Technical Contact: USDL: 07-0158 (202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov Media Contact: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL (202) 691-5902 IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED Internet address: UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (E.S.T.), http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007 EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-DECEMBER 2006 Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from September to December 2006, seasonally adjusted, moderating from the 1.0 percent gain from June to September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent between September and December, compared with the 0.9 percent gain of the previous quarter. Benefit costs during the quarter rose 1.1 percent, unchanged from the gain of the previous quarter. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government). Increases in benefit costs accounted for one-third of the rise in compensation costs for civilian workers from September to December 2006. Among private industry workers, benefit costs attributed about three-tenths of the compensation gains during the quarter. Among state and local government workers, benefit costs comprised approximately two-fifths of the compensation cost gains during the September to December quarter. Health insurance costs and defined benefit contributions represented nearly three-tenths of the gain in compensation costs for state and local government workers from September to December 2006. Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.8 percent from September to December, after advancing 0.9 percent in the prior quarter. For state and local government workers, compensation costs increased 1.0 percent from September to December, after increasing 1.4 percent for the quarter ended in September. (See tables A and 1.) Wages and salaries of civilian workers increased 0.8 percent during the December quarter, compared with an increase of 0.9 percent in the September quarter. Wages and salaries for private industry workers rose 0.7 percent for the December quarter, compared with an increase of 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. Wages and salaries in state and local government advanced 0.8 percent during the September to December period, slowing from the 1.4 percent gain in the prior quarter. (See tables A and 2.) NOTE Beginning with the March 2007 data, "white-collar occupations," blue-collar occupations," and "excluding sales occupations" series will be discontinued, along with "durable goods" and "nondurable goods" manufacturing estimates. For more information on the changes, see the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsm0001.htm. Benefit costs for civilian and private industry workers in the December quarter were unchanged from the September quarter, advancing 1.1 percent for civilian and 1.0 percent for private industry workers. Benefit costs for state and local government workers increased 1.4 percent in the December quarter, compared with the 1.5 percent gain in September. (See tables A and 3.) Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Compensation component 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Civilian workers Compensation costs 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.0 0.8 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.8 Benefit costs 1.6 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.1 Private industry Compensation costs 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.8 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.7 Benefit costs 1.5 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.0 State and local government Compensation costs 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.5 1.1 1.4 1.0 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.9 1.4 0.8 Benefit costs 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 0.7 1.5 1.5 1.4 Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted Annual compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.3 percent for the year ended December 2006, compared with a 3.1 percent over-the-year increase for December 2005. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.2 percent in the year ended December 2006, compared with a 2.9 percent increase in December 2005. For state and local governments, compensation costs increased 4.1 percent for the year ended December 2006, the same over-the-year gain as in December 2005. (See tables B, 4, 5, and 7.) Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Civilian workers Compensation costs 4.2 3.3 3.9 3.7 3.1 3.3 Wages and salaries 3.7 2.8 2.9 2.5 2.6 3.2 Benefit costs 5.1 4.6 6.4 6.7 4.5 3.6 Private industry Compensation costs 4.1 3.1 4.0 3.8 2.9 3.2 Wages and salaries 3.8 2.6 3.1 2.6 2.5 3.2 Benefit costs 5.2 4.2 6.5 6.7 4.0 3.1 State and local government government Compensation costs 4.1 4.1 3.5 3.6 4.1 4.1 Wages and salaries 3.8 3.1 2.2 2.1 3.1 3.5 Benefit costs 5.1 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.3 5.2 The components of compensation differed in their rates of change. While increases in wages and salaries became greater, the sharp increases in benefit costs seen for civilian and private industry workers over the past several years slowed to a more moderate pace. For civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 3.2 percent in the year ended December 2006, greater than the gains of 2.6 percent in December 2005 and 2.5 percent in December 2004. Benefit costs gained 3.6 percent for civilian workers for the year ended December 2006, slowing significantly from increases of 4.5 percent for the year ended December 2005 and 6.7 percent for the year ended December 2004. (See tables B, 8, and 12.) Nonfarm private industry For the year ended December 2006, compensation costs increased 2.5 percent for goods-producing industries, slowing from the increase of 3.2 percent for the year ended December 2005. The rise in compensation costs for manufacturing slowed for the year ending December 2006, advancing 1.8 percent compared with the 3.2 percent gain in December 2005. (See table 5.) The over-the-year increase for December 2006 in compensation for service-providing industries was 3.4 percent, compared with the 2.8 percent gain for the year ended December 2005. Among the service-providing supersector industries, compensation gains ranged from 2.5 percent in the financial activities industry to 4.1 percent in education and health services. For the year ended December 2006, compensation costs jumped 10.4 percent in the utilities industry sector, compared with an increase of 5.2 percent for the year ended December 2005. In contrast, compensation costs slowed sharply for the real estate and rental and leasing sector, the jump of 9.6 percent for the year ended December 2005 slowed to a change of 0.8 percent for December 2006. (See table 5.) Among white-collar occupational groups, over-the-year compensation cost gains for the year ended December 2006 ranged from 2.3 percent for sales and related workers to 3.9 percent for professional and related employees. Among blue-collar occupational groups, compensation cost changes ranged from 2.0 percent for production