8 .7 .3
Transportation and material moving..... 107.8 108.3 .7 .8 .7 .6 1.2 .8 .4 .5
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 108.5 109.1 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6 .6
Construction........................... 110.4 111.2 1.2 .9 .8 1.0 1.2 .7 .5 .7
Manufacturing.......................... 107.3 107.8 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7 .5
Aircraft manufacturing(2)............ 107.8 108.8 .7 .4 .1 .7 1.1 .6 .6 1.0
Service-providing industries(6).......... 109.2 109.7 1.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6 .5
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 107.4 107.4 .7 .9 .2 .9 .6 1.1 .2 .0
Retail trade......................... 108.0 108.0 .5 1.0 .8 1.0 .5 1.0 .4 .0
Transportation and warehousing(2).... 106.4 107.0 .8 .8 .2 .5 .9 .6 .5 .5
Utilities(2)......................... 109.2 109.8 .7 .9 .7 .9 1.1 .9 .1 .5
Information............................ 107.2 107.7 1.2 .9 .4 .4 -.2 .8 1.0 .5
Financial activities................... 107.7 107.6 1.3 .1 1.3 .3 .8 .3 .3 -.1
Finance and insurance(2)............. 108.3 108.1 1.5 .0 1.2 .6 .6 .4 .2 -.2
Credit intermediation and related
activities(2)..................... 106.1 106.5 2.2 -1.9 1.3 1.2 .2 .3 .6 .3
Professional and business services..... 111.0 112.1 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.3 .6 1.1 1.0
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(2)............... 112.7 114.2 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 1.6 .7 1.1 1.4
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(2)......................... 109.4 109.9 1.0 .6 1.1 .9 .8 .4 1.3 .4
Education and health services.......... 110.1 110.6 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .6 .5
Education services................... 110.4 110.6 .3 .8 .8 1.2 .7 1.0 1.2 .2
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 110.3 110.5 .0 1.0 .8 1.1 .7 1.0 1.2 .2
Health care and social assistance(5) 110.0 110.6 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 .6 .5 .5
Hospitals(2)....................... 110.2 111.1 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 1.0 .8 .8
Leisure and hospitality................ 111.4 112.3 1.8 .9 1.5 .6 .7 .4 1.3 .8
Accommodation and food services(2)... 111.9 112.8 2.0 .7 1.7 .6 .8 .6 1.3 .8
Other services, except public
administration(2)..................... 110.2 110.7 1.5 .3 1.0 1.0 .9 .6 .4 .5
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 109.8 110.2 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 1.0 .4
Industry
Education and health services(2)....... 109.8 110.1 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 1.0 .3
Education services(2)................ 109.4 109.7 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9 .3
Schools(2)......................... 109.4 109.7 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9 .3
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 109.3 109.7 .8 .7 1.0 .7 .8 1.1 1.0 .4
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 112.6 113.5 .9 .8 .7 1.0 .7 1.2 1.2 .8
Hospitals(2)....................... 111.3 112.0 1.2 1.1 .7 .9 1.1 .8 .7 .6
Public administration(2)............... 109.9 110.3 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0 .4
1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
2 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first
time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with
March 2003.
3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services, except
public administration; and public administration.
5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
6 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and
remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation;
accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration.
Table 3. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by ownership, occupational group, and industry
Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended-
2005 = 100)
Occupational group and industry
Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec.
2008 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 108.8 109.2 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 107.5 107.9 -.3 1.1 .8 .8 .6 .5 .6 .4
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 108.5 109.0 -.4 1.3 .8 .9 .4 .7 .7 .5
Sales and office......................... 107.5 108.0 .2 .9 1.0 1.0 .3 .4 .6 .5
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 107.4 107.8 -.6 .9 .7 .8 .8 -.1 .7 .4
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.8 105.1 -.9 1.1 .4 1.0 .8 .0 .3 .3
Service occupations...................... 108.7 109.0 .1 1.0 1.0 .8 .4 1.0 .3 .3
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 104.5 104.8 -.8 1.2 .1 1.0 .8 .3 .1 .3
Manufacturing.......................... 102.3 102.5 -1.3 1.4 -.3 1.0 .6 -.1 .1 .2
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 73.7 71.4 -11.9 4.2 -8.0 -3.2 5.5 3.4 1.0 -3.1
Service-providing industries(4).......... 108.7 109.1 .0 1.0 1.0 .8 .6 .6 .6 .4
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 113.3 114.2 1.7 1.6 .9 1.2 .3 1.1 .7 .8
1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first
time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with
March 2003.
4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and
remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation;
accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration.
Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for civilian workers, by occupational group and
industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 106.7 109.2 109.5 0.6 0.8 0.3 3.3 2.9 2.6
Excluding incentive paid occupations(3) 106.8 109.5 109.9 .6 .9 .4 3.3 3.1 2.9
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 107.2 110.1 110.4 .5 1.0 .3 3.4 3.2 3.0
Management, business, and financial.... 106.6 109.7 109.8 .4 .7 .1 3.3 3.3 3.0
Professional and related............... 107.6 110.4 110.7 .6 1.3 .3 3.5 3.2 2.9
Sales and office......................... 106.4 108.2 108.3 .9 .5 .1 3.3 2.6 1.8
Sales and related...................... 105.2 106.0 105.5 1.1 -.1 -.5 2.8 1.8 .3
Office and administrative support...... 107.1 109.5 110.0 .7 .8 .5 3.5 2.9 2.7
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 106.8 109.3 109.8 .7 .8 .5 3.1 3.0 2.8
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 107.4 110.3 110.8 .8 .6 .5 3.6 3.6 3.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 106.2 108.0 108.6 .6 .9 .6 2.5 2.3 2.3
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.7 106.9 107.2 .5 .7 .3 2.2 2.6 2.4
Production............................. 104.1 105.9 106.2 .8 .6 .3 2.1 2.5 2.0
Transportation and material moving..... 105.6 108.1 108.4 .3 .7 .3 2.7 2.7 2.7
Service occupations...................... 107.7 110.2 110.6 .7 1.0 .4 4.1 3.1 2.7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 105.0 107.3 107.5 .6 .5 .2 2.4 2.8 2.4
Manufacturing.......................... 103.8 105.6 105.9 .6 .5 .3 2.0 2.3 2.0
Service-providing industries(5).......... 107.0 109.5 109.8 .6 .9 .3 3.4 2.9 2.6
Education and health services.......... 107.9 110.8 111.1 .7 1.5 .3 3.6 3.4 3.0
Education services................... 107.9 111.1 111.3 .6 2.0 .2 3.7 3.5 3.2
Elementary and secondary schools... 107.9 111.1 111.4 .5 2.1 .3 3.6 3.4 3.2
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 108.0 111.1 110.9 .8 1.9 -.2 4.0 3.7 2.7
Health care and social assistance(6) 107.9 110.4 110.8 .7 .7 .4 3.5 3.1 2.7
Hospitals.......................... 107.5 110.2 110.8 .7 .9 .5 3.4 3.3 3.1
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 106.3 109.0 109.6 .7 .7 .6 2.5 3.2 3.1
Public administration.................. 109.1 111.6 112.0 1.0 1.4 .4 5.1 3.3 2.7
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the
public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical
note" for further explanation.
4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services;
health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other
services, except public administration; and public administration.
6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 5. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for private industry workers, by occupational
group and industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 106.3 108.7 108.9 0.6 0.6 0.2 3.0 2.8 2.4
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).. 106.4 109.0 109.5 .6 .6 .5 3.1 3.0 2.9
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 106.8 109.6 109.9 .4 .6 .3 3.2 3.0 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.8 109.7 110.1 .4 .7 .4 3.2 3.1 3.1
Management, business, and financial...... 106.3 109.3 109.5 .3 .6 .2 3.1 3.1 3.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.5 109.6 110.0 .4 .6 .4 3.3 3.3 3.3
Professional and related................. 107.3 109.9 110.3 .6 .8 .4 3.3 3.0 2.8
Sales and office........................... 106.1 107.9 107.9 .8 .4 .0 3.1 2.5 1.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.7 109.2 109.7 .7 .6 .5 3.4 3.0 2.8
Sales and related........................ 105.2 106.0 105.5 1.0 -.2 -.5 2.8 1.7 .3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.5 109.1 109.7 .9 .6 .5 3.5 3.3 3.0
Office and administrative support........ 106.7 109.2 109.6 .7 .6 .4 3.2 3.0 2.7
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 106.7 109.0 109.6 .8 .6 .6 3.0 2.9 2.7
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 107.4 110.3 110.8 .8 .5 .5 3.6 3.6 3.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 105.8 107.4 108.1 .6 .8 .7 2.3 2.1 2.2
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 104.5 106.6 106.9 .6 .6 .3 2.2 2.6 2.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 104.5 106.6 107.0 .6 .7 .4 2.3 2.6 2.4
Production............................... 104.0 105.8 106.1 .8 .6 .3 2.0 2.5 2.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 103.9 105.8 106.3 .7 .6 .5 1.9 2.5 2.3
Transportation and material moving....... 105.3 107.7 107.9 .4 .5 .2 2.6 2.7 2.5
Service occupations........................ 107.0 109.4 109.8 .6 .6 .4 3.8 2.8 2.6
