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Employment Cost Index
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Classification Systems Used by the National Compensation Survey (NCS)
The National Compensation Survey (NCS) publishes estimates of compensation costs and trends, as well as benefit coverage and provisions. Estimates are available by ownership (civilian, private industry, and state and local government), industry group, occupational group, and geographic areas.
The NCS excludes workers employed by the federal government, volunteers, unpaid workers, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, overseas workers, workers who set their own pay (e.g., proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), and the self-employed. Additional exclusions by industry, occupational group, and geographic areas are indicated in the respective sections below.
On This Page:
The sections below provide information on the use of the classification systems and availability of estimates by industry group, occupational group, and geographic areas. NCS product sections are collapsed by default. To expand or collapse all sections use the buttons below. Individual NCS product sections can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the arrow next to the section.
Industry groups and industries
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by federal statistical agencies to classify establishments into industries for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy. Prior to the implementation of NAICS, the NCS used the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) system to classify establishments. For information on the transition, see Change has come to the ECI and ECEC changes to NAICS and SOC. The NCS program adopted NAICS in 2004 for the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation and in 2006 for the Employment Cost Index. Currently, the NCS program uses NAICS 2017. There are several industry groups that are out of scope for the NCS including agriculture, forestry, farming, and hunting (sector 11), postal service (industry group 491), and private households (industry group 814).
The tables below contain the industries and industry groups published in the Employment Cost Index (ECI), Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), and Employee Benefits in the Unites States are covered in this section. Estimates for some industries and industry groups are not available for all of the ownerships or NCS products. For example, estimates for schools (6111, 6112, and 6113) are available for state and local government workers in the ECI but are not available for ECEC and Employee Benefits in the United States.
Additionally, the tables provide the NAICS code and corresponding NCS industry code used in the mapping (text) files that accompany the public database estimates. The two-digit NAICS codes represent the sectors such as construction (sector 23) and more detailed NAICS codes represent industry groups such as credit intermediation and related activities (522) and industries elementary and secondary schools (6111). Dashes (-) indicate a span of sectors, industry groups, or industries. For example, retail trade includes store (sector 44) and nonstore (sector 45) retailers.
- ECI industry groups and industries ▸
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Table 1A. Published industry groups and industries in the Employment Cost Index (ECI) Industry title NAICS code NCS industry code (1) All workers
21-92 000000 Goods-producing industries
21, 23, 31-33 G00000 Construction (2)
23 230000 Manufacturing (3)
31-33 300000 Aircraft manufacturing (2)
336411 336411 Service-providing industries
22, 42-92 S00000 Trade, transportation, and utilities (2)
42, 44-45, 48-49, 22 400000 Utilities (3)
22 220000 Wholesale trade (2)
42 420000 Retail trade (2)
44-45 412000 Transportation and warehousing (2)
48-49 430000 Information (2)
51 510000 Financial activities (2)
52-53 520A00 Finance and insurance (2)
52 520000 Credit intermediation and related activities (2)
522 522000 Insurance carriers and related activities (2)
524 524000 Real estate and rental and leasing (2)
53 530000 Professional and business services (2)
54-56 540A00 Professional, scientific, and technical services (2)
54 540000 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation
services (2)56 560000 Education and health services
61-62 600000 Educational services
61 610000 Schools (4)
6111-6113 610500 Elementary and secondary schools (5)
6111 611100 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools (3)
6112-6113 612000 Healthcare and social assistance
62 620000 Hospitals
622 622000 Nursing and residential care facilities (3)
623 623000 Nursing care facilities (2)
6231 623100 Leisure and hospitality (2)
71-72 700000 Accommodation and food services (2)
72 720000 Other services (except Public administration) (2)
81 810000 Public administration (5)
92 920000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Employment Cost Index overview.
(2) Private industry only.
(3) Not available for state and local government.
(4) State and local government only.
(5) Not available for private industry.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the North American Industry Classification System
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- ECEC industry groups and industries ▸
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Table 1B. Published industry groups and industries in the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) Industry title NAICS code NCS industry code (1) All workers
21-92 000000 Goods-producing industries (2)
21, 23, 31-33 G00000 Construction (3)
23 230000 Manufacturing (3)
31-33 300000 Aircraft manufacturing (3)
336411 336411 Service-providing industries
22, 42-92 S00000 Trade, transportation, and utilities (3)
42, 44-45, 48-49, 22 400000 Utilities (3)
22 220000 Wholesale trade (3)
42 420000 Retail trade (3)
44-45 412000 Transportation and warehousing (3)
48-49 430000 Information (3)
51 510000 Financial activities (3)
52-53 520A00 Finance and insurance (3)
52 520000 Credit intermediation and related activities (3)
522 522000 Insurance carriers and related activities (3)
524 524000 Real estate and rental and leasing (3)
53 530000 Professional and business services (3)
54-56 540A00 Professional, scientific, and technical services (3)
54 540000 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation
services (3)56 560000 Education and health services
61-62 600000 Educational services
61 610000 Elementary and secondary schools (4)
6111 611100 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools
6112-6113 612000 Healthcare and social assistance
62 620000 Hospitals
622 622000 Nursing and residential care facilities (3)
623 623000 Nursing care facilities (3)
6231 623100 Leisure and hospitality (3)
71-72 700000 Accommodation and food services (3)
72 720000 Other services (except Public administration) (3)
81 810000 Public administration (5)
92 920000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Employer Costs for Employee Compensation file overview.