workers to 3.7 percent for construction and extraction workers. Compensation costs for service workers gained 3.1 percent for the year ended December 2006. (See table 5.) Compensation costs for union workers advanced 3.0 percent over the year ended December 2006, compared with 2.8 percent for the year ended December 2005. For nonunion workers, compensation costs rose 3.2 percent for the year ended December 2006, compared with a gain of 2.9 percent in September 2005. Wages and salaries for nonunion workers rose 3.3 percent for the 12 months ended in December 2006, compared with the over-the-year increase of 2.3 percent for union workers. Benefit costs for union workers rose 4.2 percent, greater than the 2.9 percent gain for nonunion workers in December 2006. (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 Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Union workers Compensation costs 4.2 4.0 4.6 5.4 2.8 3.0 Wages and salaries 4.3 3.3 2.5 2.8 2.5 2.3 Benefit costs 3.9 5.0 8.5 9.9 3.3 4.2 Nonunion workers Compensation costs 4.2 2.8 4.0 3.5 2.9 3.2 Wages and salaries 3.7 2.6 3.1 2.6 2.5 3.3 Benefit costs 5.4 4.0 6.0 6.0 4.2 2.9 State and local government Wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.5 percent in the year ended December 2006, compared with a gain of 3.1 percent for the year ended December 2005. Benefit costs rose 5.2 percent for the year ended December 2006, moderating from the gain of 6.3 percent for the year ended December 2005. (See tables B, 11, and 12.) For the year ended December 2006, compensation costs increased 5.7 percent for the health care and social assistance industry, significantly higher than the 3.6 percent increase for the year ended December 2005. Compensation costs for education services rose 4.1 percent, the same increase as the year ended December 2005. Among occupational groups, compensation costs for professional and related workers rose 4.0 percent, for office and administrative support workers, 4.2 percent, and for service workers, 4.5 percent for the year ended December 2006. (See table 7.) Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted Annual changes are computed in terms of December 2005 dollars to give an approximate measure of changes in wages and salaries after adjustment for the changes over the same time in the price of consumer goods and services. These estimates, in "constant dollars," show that wages and salaries for most sectors increased for the year ended December 2006 for the first time since December 2003. Wages and salaries of civilian workers rose 0.7 percent for the year ended December 2006; a 3.2 percent gain in nominal wages and salaries for the year ended December 2006 was offset by an increase of 2.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for the same time period. Wages and salaries for civilian workers declined 0.8 percent for the year ended December 2005. Wages and salaries in private industry rose 0.6 percent in the year ended December 2006, compared with a decline of 0.9 percent in December 2005. Wages and salaries increased 1.0 percent for state and local government workers for the year ended December 2006, compared with an over-the-year decrease of 0.3 percent in December 2005. These inflation-adjusted ECI series were derived using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average All Items. (See table D, the Technical Note, and the Constant Dollar historical listing at http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf, for details.) Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Sector, occupational group and industry 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Civilian workers 2.2 0.3 1.0 -0.7 -0.8 0.7 Occupation Management, professional, and related 2.4 0.4 1.4 -0.8 -0.9 1.0 Sales and office 1.8 0.6 0.9 -0.3 -0.5 0.4 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 2.2 0.5 0.8 -0.9 -0.7 0.9 Production, transportation, and material moving 2.3 0.2 0.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.1 Service 1.9 0.0 0.5 -1.2 -1.0 0.6 Industry Goods producing 1.9 0.5 0.6 -0.8 -0.5 0.3 Service providing 2.2 0.4 1.1 -0.7 -0.9 0.8 Private industry 2.2 0.3 1.2 -0.7 -0.9 0.6 State and local government 2.1 0.7 0.4 -1.2 -0.3 1.0 ________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: The ECI for March 2007 is scheduled to be released Friday, April 27, 2007, at 8:30 A.M. (E.D.T.). ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm. To access data using Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address ftp://ftp.bls.gov. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov. For ECI data requests, send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the subscription link on http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or http://www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.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. 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 102.6 103.4 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.0 0.8 Private industry workers All workers................................ 102.5 103.3 .9 .6 .7 .7 .6 .8 .9 .8 Occupational group White-collar occupations(3).............. 102.7 103.6 .9 .7 .7 .7 .6 .9 1.0 .9 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 102.2 102.9 .6 .6 .7 .6 .4 .8 .8 .7 Industry Goods-producing industries(5)............ 101.8 102.7 .9 .9 .8 .5 .1 .9 .6 .9 Construction........................... 102.7 103.8 .8 .8 1.0 .7 .7 .9 .9 1.1 Manufacturing.......................... 101.4 102.0 1.1 .8 .8 .5 -.2 .8 .6 .6 Durable goods........................ 101.1 101.5 1.3 .9 .7 .4 -.2 .9 .3 .4 Nondurable goods..................... 102.0 102.9 .5 .7 .9 .7 -.1 .5 1.1 .9 Service-providing industries(6).......... 102.7 103.5 .9 .5 .7 .7 .8 .8 1.0 .8 Trade, transportation, and utilities(7) 102.3 103.2 .9 .3 1.0 .8 .6 .5 1.0 .9 Retail trade......................... 101.8 102.9 .9 .5 .8 .8 .4 .4 .8 1.1 Information(7)......................... 103.0 103.5 1.0 .9 .4 .9 .4 1.2 1.1 .5 Financial activities(7)................ 102.2 102.9 1.5 .7 .5 1.0 .9 .3 .7 .7 Professional and business services(7).. 102.9 103.5 .6 .3 .1 .4 1.1 1.1 .7 .6 Education and health services(7)....... 103.2 104.2 .9 .8 .8 .9 .8 1.0 1.3 1.0 Education services................... 102.7 104.1 1.0 .9 1.1 .7 .9 1.3 .6 1.4 Health care and social assistance(8) 103.2 104.3 .9 .8 .7 .9 .9 .9 1.3 1.1 Leisure and hospitality(7)............. 102.4 103.8 .6 .6 .7 .6 .4 1.0 1.0 1.4 Other services, except public administration(7)..................... 103.5 104.2 .7 .6 1.4 .3 1.2 1.3 .8 .7 State and local government workers All workers................................ 102.9 103.9 1.0 .9 1.0 1.1 .5 1.1 1.4 1.0 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 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 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. 7 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 8 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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. 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 102.5 103.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.8 Private industry workers All workers................................ 