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(3).............. 105.0 107.2 107.5 .6 .4 .3 2.4 2.7 2.4
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.2 107.4 107.8 .7 .5 .4 2.6 2.8 2.5
Management, professional, and related.. 104.4 106.7 106.6 .1 .1 -.1 2.4 2.3 2.1
Sales and office....................... 104.8 106.7 107.1 .7 .4 .4 1.9 2.5 2.2
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 107.0 109.8 110.4 .8 .7 .5 3.6 3.5 3.2
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.0 105.8 106.2 .7 .5 .4 2.0 2.4 2.1
Construction............................. 107.6 110.6 110.9 .7 .5 .3 3.9 3.5 3.1
Manufacturing............................ 103.8 105.6 105.9 .6 .5 .3 2.0 2.3 2.0
Management, professional, and related 103.5 105.4 105.4 .2 .2 .0 2.1 2.0 1.8
Sales and office..................... 104.3 106.7 107.0 .8 .6 .3 2.2 3.1 2.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 103.9 105.3 106.0 1.1 .8 .7 1.8 2.4 2.0
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 103.8 105.5 105.8 .7 .5 .3 1.9 2.3 1.9
Aircraft manufacturing................. 87.2 90.9 91.3 .1 1.1 .4 -6.4 4.4 4.7
Service-providing industries(4)............ 106.7 109.1 109.4 .6 .6 .3 3.2 2.8 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.9 109.5 110.1 .6 .7 .5 3.3 3.0 3.0
Management, professional, and related.. 107.3 110.2 110.6 .5 .8 .4 3.4 3.2 3.1
Sales and office....................... 106.3 108.0 108.0 .9 .3 .0 3.3 2.5 1.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 106.2 107.8 108.4 .5 .5 .6 2.1 2.0 2.1
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 105.2 107.6 107.8 .5 .6 .2 2.5 2.8 2.5
Service occupations.................... 107.1 109.5 109.8 .7 .7 .3 3.9 2.9 2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 105.5 107.6 107.5 .8 .3 -.1 2.4 2.8 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.9 108.4 108.7 .7 .6 .3 2.7 3.0 2.6
Wholesale trade........................ 105.3 107.1 106.8 1.1 -.1 -.3 2.3 2.8 1.4
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 106.2 108.9 109.1 .7 .8 .2 2.9 3.2 2.7
Retail trade........................... 106.1 108.2 108.1 1.0 .6 -.1 3.3 2.9 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 106.3 108.9 109.2 .8 .7 .3 3.6 3.2 2.7
Transportation and warehousing......... 104.5 106.8 106.9 .0 .4 .1 2.3 2.2 2.3
Utilities.............................. 105.6 108.1 108.9 .6 .0 .7 -4.3 3.0 3.1
Information.............................. 106.1 107.2 107.4 .3 .9 .2 2.8 1.3 1.2
Financial activities..................... 105.6 107.4 107.1 .2 .1 -.3 3.0 1.9 1.4
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.9 108.6 108.8 .3 .4 .2 3.0 2.8 2.7
Finance and insurance.................. 106.1 107.6 107.2 .4 -.1 -.4 3.1 1.8 1.0
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 104.5 106.5 106.5 .9 .1 .0 2.5 2.8 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 106.3 109.7 110.1 .4 .5 .4 3.0 3.6 3.6
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 105.7 108.3 108.2 -.3 .4 -.1 3.0 2.2 2.4
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.4 108.1 108.5 .5 .2 .4 2.9 3.1 2.9
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 103.7 106.4 106.6 -.4 .7 .2 2.9 2.2 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.9 109.3 109.6 .1 .7 .3 3.7 3.3 3.5
Professional and business services....... 107.5 110.8 111.6 .6 .8 .7 3.9 3.6 3.8
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 109.1 112.8 113.9 .6 .8 1.0 4.5 4.1 4.4
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 106.4 109.0 109.4 .8 .9 .4 3.5 3.2 2.8
Education and health services............ 107.7 110.3 110.6 .7 .8 .3 3.5 3.2 2.7
Education services..................... 107.5 111.4 111.3 .7 2.1 -.1 3.2 4.4 3.5
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 107.7 111.6 111.6 .7 1.9 .0 3.2 4.4 3.6
Health care and social assistance(5)... 107.8 110.1 110.5 .8 .6 .4 3.6 3.0 2.5
Hospitals............................ 107.3 110.1 110.7 .8 .9 .5 3.3 3.4 3.2
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 106.2 108.7 109.3 .7 .8 .6 2.6 3.0 2.9
Nursing care facilities(2)......... 106.2 108.9 109.4 .6 .8 .5 3.0 3.1 3.0
Leisure and hospitality.................. 108.1 110.6 111.4 .6 1.2 .7 4.2 2.9 3.1
Accommodation and food services........ 108.6 111.4 112.1 .5 1.3 .6 4.4 3.1 3.2
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 107.6 109.9 109.9 .5 .5 .0 3.5 2.6 2.1
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note"
for further explanation.
3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific,
and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public
administration.
