Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (SIC)
Welcome to the step-by-step guide on how to use the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (SIC) one-screen query system
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation: A comprehensive analysis of employee compensation requires data on labor cost changes from period to period as well as information on dollar costs at a given point in time. At the behest of Congress, BLS developed the Employment Cost Index (ECI) in the early 1970s to measure the rate of change in employee compensation, which includes wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits.
The Bureau used ECI data to develop the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) in 1987. ECEC cost levels are calculated by applying current, rather than fixed, employment weights to wage and salary and benefit cost data from the establishments in the ECI survey. Estimates are published annually in June using payroll data for the reference period that includes March 12th.
Like the ECI, the ECEC defines wages and salaries as the hourly straight-time wage rate. Straight-time wage and salary rates are total earnings before payroll deductions and include production bonuses, incentive pay, commissions, and cost-of-living allowances. Benefits include: Paid leave (vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other paid leave); supplemental pay (overtime, weekends, and holidays; shift differentials; and nonproduction bonuses); insurance (life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability); retirement and savings (defined benefit and defined contribution); legally required benefits (Social Security, Federal and State unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation); and other benefits (severance pay, and supplemental unemployment benefits).
This tool lets users query the BLS databases for specific data series. For each survey and program, make a selection for each characteristic in the order listed. As you make your selection, the remaining characteristics will filter to show only choices where data are available. After choosing the series, click on “Add to selection.” If you need more data series, repeat the steps of choosing the data series you need. After you've finished finding the data series you need, click on the “Get Data” button to retrieve the data, and an HTML table with data for the most recent 10 years will display. If you desire a different time period or format, you may modify the options on the data display page, or click on the “More Formatting Options” button for additional options on refining the data retrieval results. Note: Users may not retrieve more than 200 data series in one query.
Users have the option of viewing Employer/Employee Characteristics for a Compensation Component or Compensation Components for an Employer/Employee Characteristic. Click on the radio button next to the desired view.
Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.
Click on the compensation component of interest to select it. If the Employer/Employee Characteristics for a Compensation Component view is used, the employer/employee characteristics with the selected compensation component available will automatically appear in the window to the right.
Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.
Click on the employer or employee characteristic of interest to select it. If the Compensation Component for an Employer/Employee Characteristic view is used, the compensation components available for the selected employer or employee characteristic will automatically appear in the window to the right. To select multiple options, hold the Ctrl/Command button, and click the desired options.
Click on the Sector of the Economy of interest.
You must make a selection for each of the characteristics in the order listed. Once you have selected all of the characteristics, the “Add to selection” button becomes active. Click the “Add to selection” button to list the selected data series in the “Your selection” box. You can return to the characteristics boxes and make new selections to request additional data series. Click the "Get Data" button to retrieve all the selected data series.
You must make a selection for each of the characteristics in the order listed. Once you have selected all of the characteristics, the “Get Data” button becomes active. Click to retrieve the data.
Last Modified Date: February 20, 2018
United States Department of Labor