102.5 103.2 .7 .5 .6 .6 .7 .9 .8 .7 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 102.7 103.5 .7 .6 .6 .6 .7 1.0 .9 .8 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 102.2 102.8 .5 .6 .6 .6 .7 .7 .8 .6 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 102.1 103.0 .6 .7 .8 .8 .6 .9 .4 .9 Construction........................... 102.6 103.8 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .7 1.2 .6 1.2 Manufacturing.......................... 101.8 102.5 .6 .6 .8 .6 .5 .8 .3 .7 Durable goods........................ 101.8 102.4 .7 .5 .7 .6 .7 1.0 .0 .6 Nondurable goods..................... 101.8 102.7 .4 .5 1.1 .6 .2 .5 .8 .9 Service-providing industries(5).......... 102.6 103.3 .7 .5 .6 .6 .8 .8 1.0 .7 Trade, transportation, and utilities(6) 102.0 102.8 .6 .4 1.0 .7 .3 .4 1.2 .8 Retail trade......................... 101.8 102.9 .6 .6 .8 .6 .5 .2 1.0 1.1 Information(6)......................... 102.6 102.5 .7 .8 .2 .8 .8 .7 1.0 -.1 Financial activities(6)................ 102.5 103.0 .9 .7 .2 .7 1.1 .6 .6 .5 Professional and business services(6).. 102.9 103.5 .5 .2 .0 .3 .9 1.4 .6 .6 Education and health services(6)....... 103.0 103.9 .9 .7 .6 .8 .7 1.0 1.3 .9 Education services................... 102.7 104.0 1.0 .8 .9 .6 1.0 1.2 .7 1.3 Health care and social assistance(7) 103.0 103.9 .9 .7 .6 .8 .7 1.0 1.3 .9 Leisure and hospitality(6)............. 102.3 103.6 .5 .8 .9 .6 .6 1.0 .8 1.3 State and local government workers All workers................................ 102.6 103.4 .7 .6 .7 1.0 .4 .9 1.4 .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 the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 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, 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. 6 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 7 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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. 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 102.7 103.8 1.6 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.1 Private industry workers All workers................................ 102.5 103.5 1.5 .8 .9 .7 .4 .7 1.0 1.0 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 102.5 103.9 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.0 -.1 .9 1.0 1.4 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 102.3 103.2 .8 .6 .8 .6 .1 .9 .9 .9 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 101.3 102.0 1.6 1.2 .9 .0 -.8 .7 1.1 .7 Manufacturing.......................... 100.6 101.1 2.0 1.2 .8 .2 -1.4 .8 1.0 .5 Service-providing industries(5).......... 103.0 104.1 1.5 .6 .9 1.0 .9 .7 1.0 1.1 State and local government workers All workers................................ 103.6 105.1 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 .7 1.5 1.5 1.4 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 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 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, 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 100.0 102.7 103.3 0.6 1.1 0.6 3.1 3.3 3.3 Excluding sales occupations............ 100.0 102.8 103.4 .5 1.2 .6 3.1 3.3 3.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(3)(4)..................... - 102.7 103.4 - 1.2 .7 - - 3.4 Occupational group White-collar occupations(5).............. 100.0 102.8 103.5 .6 1.2 .7 3.3 3.4 3.5 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 103.0 103.6 .6 1.3 .6 3.2 3.6 3.6 Management, professional, and related(6)............................ 100.0 103.0 103.7 .6 1.4 .7 3.3 3.6 3.7 Management, business, and financial.. 100.0 102.7 103.2 .3 .8 .5 2.4 3.0 3.2 Professional and related............. 100.0 103.2 104.0 .7 1.8 .8 3.8 3.9 4.0 Sales and office(6).................... 100.0 102.4 103.0 .7 .8 .6 3.3 3.1 3.0 Sales and related(6)................. 100.0 101.7 102.3 .8 .6 .6 3.8 2.5 2.3 Office and administrative support.... 100.0 102.8 103.5 .6 .9 .7 3.0 3.4 3.5 Blue-collar occupations(7)............... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .4 .8 .6 2.7 2.7 2.9 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(6)(8)..................... 100.0 103.0 103.6 .5 1.0 .6 3.1 3.5 3.6 Construction and extraction(6)....... 100.0 103.0 103.7 .6 1.0 .7 3.0 3.6 3.7 Installation, maintenance, and repair(6)........................... 100.0 103.0 103.6 .4 1.0 .6 3.2 3.4 3.6 Production, transportation, and material moving(6).................... 100.0 101.8 102.4 .3 .7 .6 2.4 2.1 2.4 Production(6)........................ 100.0 101.6 102.0 .4 .6 .4 2.4 2.0 2.0 Transportation and material moving(6) 100.0 102.2 102.8 .2 .9 .6 2.5 2.4 2.8 Service occupations...................... 100.0 102.5 103.5 .6 1.1 1.0 3.1 3.1 3.5 Industry Goods-producing industries(9)............ 100.0 102.0 102.5 .2 .7 .5 3.2 2.2 2.5 Manufacturing.......................... 100.0 101.4 101.8 .2 .4 .4 3.2 1.6 1.8 Service-providing industries(10)......... 100.0 102.9 103.5 .7 1.3 .6 3.1 3.6 3.5 Education and health services(6)....... 100.0 103.5 104.2 .9 2.2 .7 3.7 4.4 4.2 Education services................... 100.0 103.4 104.1 1.0 2.7 .7 4.1 4.4 4.1 Elementary and secondary schools(6) 100.0 103.5 104.2 1.1 3.0 .7 4.2 4.7 4.2 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(6)........................ 100.0 103.3 103.8 .7 2.4 .5 3.7 4.0 3.8 Health care and social assistance(11) 100.0 103.5 104.3 .7 1.5 .8 3.4 4.2 4.3 Hospitals.......................... 100.0 103.2 104.0 .7 1.3 .8 4.0 3.9 4.0 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 100.0 102.6 103.7 .8 1.2 1.1 3.5 3.4 3.7 Public administration.................. 100.0 102.4 103.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 4.4 3.4 3.8 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 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 4 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 5 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 6 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 7 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 8 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 9 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 10 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; other services, except public administration; and public administration. 11 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 100.0 102.5 103.2 0.5 0.8 0.7 2.9 3.0 3.2 Excluding sales occupations.............. 100.0 102.6 103.3 .4 .8 .7 2.8 3.0 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)....................... - 102.5 103.2 - .8 .7 - - 3.2 Occupational group White-collar occupations(4)................ 100.0 102.7 103.3 .5 .9 .6 3.1 3.2 3.3 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.9 103.5 .4 1.0 .6 3.0 3.3 3.5 Management, professional, and related(5) 100.0 102.9 103.5 .4 1.0 .6 3.0 3.3 3.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.8 103.5 - 1.0 .7 - - 3.5 Management, business, and financial.... 100.0 102.7 103.1 .3 .7 .4 2.1 3.0 3.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.6 103.1 - .7 .5 - - 3.1 Professional and related............... 100.0 103.1 103.9 .5 1.3 .8 3.6 3.6 3.9 Sales and office(5)...................... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .7 .7 .6 3.3 3.0 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.5 103.2 - .6 .7 - - 3.2 Sales and related...................... 100.0 101.7 102.3 .8 .6 .6 4.0 2.5 2.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.2 102.9 - .3 .7 - - 2.9 Office and administrative support...... 100.0 102.7 103.4 .5 .8 .7 2.9 3.2 3.4 Blue-collar occupations(6)................. 100.0 102.3 102.8 .4 .8 .5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)....................... 100.0 103.0 103.6 .5 .9 .6 3.0 3.5 3.6 Construction and extraction(5)......... 100.0 103.1 103.7 .5 .9 .6 2.9 3.6 3.7 Installation, maintenance, and repair(5)............................. 100.0 103.0 103.4 .4 .9 .4 3.1 3.4 3.4 Production, transportation, and material moving(5)............................... 100.0 101.7 102.3 .3 .6 .6 2.2 2.0 2.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 101.7 102.2 - .6 .5 - - 2.2 Production(5).......................... 100.0 101.6 102.0 .4 .6 .4 2.4 2.0 2.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 101.5 102.0 - .5 .5 - - 2.0 Transportation and material moving(5).. 100.0 102.0 102.6 .2 .8 .6 2.1 2.2 2.6 Service occupations........................ 100.0 102.3 103.1 .5 .8 .8 2.4 2.8 3.1 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(8).............. 100.0 102.0 102.5 .2 .7 .5 3.2 2.2 2.5 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.0 102.5 .2 .8 .5 3.0 2.2 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.0 102.5 - .7 .5 - - 2.5 White-collar occupations(4).............. 100.0 101.8 102.2 .0 .5 .4 4.5 1.8 2.2 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 101.8 102.2 -.1 .9 .4 4.2 1.7 2.2 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 100.0 101.6 102.0 -.2 .9 .4 4.6 1.4 2.0 Sales and office(5).................... 100.0 102.1 102.8 .3 -.6 .7 4.4 2.4 2.8 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 100.0 102.1 102.6 .3 .7 .5 2.5 2.4 2.6 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 100.0 102.7 103.3 .4 .8 .6 2.8 3.1 3.3 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 100.0 101.6 102.0 .2 .6 .4 2.2 1.8 2.0 Construction............................. 100.0 103.0 103.6 .3 1.1 .6 3.4 3.3 3.6 Manufacturing............................ 100.0 101.4 101.8 .2 .4 .4 3.2 1.6 1.8 White-collar occupations(4)............ 100.0 101.3 101.6 .1 .1 .3 4.7 1.4 1.6 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 101.5 101.7 .2 .8 .2 4.7 1.7 1.7 Management, professional, and related(5).......................... 100.0 101.3 101.4 .2 .8 .1 5.2 1.5 1.4 Sales and office(5).................. 100.0 101.3 102.1 .1 -1.5 .8 3.8 1.4 2.1 Blue-collar occupations(6)............. 100.0 101.5 101.9 .3 .6 .4 2.1 1.8 1.9 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)................... 100.0 101.5 102.1 .5 .7 .6 2.1 2.0 2.1 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................. 100.0 101.5 101.9 .2 .6 .4 2.1 1.7 1.9 Durable goods.......................... 100.0 101.1 101.4 .2 .2 .3 3.3 1.3 1.4 Aircraft manufacturing............... 100.0 93.9 93.2 1.5 2.8 -.7 18.3 -4.7 -6.8 White-collar occupations(4)........ 100.0 95.3 95.2 .6 2.8 -.1 17.9 -4.1 -4.8 Blue-collar occupations(6)......... 100.0 91.7 90.3 3.1 2.9 -1.5 19.0 -5.5 -9.7 Nondurable goods....................... 100.0 101.9 102.5 .3 .8 .6 2.9 2.2 2.5 Service-providing industries(9)............ 100.0 102.7 103.4 .5 .9 .7 2.8 3.2 3.4 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.9 103.5 .5 .9 .6 2.7 3.4 3.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - 102.7 103.5 - .8 .8 - - 3.5 White-collar occupations(4).............. 100.0 102.8 103.5 .6 .9 .7 2.9 3.4 3.5 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 103.0 103.7 .5 .9 .7 2.8 3.5 3.7 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 100.0 103.2 103.8 .5 1.0 .6 2.7 3.7 3.8 Sales and office(5).................... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .7 .8 .6 3.2 3.0 2.9 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 100.0 102.6 103.1 .5 .9 .5 2.7 3.1 3.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 100.0 103.6 104.0 .6 1.1 .4 3.4 4.2 4.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 100.0 101.9 102.6 .4 .6 .7 2.4 2.3 2.6 Service occupations...................... 100.0 102.3 103.1 .5 .8 .8 2.4 2.8 3.1 Trade, transportation, and utilities(5).. 100.0 102.4 103.0 .6 1.0 .6 3.1 3.0 3.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.5 103.1 - .6 .6 - - 3.1 Wholesale trade........................ 100.0 102.4 102.9 .8 1.6 .5 4.2 3.2 2.9 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.6 103.2 .2 1.0 .6 2.8 2.8 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.5 103.2 - .9 .7 - - 3.2 Retail trade........................... 100.0 101.9 102.7 .5 .7 .8 3.0 2.4 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.1 102.6 - .5 .5 - - 2.6 Transportation and warehousing......... 100.0 101.6 102.2 .3 .6 .6 1.5 1.9 2.2 Utilities.............................. 100.0 110.1 110.4 .5 .7 .3 5.2 10.7 10.4 Information(5)........................... 100.0 103.0 103.2 .5 .9 .2 3.3 3.5 3.2 Financial activities..................... 100.0 102.1 102.5 .8 .3 .4 3.3 2.9 2.5 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.6 102.7 .6 .6 .1 2.7 3.2 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.3 102.8 - .6 .5 - - 2.8 Finance and insurance(5)............... 100.0 102.6 102.9 .5 .2 .3 2.2 3.1 2.9 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 100.0 102.4 102.0 .5 .1 -.4 1.0 2.9 2.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.7 103.2 - .7 .5 - - 3.2 Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 100.0 102.0 102.6 .6 .4 .6 3.5 2.6 2.6 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 101.9 102.3 .5 .4 .4 3.4 2.4 2.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 102.0 102.4 - .4 .4 - - 2.4 Real estate and rental and leasing(5).. 100.0 100.2 100.8 1.4 .9 .6 9.6 1.6 .8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - 101.6 102.1 - 1.1 .5 - - 2.1 Professional and business services(5).... 100.0 102.9 103.5 .4 .7 .6 1.5 3.3 3.5 Professional, scientific, and technical services(5)........................... 100.0 103.6 104.4 .5 .9 .8 1.2 4.1 4.4 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(5) 100.0 102.1 102.8 .1 .2 .7 1.4 2.2 2.8 Education and health services(5)......... 100.0 103.2 104.1 .7 1.4 .9 3.4 3.9 4.1 Education services..................... 100.0 103.2 104.2 .4 1.7 1.0 3.7 3.6 4.2 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(5).......................... 100.0 103.5 104.4 .5 1.9 .9 3.6 4.0 4.4 Health care and social assistance(10).. 100.0 103.2 104.1 .7 1.3 .9 3.4 3.9 4.1 Hospitals............................ 100.0 103.2 103.9 .8 1.2 .7 4.2 4.0 3.9 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 100.0 102.4 103.5 .9 1.0 1.1 3.3 3.3 3.5 Nursing care facilities(2)(3)...... - 102.0 103.1 - .8 1.1 - - 3.1 Leisure and hospitality(5)............... 100.0 102.4 103.7 .4 1.1 1.3 2.4 2.8 3.7 Accommodation and food services(5)..... 100.0 102.5 104.0 .5 1.1 1.5 2.1 3.0 4.0 Other services, except public administration(5)....................... 