5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 6. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for private industry workers, by bargaining
status and census region and division
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Bargaining status and census region and
division 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 105.1 107.4 108.0 0.7 0.7 0.6 2.0 2.9 2.8
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 104.0 106.2 106.9 .9 .6 .7 1.8 3.0 2.8
Manufacturing........................ 101.0 102.1 102.8 1.0 .4 .7 .2 2.1 1.8
Service-providing industries(3)........ 106.0 108.3 108.8 .6 .7 .5 2.3 2.8 2.6
Nonunion................................. 106.5 108.9 109.1 .6 .6 .2 3.2 2.8 2.4
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 105.4 107.6 107.7 .6 .5 .1 2.8 2.7 2.2
Manufacturing........................ 104.6 106.6 106.8 .5 .4 .2 2.4 2.4 2.1
Service-providing industries(3)........ 106.8 109.2 109.4 .6 .6 .2 3.3 2.8 2.4
Census region and division(4)
Northeast................................ 106.8 108.7 109.5 .6 .6 .7 3.4 2.4 2.5
New England............................ 106.1 107.8 109.5 .7 .7 1.6 2.9 2.3 3.2
Middle Atlantic........................ 107.1 109.1 109.5 .6 .5 .4 3.7 2.4 2.2
South.................................... 106.7 109.1 109.3 .6 .6 .2 3.1 2.8 2.4
South Atlantic......................... 107.3 109.7 109.8 .5 .5 .1 3.4 2.7 2.3
East South Central..................... 105.4 108.0 108.0 .6 .7 .0 3.0 3.1 2.5
West South Central..................... 106.1 108.7 109.0 .5 .5 .3 2.6 2.9 2.7
Midwest.................................. 105.3 107.4 107.6 .7 .4 .2 2.4 2.7 2.2
East North Central..................... 105.0 106.9 107.0 .6 .4 .1 2.1 2.4 1.9
West North Central..................... 105.9 108.8 109.0 .6 .4 .2 3.1 3.3 2.9
West..................................... 106.5 109.3 109.4 .8 .8 .1 3.4 3.4 2.7
Mountain............................... 107.5 110.3 110.4 .8 .8 .1 4.3 3.5 2.7
Pacific................................ 106.1 108.9 109.1 .7 .7 .2 3.0 3.3 2.8
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific,
and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public
administration.
4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New
York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,
and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and
Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and
industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.)
Table 7. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for State and local government workers, by
occupational group and industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 108.4 111.3 111.6 0.7 1.7 0.3 4.1 3.4 3.0
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 108.3 111.3 111.6 .7 1.8 .3 4.1 3.5 3.0
Professional and related............... 108.2 111.1 111.4 .7 1.8 .3 4.0 3.3 3.0
Sales and office......................... 108.6 111.0 111.3 .6 1.6 .3 4.3 2.9 2.5
Office and administrative support...... 108.9 111.4 111.8 .6 1.5 .4 4.5 3.0 2.7
Service occupations...................... 109.1 111.9 112.4 1.0 1.7 .4 4.4 3.6 3.0
Industry
Education and health services............ 108.2 111.2 111.5 .7 1.9 .3 3.7 3.4 3.0
Education services..................... 108.0 111.0 111.2 .6 2.0 .2 3.7 3.4 3.0
Schools(2)........................... 108.0 111.0 111.2 .6 2.0 .2 3.7 3.4 3.0
Elementary and secondary schools... 108.0 111.1 111.4 .6 2.1 .3 3.6 3.4 3.1
Health care and social assistance(3)... 109.3 112.7 113.2 .6 1.4 .4 3.4 3.8 3.6
Hospitals............................ 108.2 110.8 111.3 .7 1.0 .5 3.7 3.1 2.9
Public administration.................... 109.1 111.6 112.0 1.0 1.4 .4 5.1 3.3 2.7
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional
schools.
