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Employment Cost Index

The National Compensation Survey produces quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs, Employment Cost Index (ECI), and quarterly data measuring level of average costs per hour worked, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC).


Notices

  • 2023 Seasonal factors and seasonal revision scheduled for release with March 2023 ECI Read More »
  • Redesign of Employment Cost Webpages Read More »

Charts

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Latest Numbers

RSS
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX (ECI) News Release
TOTAL COMPENSATION: 3-month % change (SA)

Civilian workers 1.2% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

Private industry workers 1.2% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

State and local government workers 1.1% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

TOTAL COMPENSATION: 12-month % change (NSA)

Civilian workers 4.8% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

Private industry workers 4.8% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

State and local government workers 4.9% in 1st Qtr of 2023 Historical Data

EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION (ECEC) News Release
Total compensation: per hour worked

Civilian workers $42.48 in 4th Qtr of 2022 Historical Data

Private industry workers $40.23 in 4th Qtr of 2022 Historical Data

State and local government workers $57.60 in 4th Qtr of 2022 Historical Data

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Videos

How the Employment Cost Index Is Used?

The Employment Cost Index, or ECI, measures changes in the cost of employees to employers over time. In the private sector, business owners and human resources professionals can use the ECI to make decisions about pay adjustments to help them stay competitive. In the public sector, the Federal Reserve and others use the ECI to gauge the health of the labor market, adjust contracts, and research the labor market. read more »

News Releases

Compensation costs up 1.2% Dec 2022 to Mar 2023 and up 4.8% over the year ending Mar 2023

04/28/2023

Compensation costs increased 1.2 percent for civilian workers, seasonally adjusted, from December 2022 to March 2023. Over the year, total compensation rose 4.8 percent, wages and salaries rose 5.0 percent, and benefit costs rose 4.5 percent.
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Benefit costs for private industry workers average $11.86 per hour worked in Dec 2022

03/17/2023

Wage and salary costs for private industry workers averaged $28.37 per hour worked. Retirement and savings costs averaged $1.36 per hour worked and accounted for 3.4 percent of total compensation costs.
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Next Release

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) for June 2023 is scheduled to be released on July 28, 2023 at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) March 2023 is scheduled to be released on June 16, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time.

Publications

The Economics Daily

The Economics Daily article image

Compensation costs for civilian workers averaged $42.48 per hour worked in December 2022

Total employer compensation costs for civilian workers averaged $42.48 per hour worked in December 2022. Wages and salaries cost employers $29.32 and accounted for 69.0 percent of total costs, while benefits cost $13.17 and accounted for the remaining 31.0 percent. read more »

Monthly Labor Review

Monthly Labor Review article image

The Linked Employment Cost Index: a first look and estimation methodology

This article provides a first look at the Linked Employment Cost Index, an index the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is evaluating for potential publication. read more »