100.0 103.6 104.0 .1 .9 .4 2.9 3.7 4.0 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 5 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 6 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 7 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 8 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 9 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. 10 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 6. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for private industry workers, by bargaining status, census region, census divisions, and area Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Bargaining status, census region and division, and metropolitan area status 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Bargaining status Union.................................... 100.0 102.4 103.0 0.4 0.6 0.6 2.8 2.8 3.0 Blue-collar occupations(2)........... 100.0 102.0 102.5 .4 .5 .5 2.6 2.4 2.5 Goods-producing industries(3).......... 100.0 101.8 102.2 .4 .6 .4 2.9 2.2 2.2 Manufacturing........................ 100.0 100.5 100.8 .3 .4 .3 2.2 .8 .8 Blue-collar occupations(2)......... 100.0 100.5 100.7 .3 .3 .2 1.8 .8 .7 Service-providing industries(4)........ 100.0 102.9 103.6 .4 .7 .7 2.8 3.3 3.6 Nonunion................................. 100.0 102.6 103.2 .5 .9 .6 2.9 3.1 3.2 Blue-collar occupations(2)........... 100.0 102.4 103.0 .4 .8 .6 2.6 2.8 3.0 Goods-producing industries(3).......... 100.0 102.0 102.5 .1 .6 .5 3.3 2.1 2.5 Manufacturing........................ 100.0 101.7 102.1 .2 .4 .4 3.5 1.9 2.1 Blue-collar occupations(2)......... 100.0 102.1 102.7 .3 .8 .6 2.4 2.4 2.7 Service-providing industries(4)........ 100.0 102.7 103.4 .6 .9 .7 2.8 3.3 3.4 Census region and division(5) Northeast................................ 100.0 102.5 103.3 .8 .7 .8 3.5 3.3 3.3 New England(6)......................... - 102.1 103.1 - .7 1.0 - - 3.1 Middle Atlantic(6)..................... - 102.6 103.3 - .7 .7 - - 3.3 South.................................... 100.0 102.8 103.5 .3 1.2 .7 2.4 3.1 3.5 South Atlantic(6)...................... - 103.1 103.8 - 1.2 .7 - - 3.8 East South Central(6).................. - 101.5 102.3 - .6 .8 - - 2.3 West South Central(6).................. - 102.7 103.4 - 1.3 .7 - - 3.4 Midwest.................................. 100.0 102.3 102.8 .5 .6 .5 3.2 2.8 2.8 East North Central(6).................. - 102.3 102.8 - .6 .5 - - 2.8 West North Central(6).................. - 102.4 102.7 - .9 .3 - - 2.7 West..................................... 100.0 102.5 103.0 .3 .7 .5 2.7 2.8 3.0 Mountain(6)............................ - 102.7 103.1 - .9 .4 - - 3.1 Pacific(6)............................. - 102.5 103.0 - .7 .5 - - 3.0 Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas(7).................... - 102.5 103.1 - .8 .6 - - 3.1 Nonmetropolitan areas(7)................. - 102.6 103.3 - 1.1 .7 - - 3.3 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 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 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. 6 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 7 Data are available beginning with December 2005. 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.) Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 State and local government workers All workers................................ 100.0 103.2 104.1 0.9 2.3 0.9 4.1 4.1 4.1 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 100.0 103.3 104.0 1.0 2.4 .7 4.0 4.3 4.0 Management, professional, and related(3)............................ 100.0 103.3 104.0 1.0 2.5 .7 4.0 4.3 4.0 Professional and related............. 100.0 103.4 104.0 1.1 2.6 .6 4.1 4.6 4.0 Sales and office(3).................... 100.0 103.3 104.1 .7 1.8 .8 3.6 4.0 4.1 Office and administrative support.... 100.0 103.5 104.2 .8 1.9 .7 3.7 4.3 4.2 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 100.0 102.9 104.0 .5 1.9 1.1 4.4 3.4 4.0 Service occupations...................... 100.0 103.1 104.5 .9 1.9 1.4 4.7 4.0 4.5 Industry Education and health services(3)....... 100.0 103.7 104.3 1.0 2.9 .6 4.1 4.7 4.3 Education services................... 100.0 103.5 104.1 1.1 3.0 .6 4.1 4.7 4.1 Schools(5)......................... 100.0 103.5 104.1 1.1 3.0 .6 4.1 4.7 4.1 Elementary and secondary schools 100.0 103.6 104.2 1.2 3.1 .6 4.2 4.9 4.2 Health care and social assistance(6) 100.0 105.1 105.7 .5 2.1 .6 3.6 5.6 5.7 Hospitals.......................... 100.0 103.3 104.3 .5 2.0 1.0 3.4 3.8 4.3 Public administration.................. 100.0 102.4 103.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 4.4 3.4 3.8 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 100.0 102.6 103.2 0.6 1.1 0.6 2.6 3.2 3.2 Excluding sales occupations............ 100.0 102.6 103.3 .6 1.1 .7 2.5 3.2 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)..................... - 102.5 103.2 - 1.0 .7 - - 3.2 Occupational group White-collar occupations(4).............. 100.0 102.8 103.4 .6 1.2 .6 2.7 3.4 3.4 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.9 103.5 .6 1.2 .6 2.6 3.5 3.5 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 100.0 102.9 103.6 .6 1.3 .7 2.6 3.5 3.6 Management, business, and financial.. 100.0 102.7 103.1 .4 .7 .4 1.6 3.1 3.1 Professional and related............. 100.0 103.1 103.8 .7 1.7 .7 3.0 3.8 3.8 Sales and office(5).................... 100.0 102.4 103.0 .7 .8 .6 2.9 3.1 3.0 Sales and related(5)................. 100.0 102.0 102.5 .8 .7 .5 3.5 2.8 2.5 Office and administrative support.... 100.0 102.6 103.3 .6 .8 .7 2.5 3.2 3.3 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .5 .9 .6 2.5 2.8 2.9 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 100.0 102.7 103.4 .6 .9 .7 2.7 3.3 3.4 Construction and extraction(5)....... 100.0 102.9 103.7 .7 1.0 .8 2.7 3.6 3.7 Installation, maintenance, and repair(5)........................... 100.0 102.6 103.1 .5 1.0 .5 2.7 3.1 3.1 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 100.0 101.9 102.5 .4 .7 .6 2.2 2.3 2.5 Production(5)........................ 100.0 101.8 102.3 .5 .6 .5 2.6 2.3 2.3 Transportation and material moving(5) 100.0 102.1 102.7 .3 .9 .6 1.8 2.4 2.7 Service occupations...................... 100.0 102.2 103.2 .5 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.7 3.2 Industry Goods-producing industries(8)............ 100.0 102.3 102.9 .5 .5 .6 2.9 2.8 2.9 Manufacturing.......................... 100.0 101.9 102.3 .4 .2 .4 2.7 2.3 2.3 Service-providing industries(9).......... 100.0 102.7 103.3 .6 1.2 .6 2.6 3.3 3.3 Education and health services(5)....... 100.0 103.1 103.8 .9 2.0 .7 3.1 4.0 3.8 Education services................... 100.0 103.0 103.5 1.0 2.5 .5 3.2 4.0 3.5 Elementary and secondary schools(5) 100.0 102.9 103.4 1.1 2.6 .5 3.2 4.0 3.4 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(5)........................ 100.0 103.0 103.6 .7 2.1 .6 3.0 3.7 3.6 Health care and social assistance(10) 100.0 103.2 104.1 .8 1.4 .9 3.0 4.0 4.1 Hospitals.......................... 100.0 102.9 103.8 .8 1.2 .9 3.4 3.7 3.8 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 100.0 102.2 103.3 .9 1.0 1.1 3.2 3.1 3.3 Public administration.................. 