3 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 8. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for civilian workers, by occupational group and
industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 106.7 109.3 109.6 0.7 0.8 0.3 3.4 3.1 2.7
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2) 106.8 109.6 110.2 .6 .9 .5 3.5 3.2 3.2
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 107.1 110.1 110.5 .5 1.0 .4 3.4 3.3 3.2
Management, business, and financial.... 106.7 109.8 110.1 .3 .7 .3 3.5 3.2 3.2
Professional and related............... 107.4 110.3 110.7 .7 1.2 .4 3.5 3.4 3.1
Sales and office......................... 106.2 108.1 108.1 .8 .4 .0 3.1 2.6 1.8
Sales and related...................... 105.5 106.3 105.6 1.2 -.3 -.7 2.9 1.9 .1
Office and administrative support...... 106.8 109.3 109.8 .7 .7 .5 3.4 3.0 2.8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 107.1 109.9 110.6 .8 .8 .6 3.6 3.4 3.3
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 107.7 110.7 111.3 1.0 .7 .5 3.9 3.8 3.3
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 106.4 108.8 109.6 .6 .9 .7 3.2 2.8 3.0
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 105.1 107.7 108.0 .4 .7 .3 2.5 2.9 2.8
Production............................. 104.7 107.2 107.5 .4 .7 .3 2.3 2.8 2.7
Transportation and material moving..... 105.5 108.2 108.5 .4 .8 .3 2.7 2.9 2.8
Service occupations...................... 107.3 109.9 110.3 .8 1.1 .4 4.0 3.2 2.8
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 106.0 108.6 109.0 .6 .6 .4 3.0 3.0 2.8
Manufacturing.......................... 104.9 107.4 107.7 .4 .7 .3 2.5 2.8 2.7
Service-providing industries(4).......... 106.8 109.4 109.7 .6 .8 .3 3.4 3.0 2.7
Education and health services.......... 107.4 110.2 110.5 .8 1.4 .3 3.5 3.4 2.9
Education services................... 106.9 110.0 110.2 .7 1.9 .2 3.3 3.6 3.1
Elementary and secondary schools... 106.6 109.9 110.1 .6 2.2 .2 3.1 3.7 3.3
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 107.5 110.4 110.3 .8 1.8 -.1 3.8 3.6 2.6
Health care and social assistance(5) 107.9 110.4 110.9 .7 .7 .5 3.7 3.1 2.8
Hospitals.......................... 107.4 110.5 111.3 .7 1.0 .7 3.5 3.6 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 106.4 109.1 109.7 .6 .9 .5 3.0 3.1 3.1
Public administration.................. 107.4 109.9 110.4 .9 1.2 .5 3.8 3.3 2.8
1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the
public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical
note" for further explanation.
3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services;
health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other
services, except public administration; and public administration.
5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 9. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by occupational group and
industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 106.6 109.1 109.4 0.6 0.6 0.3 3.3 2.9 2.6
Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).. 106.7 109.5 110.1 .6 .7 .5 3.4 3.2 3.2
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 107.2 110.1 110.5 .5 .7 .4 3.5 3.2 3.1
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 107.2 110.2 110.7 .5 .8 .5 3.5 3.3 3.3
Management, business, and financial...... 106.6 109.7 110.0 .3 .6 .3 3.4 3.2 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.9 110.1 110.7 .3 .7 .5 3.6 3.3 3.6
Professional and related................. 107.6 110.4 110.9 .6 .8 .5 3.5 3.2 3.1
Sales and office........................... 106.2 108.0 108.0 .9 .3 .0 3.1 2.6 1.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.7 109.5 110.0 .7 .7 .5 3.5 3.3 3.1
Sales and related........................ 105.5 106.4 105.7 1.1 -.2 -.7 2.8 1.9 .2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.6 109.7 110.4 .9 .5 .6 3.7 3.8 3.6
Office and administrative support........ 106.7 109.2 109.7 .7 .6 .5 3.3 3.0 2.8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 107.1 109.8 110.5 .8 .7 .6 3.6 3.4 3.2
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 107.8 110.8 111.5 1.0 .6 .6 4.0 3.8 3.4
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 106.1 108.5 109.3 .5 .8 .7 3.0 2.7 3.0
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 105.0 107.5 107.8 .5 .7 .3 2.5 2.9 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.0 107.5 108.0 .4 .7 .5 2.7 2.8 2.9
Production............................... 104.6 107.2 107.4 .4 .8 .2 2.3 2.9 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 104.6 107.2 107.6 .5 .8 .4 2.3 3.0 2.9
Transportation and material moving....... 105.4 108.0 108.3 .4 .6 .3 2.7 2.9 2.8