(2) Not available for state and local government.
(3) Private industry only.
(4) Not available for private industry.
(5) State and local government only.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the North American Industry Classification System
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- Benefits industry groups and industries ▸
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Table 1C. Published industry groups and industries within the Employee Benefits in the United States Industry title NAICS code NCS industry code (1) All workers
21-92 000000 Goods-producing industries (2)
21, 23, 31-33 G00000 Construction (3)
23 230000 Manufacturing (3)
31-33 300000 Service-providing industries
22, 42-92 S00000 Trade, transportation, and utilities (3)
42, 44-45, 48-49, 22 400000 Utilities (3)
22 220000 Wholesale trade (3)
42 420000 Retail trade (3)
44-45 412000 Transportation and warehousing (3)
48, 49 430000 Information (3)
51 510000 Financial activities (3)
52-53 520A00 Finance and insurance (3)
52 520000 Credit intermediation and related activities (3)
522 522000 Insurance carriers and related activities (3)
524 524000 Real estate and rental and leasing (3)
53 530000 Professional and business services (3)
54-56 540A00 Professional, scientific, and technical services (3)
54 540000 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (3)
56 560000 Education and health services
61-62 600000 Educational services
61 610000 Elementary and secondary schools (4)
6111 611100 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools
6112, 6113 612000 Healthcare and social assistance
62 620000 Hospitals (4)
622 622000 Leisure and hospitality (3)
71-72 700000 Accommodation and food services (3)
72 720000 Other services (except Public administration) (3)
81 810000 Public administration (3)
92 920000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Benefits overview.
(2) Not available for state and local government.
(3) Private industry only.
(4) Not available for private industry.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the North American Industry Classification System
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Occupational groups and occupations
The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is the standard used by federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupations for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy. In the SOC, occupations are classified into 23 major groups; however, military specific occupations (55-0000) are out of scope for the NCS program.
The NCS is currently sampling and collecting occupational data based on SOC 2018. The ECI uses employment weights from the Occupational Employment Statistics based on SOC 2010, see Introducing 2012 weights for the Employment Cost Index. The NCS anticipates publishing estimates based on the SOC 2018 system with the December 2022 ECI release.
The tables below contain the occupations and occupational groups published in the Employment Cost Index (ECI), Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), and Employee Benefits in the Unites States. Estimates for some occupations and occupational groups are not available for all of the ownerships or NCS products. For example, estimates for teachers (25-1000) are available for civilian workers in the ECEC and benefits publications but not for the ECI. Additionally, the tables below provide the SOC code and corresponding occupational code used by the NCS in the mapping files for use with the public database.
- ECI occupational groups ▸
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Table 2A. Published occupational groups and occupations within the Employment Cost Index Occupational groups SOC code Occupation code (1) All workers
11-53 000000 Management, professional, and related
11-29 112900 Management, business, and financial (2)
11-13 111300 Professional and related
15-29 152900 Service occupations
31-39 313900 Sales and office
41-43 414300 Sales and related
41 410000 Office and administrative support
43 430000 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance (2)
45-49 454900 Construction and extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry (2)
45-47 454700 Installation, maintenance, and repair (2)
49 490000 Production, transportation, and material moving (2)
51-53 515300 Production occupations (2)
51 510000 Transportation and material moving (2)
53 530000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Employment Cost Index overview.
(2) Not available for state and local government.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the Standard Occupational Classification
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- ECEC occupational groups and occupations▸
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Table 2B. Published occupational groups and occupations within the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Occupational groups SOC code Occupation code (1) All workers
11-53 000000 Management, professional, and related
11-29 112900 Management, business, and financial (2)
11-13 111300 Professional and related
15-29 152900 Teachers (3)
251-253 250001 Primary, secondary, and special education teachers (3)
252 252000 Registered nurses (2)
29114 291111 Service
31-39 313900 Sales and office
41-43 414300 Sales and related (2)
41 410000 Office and administrative support
43 430000 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance (2)
45-49 454900 Construction and extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry (2)
45-47 454700 Installation, maintenance, and repair (2)
49 490000 Production, transportation, and material moving (2)
51-53 515300 Production occupations (2)
51 510000 Transportation and material moving (2)
53 530000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Employer Costs for Employee Compensation file overview.
(2) Not available for state and local government.