100.0 102.0 103.5 .7 .9 1.5 3.1 2.7 3.5 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 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 5 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 6 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 7 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 8 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 9 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; other services, except public administration; and public administration. 10 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 100.0 102.5 103.2 0.5 0.8 0.7 2.5 3.0 3.2 Excluding sales occupations.............. 100.0 102.6 103.2 .5 .9 .6 2.4 3.1 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)....................... - 102.5 103.2 - .8 .7 - - 3.2 Occupational group White-collar occupations(3)................ 100.0 102.7 103.3 .5 .9 .6 2.6 3.2 3.3 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.9 103.5 .5 .9 .6 2.4 3.4 3.5 Management, professional, and related(4) 100.0 103.0 103.6 .4 1.0 .6 2.2 3.4 3.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.9 103.6 - 1.0 .7 - - 3.6 Management, business, and financial.... 100.0 102.8 103.1 .5 .6 .3 1.5 3.3 3.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.6 103.2 - .6 .6 - - 3.2 Professional and related............... 100.0 103.1 104.0 .4 1.3 .9 2.9 3.5 4.0 Sales and office(4)...................... 100.0 102.4 103.0 .7 .8 .6 2.9 3.1 3.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.4 103.1 - .6 .7 - - 3.1 Sales and related...................... 100.0 102.0 102.6 .8 .7 .6 3.5 2.8 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.2 102.8 - .4 .6 - - 2.8 Office and administrative support...... 100.0 102.6 103.3 .6 .7 .7 2.5 3.2 3.3 Blue-collar occupations(5)................. 100.0 102.2 102.8 .5 .7 .6 2.4 2.7 2.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)....................... 100.0 102.8 103.4 .6 1.0 .6 2.6 3.4 3.4 Construction and extraction(4)......... 100.0 103.0 103.7 .7 1.0 .7 2.6 3.7 3.7 Installation, maintenance, and repair(4)............................. 100.0 102.6 103.0 .5 1.0 .4 2.7 3.1 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(4)............................... 100.0 101.8 102.4 .4 .6 .6 2.2 2.2 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 101.7 102.2 - .6 .5 - - 2.2 Production(4).......................... 100.0 101.7 102.2 .5 .5 .5 2.6 2.2 2.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 101.7 102.2 - .5 .5 - - 2.2 Transportation and material moving(4).. 100.0 102.0 102.6 .3 .8 .6 1.8 2.3 2.6 Service occupations........................ 100.0 102.0 102.9 .4 .7 .9 2.1 2.4 2.9 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(7).............. 100.0 102.3 102.9 .5 .5 .6 2.9 2.8 2.9 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .5 .6 .6 2.8 2.8 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.3 102.9 - .6 .6 - - 2.9 White-collar occupations(3).............. 100.0 102.3 102.9 .3 .1 .6 3.2 2.6 2.9 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.5 102.9 .4 .7 .4 2.9 2.9 2.9 Management, professional, and related(4)............................ 100.0 102.4 102.8 .3 .7 .4 2.9 2.7 2.8 Sales and office(4).................... 100.0 102.2 103.1 .3 -1.2 .9 4.0 2.5 3.1 Blue-collar occupations(5)............... 100.0 102.2 102.9 .6 .6 .7 2.7 2.8 2.9 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)..................... 100.0 102.7 103.4 .6 .8 .7 2.7 3.3 3.4 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................... 100.0 101.9 102.4 .5 .6 .5 2.6 2.4 2.4 Construction............................. 100.0 102.9 103.7 .6 .9 .8 3.2 3.5 3.7 Manufacturing............................ 100.0 101.9 102.3 .4 .2 .4 2.7 2.3 2.3 White-collar occupations(3)............ 100.0 101.9 102.2 .1 -.3 .3 2.7 2.0 2.2 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.3 102.5 .2 .6 .2 2.6 2.5 2.5 Management, professional, and related(4).......................... 100.0 102.2 102.3 .1 .7 .1 2.6 2.3 2.3 Sales and office(4).................. 100.0 101.1 102.0 .0 -2.6 .9 2.9 1.1 2.0 Blue-collar occupations(5)............. 100.0 101.9 102.4 .6 .6 .5 2.6 2.5 2.4 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)................... 100.0 102.3 103.0 .9 .6 .7 3.0 3.2 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................. 100.0 101.8 102.3 .5 .5 .5 2.6 2.3 2.3 Durable goods.......................... 100.0 101.9 102.3 .4 .0 .4 2.6 2.3 2.3 Aircraft manufacturing............... 100.0 102.9 102.7 .5 .4 -.2 3.1 3.4 2.7 White-collar occupations(3)........ 100.0 103.6 103.4 .6 .2 -.2 3.7 4.2 3.4 Blue-collar occupations(5)......... 100.0 101.8 101.4 .4 .7 -.4 2.0 2.2 1.4 Nondurable goods....................... 100.0 101.8 102.4 .3 .6 .6 2.7 2.1 2.4 Service-providing industries(8)............ 100.0 102.6 103.3 .5 .9 .7 2.4 3.1 3.3 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 102.7 103.4 .5 .9 .7 2.1 3.2 3.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - 102.5 103.3 - .8 .8 - - 3.3 White-collar occupations(3).............. 100.0 102.8 103.4 .6 1.0 .6 2.5 3.4 3.4 Excluding sales occupations.......... 100.0 103.0 103.6 .5 1.0 .6 2.2 3.5 3.6 Management, professional, and related(4)............................ 100.0 103.1 103.7 .4 1.1 .6 2.1 3.5 3.7 Sales and office(4).................... 100.0 102.4 102.9 .7 1.0 .5 2.8 3.1 2.9 Blue-collar occupations(5)............... 100.0 102.2 102.8 .4 .9 .6 2.0 2.6 2.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)..................... 100.0 103.0 103.4 .6 1.2 .4 2.5 3.6 3.4 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................... 100.0 101.7 102.4 .3 .7 .7 1.8 2.0 2.4 Service occupations...................... 100.0 102.0 102.9 .4 .7 .9 2.0 2.4 2.9 Trade, transportation, and utilities(4).. 100.0 102.1 102.7 .5 1.2 .6 2.8 2.6 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.1 102.7 - .7 .6 - - 2.7 Wholesale trade........................ 100.0 102.7 103.0 1.0 2.0 .3 4.1 3.7 3.0 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.9 103.5 .4 1.1 .6 2.2 3.3 3.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.7 103.3 - .9 .6 - - 3.3 Retail trade........................... 100.0 101.9 102.8 .4 1.0 .9 2.7 2.3 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.0 102.6 - .6 .6 - - 2.6 Transportation and warehousing......... 100.0 101.4 101.9 .1 .7 .5 1.3 1.5 1.9 Utilities.............................. 100.0 103.0 103.5 .5 .9 .5 2.7 3.5 3.5 Information(4)........................... 100.0 102.6 102.4 .7 .9 -.2 2.5 3.3 2.4 Financial activities..................... 100.0 102.5 102.8 .6 .2 .3 2.2 3.1 2.8 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 103.1 103.0 .5 .5 -.1 1.5 3.6 3.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.6 103.1 - .6 .5 - - 3.1 Finance and insurance(4)............... 100.0 102.9 103.2 .3 .1 .3 .8 3.2 3.2 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 100.0 102.7 101.7 .4 -.2 -1.0 -.2 3.1 1.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.9 103.2 - .6 .3 - - 3.2 Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 100.0 102.3 103.0 .3 .4 .7 2.4 2.6 3.0 Excluding sales occupations........ 100.0 102.2 102.6 .2 .3 .4 2.1 2.4 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.2 102.6 - .4 .4 - - 2.6 Real estate and rental and leasing(4).. 100.0 100.8 101.4 1.7 .9 .6 10.3 2.5 1.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - 102.5 103.0 - 1.0 .5 - - 3.0 Professional and business services(4).... 