Service occupations........................ 107.1 109.7 110.1 .6 .8 .4 4.1 3.0 2.8
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(2).............. 106.0 108.6 109.0 .6 .6 .4 3.0 3.0 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.2 108.9 109.4 .6 .6 .5 3.2 3.1 3.0
Management, professional, and related.. 106.0 108.7 108.8 .1 .3 .1 3.1 2.6 2.6
Sales and office....................... 105.5 107.6 107.9 .8 .4 .3 2.3 2.8 2.3
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 107.6 110.5 111.3 1.0 .8 .7 4.1 3.8 3.4
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.8 107.3 107.6 .4 .7 .3 2.3 2.8 2.7
Construction............................. 107.8 110.6 111.1 .7 .5 .5 4.0 3.4 3.1
Manufacturing............................ 104.9 107.4 107.7 .4 .7 .3 2.5 2.8 2.7
Management, professional, and related 105.3 107.6 107.8 .3 .4 .2 2.9 2.5 2.4
Sales and office..................... 104.7 107.6 108.1 .8 .7 .5 2.6 3.6 3.2
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 105.9 108.1 109.0 .9 .9 .8 2.8 3.0 2.9
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 104.5 107.1 107.3 .3 .8 .2 2.2 2.8 2.7
Aircraft manufacturing................. 104.6 107.6 108.1 .2 .2 .5 1.9 3.1 3.3
Service-providing industries(3)............ 106.8 109.3 109.6 .7 .6 .3 3.4 3.0 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.9 109.7 110.3 .6 .7 .5 3.5 3.2 3.2
Management, professional, and related.. 107.4 110.3 110.8 .6 .8 .5 3.6 3.3 3.2
Sales and office....................... 106.3 108.0 108.0 .9 .3 .0 3.3 2.5 1.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 106.3 108.6 109.3 .6 .6 .6 2.8 2.7 2.8
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 105.2 107.8 108.1 .6 .7 .3 2.7 3.1 2.8
Service occupations.................... 107.2 109.7 110.1 .6 .8 .4 4.2 2.9 2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 105.5 107.5 107.4 .9 .3 -.1 2.7 2.8 1.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.0 108.5 108.9 .6 .6 .4 3.2 2.9 2.7
Wholesale trade........................ 105.2 106.8 106.4 1.2 -.4 -.4 2.1 2.7 1.1
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.5 109.1 109.3 .7 .7 .2 3.1 3.1 2.6
Retail trade........................... 106.1 108.1 108.1 1.0 .5 .0 3.2 2.9 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.3 108.9 109.3 .8 .8 .4 3.6 3.2 2.8
Transportation and warehousing......... 104.2 106.7 106.9 .1 .7 .2 2.3 2.5 2.6
Utilities.............................. 106.8 109.3 109.6 .7 .0 .3 3.2 3.0 2.6
Information.............................. 105.3 107.3 107.5 .1 .9 .2 2.8 2.0 2.1
Financial activities..................... 105.9 107.7 107.2 -.1 .0 -.5 3.0 1.6 1.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.3 109.2 109.4 .2 .4 .2 3.1 2.9 2.9
Finance and insurance.................. 106.6 108.2 107.6 .1 -.2 -.6 3.3 1.6 .9
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 104.2 105.9 105.8 .7 -.1 -.1 2.5 2.3 1.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.7 110.0 110.4 .4 .5 .4 3.4 3.5 3.5
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 106.4 109.0 108.8 -.7 .5 -.2 3.3 1.7 2.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.9 108.6 108.9 .3 .3 .3 3.2 2.8 2.8
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 103.1 105.3 105.7 -.5 .6 .4 1.7 1.6 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.8 108.7 109.0 .0 .8 .3 2.7 2.7 3.0
Professional and business services....... 107.5 111.0 111.9 .7 .9 .8 3.9 4.0 4.1
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 108.7 112.7 113.9 .7 .9 1.1 4.2 4.4 4.8
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 106.5 109.4 109.7 .8 1.0 .3 3.7 3.5 3.0
Education and health services............ 107.7 110.2 110.6 .7 .9 .4 3.6 3.1 2.7
Education services..................... 107.4 110.8 110.8 .9 2.0 .0 3.2 4.1 3.2
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 107.4 110.8 110.7 .8 2.2 -.1 2.9 4.0 3.1
Health care and social assistance(4)... 107.8 110.1 110.6 .7 .6 .5 3.8 2.9 2.6
Hospitals............................ 107.2 110.3 111.1 .7 1.0 .7 3.4 3.6 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 106.5 109.0 109.7 .6 .8 .6 3.0 2.9 3.0
Nursing care facilities(1)......... 106.4 109.0 109.5 .4 .8 .5 3.2 2.8 2.9
Leisure and hospitality.................. 108.8 111.4 112.3 .6 1.4 .8 4.9 3.1 3.2
Accommodation and food services........ 109.0 111.9 112.8 .6 1.4 .8 5.0 3.2 3.5
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 107.9 110.4 110.4 .6 .5 .0 3.9 2.9 2.3
1 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note"
for further explanation.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific,
and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public
administration.
4 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 10. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by bargaining status
and census region and division
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Bargaining status and census region and
division 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 104.7 107.4 108.1 0.3 0.7 0.7 2.3 2.9 3.2
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 104.3 107.1 107.7 .0 .7 .6 2.0 2.7 3.3
Manufacturing........................ 102.6 104.9 105.5 -.3 .5 .6 .9 1.9 2.8
Service-providing industries(2)........ 104.9 107.7 108.3 .3 .7 .6 2.6 3.0 3.2
Nonunion................................. 106.9 109.4 109.6 .7 .6 .2 3.5 3.0 2.5
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 106.4 109.0 109.3 .6 .6 .3 3.3 3.0 2.7
Manufacturing........................ 105.5 108.0 108.2 .6 .7 .2 2.9 3.0 2.6
Service-providing industries(2)........ 107.0 109.4 109.7 .7 .6 .3 3.5 2.9 2.5
Census region and division(3)
Northeast................................ 106.6 108.7 109.6 .5 .5 .8 3.4 2.5 2.8
New England............................ 106.3 108.3 110.3 .6 .7 1.8 3.1 2.5 3.8
Middle Atlantic........................ 106.7 109.0 109.4 .3 .6 .4 3.5 2.4 2.5
South.................................... 107.0 109.8 110.0 .5 .6 .2 3.3 3.1 2.8
South Atlantic......................... 107.5 110.2 110.3 .6 .6 .1 3.5 3.1 2.6
East South Central..................... 106.3 109.0 109.0 .7 1.0 .0 3.1 3.2 2.5
West South Central..................... 106.6 109.4 109.8 .5 .6 .4 3.1 3.1 3.0
Midwest.................................. 105.6 107.9 108.0 .6 .4 .1 2.9 2.8 2.3
East North Central..................... 105.3 107.3 107.4 .6 .3 .1 2.7 2.5 2.0
West North Central..................... 106.3 109.5 109.7 .7 .6 .2 3.5 3.7 3.2
West..................................... 107.0 109.9 110.1 .8 .9 .2 3.7 3.5 2.9
Mountain............................... 107.8 110.8 111.0 1.0 .8 .2 4.5 3.8 3.0
Pacific................................ 106.8 109.6 109.8 .8 .9 .2 3.4 3.4 2.8
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific,
and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public
administration.
3 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New
York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,
and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and
Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and
industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.)
Table 11. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for State and local government workers, by
occupational group and industry
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 107.1 110.1 110.4 0.7 1.8 0.3 3.5 3.5 3.1
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 107.0 110.1 110.4 .7 1.8 .3 3.4 3.6 3.2
Professional and related............... 107.0 110.1 110.3 .7 1.9 .2 3.3 3.6 3.1
Sales and office......................... 107.0 109.3 109.7 .7 1.3 .4 3.7 2.8 2.5
Office and administrative support...... 107.3 109.7 110.1 .8 1.3 .4 3.8 3.0 2.6
Service occupations...................... 107.7 110.4 110.9 1.1 1.7 .5 3.7 3.7 3.0
Industry
Education and health services............ 107.1 110.2 110.5 .8 1.9 .3 3.4 3.7 3.2
Education services..................... 106.8 109.9 110.1 .7 2.0 .2 3.3 3.6 3.1
Schools(1)........................... 106.8 109.9 110.1 .7 2.0 .2 3.3 3.6 3.1
Elementary and secondary schools... 106.6 109.8 110.1 .6 2.1 .3 3.1 3.6 3.3
Health care and social assistance(2)... 109.2 112.8 113.4 .9 1.6 .5 3.5 4.3 3.8
Hospitals............................ 108.6 111.4 112.1 .9 1.0 .6 4.0 3.5 3.2
Public administration.................... 107.4 109.9 110.4 .9 1.2 .5 3.8 3.3 2.8
1 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional
schools.
2 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
Table 12. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by ownership, occupational group, industry, and bargaining
status
Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for-
100)
Occupational group, industry, and
bargaining status 3-months ended- 12-months ended-
Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 106.8 108.9 109.1 0.7 0.7 0.2 3.1 2.6 2.2
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 105.6 107.5 107.7 .6 .5 .2 2.4 2.4 2.0
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 106.0 108.5 108.5 .4 .6 .0 2.5 2.7 2.4
Sales and office......................... 106.0 107.6 107.8 .8 .6 .2 3.0 2.3 1.7
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 105.9 107.5 107.7 .6 .5 .2 1.8 2.1 1.7
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 103.7 104.8 105.1 1.0 .3 .3 1.7 2.0 1.4
Service occupations...................... 106.7 108.7 108.8 .7 .2 .1 3.0 2.5 2.0
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 103.2 104.6 104.7 .8 .2 .1 1.5 2.1 1.5
Manufacturing.......................... 101.7 102.3 102.5 1.0 .1 .2 .9 1.6 .8
Aircraft manufacturing............... 68.6 73.1 73.3 .1 2.5 .3 -17.5 6.7 6.9
Service-providing industries(3).......... 106.6 108.7 108.9 .6 .6 .2 2.8 2.5 2.2
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 105.8 107.2 107.8 1.4 .6 .6 1.5 2.8 1.9
Nonunion................................. 105.6 107.6 107.6 .5 .5 .0 2.6 2.4 1.9
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 111.0 113.9 114.2 .6 1.9 .3 5.5 3.3 2.9
1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the
public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing;
utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific,
and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public
administration.
TECHNICAL NOTE
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a measure of the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence
of employment shifts among occupations and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages and
salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. The wage and salary series and the benefit cost series provide
the changes for the two components of compensation.
Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an hourly
basis, straight-time earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates are total
earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends and holidays,
shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments,
and cost-of-living adjustments are included in straight-time wage and salary rates.
Benefits covered by the ECI are: Paid leave--vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave;
supplemental pay--premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends,
and holidays), shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as year-end, referral, and attendance
bonuses); insurance benefits--life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and
savings benefits--defined benefit and defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits--Social Security,
Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.