(3) Not available for private industry.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the Standard Occupational Classification
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- Benefits occupational groups and occupations▸
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Table 2C. Published occupation groups and occupations within the Employee Benefits in the United States Occupational groups SOC code Occupation code (1) All workers
11-53 000000 Management, professional, and related
11-29 112900 Management, business, and financial (2)
11-13 111300 Professional and related
15-29 152900 Teachers (3)
251-253 250001 Primary, secondary, and special education teachers (3)
252 252000 Registered nurses (4)
29114 291111 Service
31-39 313900 Protective service
33 330000 Sales and office
41-43 414300 Sales and related (2)
41 410000 Office and administrative support
43 430000 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
45-49 454900 Construction and extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry (2)
45-47 454700 Installation, maintenance, and repair (2)
49 490000 Production, transportation, and material moving
51-53 515300 Production occupations (2)
51 510000 Transportation and material moving (2)
53 530000 Footnotes:
(1) For mapping files definitions and relationships see Benefits file overview.
(2) Not available for state and local government.
(3) Not available for private industry.
(4) Available for civilian workers only.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey and the Standard Occupational Classification
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The NCS adopted the SOC system in 2006. For information on the transition from the Occupational Classification System (OCS) to SOC, see Change has come to the ECI and ECEC changes to NAICS and SOC.
The white collar and blue collar occupational series were discontinued in 2007. The white collar category consists of occupations (such as accountants and cashiers) with disparate wage and compensation rates. The table below provides the occupations and corresponding Major Occupational Groups (MOGs) from the SOC and OCS that composed each of the discontinued series. Many detailed occupations differ between the SOC and OCS and thus the occupational groups may not be comparable. For more information on series continuity, see Comparing Current and Former Industry and Occupation ECEC Series and Introducing 2002 weights for the Employment Cost Index.
- White collar and blue collar occupational groups ▸
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Table 2D. Published occupational groups within the white collar and blue collar discontinued series OCS Occupational groups OCS Major Occupational Groups (MOGs) SOC Major Occupational Groups (MOGs) All workers(1)
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K 11-53 White collar
A, B, C, D 11-29, 41-43 Professional, technical, and related (1)
A 15-29 Executive, administrative, and managerial (1)
B 11-13 Sales (1)
C 41 Administrative support (1)
D 43 Blue collar
E, F, G, H 45-53 Precision production, craft, and repair
E 47-49 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
F 51 Transportation and material moving
G 53 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers (2)
H 45 Service (1)
K 31-39 Footnotes:
(1) Continuous between the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and 1990 Occupational Classification System (OCS).
(2) The agricultural industry sector is out of scope for the NCS surveys. However, selected agricultural occupations found in establishments operating in other industries are classified under MOG H (H483-H498).Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, the Occupational Classification System, and the Standard Occupational Classification
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Geographic areas
The NCS uses a sample design based on 24 geographic areas that consist of the 15 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSAs) based on total employment and the balance (rest) of the 9 census divisions. The balance (rest) of census divisions are the remaining portions of each of the divisions excluding the 15 largest MSAs and CSAs. Establishments from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible for selection. In 2006, the NCS expanded the published geographic detail by adding the nine census divisions which compose the four census regions. In 2009, compensation costs and changes were added for the 15 largest MSAs and CSAs see BLS introduces New Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Data for Private Industry Workers in 15 Metropolitan Areas and BLS introduces new Employment Cost Indexes for 14 metropolitan areas.
- Census regions ▸
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There are four census regions comprised of states and the District of Columbia. Each census region can be further disaggregated to smaller ares, which are referred to as census divisions.
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- Census divisions ▸
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The nine census divisions are groupings of the fifty states as well as the District of Columbia which compose the four census regions.
Table 3A. Published census regions and divisions in the NCS with associated states Region: Northeast South Midwest West Division: New England Middle Atlantic South Atlantic East South Central West South Central East North Central West North Central Mountain Pacific States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, U.S. Census, and Office of Management and Budget
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- Metropolitan areas ▸
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Currently, the NCS area definitions are based on the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01, dated February 28, 2013. Previous area definitions are based on Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 04-03, dated February 18, 2004. For more information on metropolitan area definitions, see the Census’ Metropolitan and Micropolitan page.
Table 3B. The MSAs and CSAs published in the Employment Cost Index and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Census region and metropolitan area Northeast Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
South Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA CSA
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA
Houston-The Woodlands, TX CSA
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
Midwest Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI CSA
West Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, U.S. Census, and Office of Management and Budget
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More information
For technical information on survey methods, see National Compensation Measures in the BLS Handbook of Methods. The Concepts section of the Handbook provides definitions for worker and establishment characteristics, including geographic areas. For more information on transition from SIC to NAICS and OCS to SOC, see Employment Cost Index publication plans and Transitional Employment Cost Indexes for seasonal adjustment.
Last Modified Date: May 11, 2021