100.0 103.0 103.5 .3 .7 .5 1.0 3.3 3.5 Professional, scientific, and technical services(4)........................... 100.0 103.7 104.3 .4 1.0 .6 .7 4.1 4.3 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(4) 100.0 102.0 102.7 .0 .3 .7 1.0 2.0 2.7 Education and health services(4)......... 100.0 103.0 104.0 .7 1.4 1.0 3.1 3.7 4.0 Education services..................... 100.0 103.1 104.1 .3 1.7 1.0 3.3 3.4 4.1 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(4).......................... 100.0 103.4 104.4 .5 2.0 1.0 3.3 3.9 4.4 Health care and social assistance(9)... 100.0 103.0 103.9 .8 1.4 .9 3.0 3.8 3.9 Hospitals............................ 100.0 102.9 103.7 .9 1.1 .8 3.6 3.8 3.7 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 100.0 102.2 103.4 .9 .9 1.2 3.1 3.1 3.4 Nursing care facilities(1)(2)...... - 102.1 103.1 - .9 1.0 - - 3.1 Leisure and hospitality(4)............... 100.0 102.3 103.7 .5 1.0 1.4 2.5 2.8 3.7 Accommodation and food services(4)..... 100.0 102.2 103.8 .7 .9 1.6 2.6 2.9 3.8 Other services, except public administration(4)....................... 100.0 103.4 103.8 .2 .8 .4 3.0 3.6 3.8 1 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 4 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 5 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 6 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 7 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 8 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. 9 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 10. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by bargaining status, region, and area Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Bargaining status, census region and division, and metropolitan area status 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Bargaining status Union.................................... 100.0 101.7 102.3 0.5 0.5 0.6 2.5 2.2 2.3 Blue-collar occupations(1)........... 100.0 101.5 101.9 .6 .4 .4 2.4 2.1 1.9 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 100.0 101.9 102.3 .8 .3 .4 3.0 2.7 2.3 Manufacturing........................ 100.0 101.4 101.7 1.0 .2 .3 3.0 2.4 1.7 Blue-collar occupations(1)......... 100.0 101.2 101.5 1.0 .0 .3 3.0 2.2 1.5 Service-providing industries(3)........ 100.0 101.6 102.2 .3 .7 .6 2.0 1.9 2.2 Nonunion................................. 100.0 102.7 103.3 .5 .9 .6 2.5 3.2 3.3 Blue-collar occupations(1)........... 100.0 102.6 103.3 .5 1.0 .7 2.4 3.1 3.3 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 100.0 102.4 103.0 .4 .5 .6 2.8 2.8 3.0 Manufacturing........................ 100.0 102.0 102.5 .2 .2 .5 2.6 2.2 2.5 Blue-collar occupations(1)......... 100.0 102.3 102.9 .3 .9 .6 2.4 2.6 2.9 Service-providing industries(3)........ 100.0 102.7 103.4 .5 1.0 .7 2.4 3.2 3.4 Census region and division(4) Northeast................................ 100.0 102.5 103.1 .8 .8 .6 2.9 3.3 3.1 New England(5)......................... - 102.3 103.1 - .8 .8 - - 3.1 Middle Atlantic(5)..................... - 102.5 103.1 - .8 .6 - - 3.1 South.................................... 100.0 102.9 103.6 .3 1.3 .7 2.0 3.2 3.6 South Atlantic(5)...................... - 103.2 103.9 - 1.3 .7 - - 3.9 East South Central(5).................. - 102.1 103.1 - .6 1.0 - - 3.1 West South Central(5).................. - 102.7 103.4 - 1.5 .7 - - 3.4 Midwest.................................. 100.0 102.0 102.6 .6 .6 .6 3.0 2.6 2.6 East North Central(5).................. - 101.9 102.5 - .5 .6 - - 2.5 West North Central(5).................. - 102.4 102.7 - .9 .3 - - 2.7 West..................................... 100.0 102.7 103.2 .4 .6 .5 2.0 3.1 3.2 Mountain(5)............................ - 102.8 103.2 - 1.1 .4 - - 3.2 Pacific(5)............................. - 102.7 103.3 - .5 .6 - - 3.3 Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas(6).................... - 102.5 103.1 - .8 .6 - - 3.1 Nonmetropolitan areas(6)................. - 102.6 103.5 - 1.0 .9 - - 3.5 1 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 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. 5 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 6 Data are available beginning with December 2005. 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.) Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 State and local government workers All workers................................ 100.0 102.8 103.5 0.9 2.0 0.7 3.1 3.7 3.5 Occupational group White-collar occupations(1).............. 100.0 102.8 103.5 1.0 2.1 .7 3.1 3.8 3.5 Management, professional, and related(2)............................ 100.0 102.9 103.5 1.0 2.2 .6 3.1 3.9 3.5 Professional and related............. 100.0 103.0 103.6 1.1 2.3 .6 3.2 4.1 3.6 Sales and office(2).................... 100.0 102.6 103.2 .6 1.4 .6 2.5 3.2 3.2 Office and administrative support.... 100.0 102.7 103.4 .7 1.3 .7 2.6 3.4 3.4 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 100.0 102.6 103.6 .5 1.6 1.0 3.0 3.1 3.6 Service occupations...................... 100.0 102.4 103.9 .7 1.6 1.5 3.3 3.1 3.9 Industry Education and health services(2)....... 100.0 103.1 103.6 1.0 2.4 .5 3.1 4.1 3.6 Education services................... 100.0 103.0 103.4 1.1 2.6 .4 3.2 4.1 3.4 Schools(4)......................... 100.0 103.0 103.4 1.1 2.6 .4 3.2 4.1 3.4 Elementary and secondary schools 100.0 103.0 103.4 1.1 2.7 .4 3.2 4.1 3.4 Health care and social assistance(5) 100.0 104.8 105.5 .6 1.7 .7 2.8 5.4 5.5 Hospitals.......................... 100.0 103.1 104.4 .6 1.7 1.3 2.4 3.7 4.4 Public administration.................. 100.0 102.0 103.5 .7 .9 1.5 3.1 2.7 3.5 1 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 2 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 4 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. 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. 2005 2006 2006 Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 100.0 102.8 103.6 0.5 1.2 0.8 4.5 3.3 3.6 Private industry workers All workers................................ 100.0 102.5 103.1 .3 .8 .6 4.0 2.8 3.1 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 100.0 102.5 103.2 .4 .8 .7 4.6 2.9 3.2 Management, professional, and related(3)............................ 100.0 102.8 103.4 .2 1.0 .6 4.8 3.0 3.4 Sales and office(3).................... 100.0 102.0 102.9 .7 .4 .9 4.4 2.7 2.9 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 100.0 102.3 102.8 .1 .6 .5 2.9 2.4 2.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(3)(5)..................... 100.0 103.5 104.0 .2 .8 .5 3.7 3.7 4.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(3).................... 100.0 101.6 102.0 .0 .6 .4 2.4 1.6 2.0 Service occupations...................... 100.0 103.0 103.6 .5 .8 .6 3.1 3.5 3.6 Industry Goods-producing industries(6)............ 100.0 101.3 101.7 -.4 .9 .4 3.8 .9 1.7 Manufacturing.......................... 100.0 100.5 100.8 .0 .8 .3 4.2 .5 .8 Aircraft manufacturing............... 100.0 84.3 83.2 2.7 6.4 -1.3 40.6 -13.4 -16.8 White-collar occupations(2)...... 100.0 86.0 85.8 .6 6.7 -.2 40.1 -13.5 -14.2 Blue-collar occupations(4)....... 100.0 82.0 79.5 5.7 5.9 -3.0 41.4 -13.3 -20.5 Service-providing industries(7).......... 100.0 103.0 103.7 .6 .7 .7 4.1 3.6 3.7 Bargaining status Union.................................... 