The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the total private nonfarm economy excluding
private households, and the public sector excluding the federal government. The private industry series and
the state and local government series provide data for the two sectors separately.
Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2007 North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS). All industries are classified into two sectors--goods-producing and
service-providing. Within a sample establishment, specific job categories are selected and classified
into about 800 occupational classifications according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
system. Individual occupations are combined to represent one of ten intermediate aggregations, such as
professional and related occupations, or one of five higher-level aggregations such as management,
professional, and related occupations. Both the NAICS and the SOC classification systems are defined by
the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including
background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm.
To be included in the ECI, employees in occupations must receive cash payments from the establishment for
services performed and the establishment must pay the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes on that individual’s
wages. Major exclusions from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their own pay (for example,
proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), volunteers, unpaid workers,
family members being paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, and U.S.
citizens working overseas.
Data for the December 2008 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 64,700
occupational observations selected from a sample of about 13,600 establishments in private industry and
approximately 11,800 occupations from a sample of about 1,900 establishments in state and local governments.
The state and local government sample, which is replaced less frequently than the private industry sample, was
replaced in its entirety in September 2007. The private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years,
which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. Data are collected
for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. The
sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis.
Fixed employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most aggregate series--civilian, private,
and state and local government. These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and
occupational series indexes. Beginning with March 2006 estimates, 2002 fixed employment weights from
the Bureau’s Occupational Employment Statistics survey were introduced.
For the series based on bargaining status, census region and division, and for series excluding incentive
paid occupations, fixed employment data are not available. The employment weights are reallocated within these
series each quarter based on the current ECI sample. The nursing care facilities indexes in private industry
are estimated using fixed-employment weights derived from staffing patterns estimated from the four-digit
industry NAICS group 6231, nursing care facilities, a sub-industry of the larger industry group, nursing and
residential care facilities (NAICS 623). The indexes for these series, consequently, are not strictly comparable
with those for the aggregate, occupational, and industry series. A fuller explanation of the calculation of
index numbers appears in chapter 8 of the BLS Handbook of Methods, at the web site
www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf.
Beginning with the release of the March 2006 data, indexes were rebased to December 2005=100 from
June 1989=100. The percentage changes shown in the current- and constant-dollar historical tables were
calculated from the rebased indexes. Thus, changes may differ from those originally published because of
rounding.
The ECI state and local government sample consists of 152 areas that represent the Nation's 361 metropolitan
statistical areas and 573 micropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in December 2003 and the remaining
portions of the 50 states. The private industry estimates started the conversion to December 2003 OMB areas
definitions this quarter with replacement of one-fifth of the sample under the new area definitions.
Seasonally adjusted data for selected ECI series began with the December 1990 ECI release. Seasonal
adjustment removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year. These
adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. The seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated
once per year. The March release contains data reflecting the newly updated seasonal adjustment factors.
The historical data for the last five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors. The
seasonal factors for 2008 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available at
www.bls.gov/ect/ectsfact.htm or upon request.
Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that
occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in
the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample design may differ
from one other. A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can be
used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result
of all possible samples. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from
a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that this
difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error. The statements of comparisons appearing in this
publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better, unless otherwise indicated. This means
that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the
difference.
The ECI uses standard errors to evaluate published series. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability
of series, the standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) are available on the
BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/ect/ectvar.htm shortly after the publication of the news release.
When determining data to be used in contract negotiations, it is important to note that differences by
bargaining status may be due to factors other than union status, such as occupational and industry mix.
An important consideration when choosing a series for escalation is the sampling error. For more information,
see www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm.
More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include a chapter,
"National compensation measures," (www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf) from the BLS Handbook of Methods,
and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working Conditions. The
articles and other descriptive pieces are available at www.bls.gov/ect/#publications, by calling
(202) 691-6199, or sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov.
Historical ECI data, using industry categories based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System
and classifying jobs into occupational classifications according to the Census of Population, are available
dating from the first publication of each series to December 2005 at: www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf. Data
are also available for series based on the 2002 and 2007 North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS)
and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005=100 as
the base period at: www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf.
In addition, constant-dollar ECI series derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
are available. The constant-dollar series are calculated by converting the CPI-U to the same base as the ECI.
The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period. The CPI-U
U.S. City Average All Items is used to compute all series except for the regional estimates, which use
corresponding CPI regional data.
Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health insurance
in private industry, are also available at www.bls.gov/ect/sp/echealth.pdf
The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, are published in a
separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" (ECEC). The next ECEC release is
scheduled for 10:00 AM EDT, Thursday, March 12, 2009. Historical ECEC data are available in summary documents.
Both the release and historical data are available at www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or by
calling (202) 691-6199. Since the ECEC is calculated with current employment weights rather than the fixed
weights used in computing the ECI, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the
ECI.
United States Department of Labor