100.0 103.4 104.2 .2 .7 .8 3.3 3.6 4.2 Nonunion................................. 100.0 102.3 102.9 .4 .8 .6 4.2 2.7 2.9 State and local government workers All workers................................ 100.0 104.1 105.2 1.0 2.8 1.1 6.3 5.2 5.2 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 the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 6 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 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. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. 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 such as lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases. 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 other 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 referral bonuses 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, and federal and state unemployment insurance. The collection of severance pay and supplemental unemployment insurance benefits was discontinued and new industry and occupational definitions were introduced with the release of the March 2006 estimates. For more information on the impact of changes on the definition of compensation measures used in the ECI, the comparability of old with new series, and an assessment of the statistical reliability of specific ECI series, see the article, "Employment Cost Index publication plans" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Additional series on "excluding incentive paid occupations" were introduced with the release of the March 2006 estimates. These series allow users to better understand underlying trends in compensation by removing quarter-to-quarter variability that is related to the way workers are paid. For more information, see the article, "The Role of Incentive Pay in the Volatility of the Employment Cost Index" in the Summer 2001 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions. 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 2002 North American Industry Classification system (NAICS), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 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. For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and http://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, and individuals receiving long-term disability compensation. Data for the December 2006 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 59,000 occupational observations within about 12,400 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 3,500 occupations within about 800 sample establishments in state and local governments. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. When respondents do not provide all the data needed, a procedure for assigning missing values is applied in the ECI. An article in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review, "Accounting for missing data in the Employment Cost Index" describes the methodological changes in the imputation procedure that were implemented with the publication of the March 2006 index. 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. From March 1995 to December 2005, 1990 employment counts were used. For more information on these topics, see the article, "Introducing 2002 weights in the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. For the series based on bargaining status, census region and division, metropolitan area status, 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 http://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. More information on rebasing is included in the article, "Changes affecting the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The ECI sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation’s 326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in 1994 and the remaining portions of the 50 states. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs). Nonmetropolitan areas are counties and other geographic designations that do not fit the metropolitan area definition. Seasonally adjusted data are available for selected ECI series beginning 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. An explanation of how the ECI applies the standard BLS practice in developing seasonally adjusted series, the changes made to accommodate the conversion to NAICS and SOC, and improvements in the seasonal adjustment methodology introduced in March 2006 is available in an article, "Seasonal adjustment in the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. 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 2006 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. The ECI private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis. 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 3-month estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm shortly after the publication of the news release. Standard errors for 12-month estimates will become available in March 2007 after the transition to the new industry and occupational series is completed. 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 the web site: http://www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm. More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include a chapter, "National Compensation Measures," (http://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 on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm, 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. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005 = 100 as the base period. These historical data series from the ECI are available upon request or at the BLS Web sites: http://www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistry.txt, and ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistrynaics.txt. 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. Historical data, using industry categories based on the SIC and classifying occupations according to the Census of Population, are available dating from the first publication of each series to December 2005. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 NAICS and the 2000 SOC beginning in March 2001, and using the December 2005 = 100 base period. These data are available at the BLS Web sites: http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconstnaics.pdf, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconst.txt, and ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconstnaics.txt, or upon request. Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health insurance in private industry, are also available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/echealth.pdf beginning with June 1982. 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." The release is available by e-mail request at NCSinfo@bls.gov, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, or by telephone at (202) 691-6199. Also available are historical data in a summary document from March 1986 through March 2002 on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. Data on a quarterly basis beginning with June 2002 also are available. The cost levels are calculated with current employment weights rather than the fixed weights used in computing the ECI. Therefore, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI.