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Technical Contact: USDL: 08-0586 (202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov Media Contact: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL (202) 691-5902 IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED Internet address: UNTIL 8:30 AM EDT, www.bls.gov/ect WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008 EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-MARCH 2008 Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from December 2007 to March 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase for the September to December 2007 period was 0.8 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent and benefits rose 0.6 percent. In the previous quarter, both wages and salaries and benefits increased 0.8 percent. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government workers). Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.8 percent from December 2007 to March 2008; for the prior quarter the increase was 0.9 percent. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 0.8 percent for the December 2007 to March 2008 period, the same as in the previous quarter. In state and local government, the increase was 0.7 percent, compared with 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. Benefit costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent, compared to 0.8 percent in the previous quarter. For state and local government, benefit costs increased 0.3 percent, compared to 1.2 percent in the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted Compensation June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. component 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers Compensation costs 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 Wages and salaries 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Benefit costs 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 Private industry Compensation costs 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 Wages and salaries 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Benefit costs 0.8 0.9 0.9 -0.3 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 State and local government Compensation costs 1.0 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.6 Wages and salaries 0.9 1.3 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 Benefit costs 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 0.9 1.2 0.3 NOTES This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted data. Effective with the December 2008 release, series for metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas will be discontinued. See page 4 for further details. Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.3 percent for the year ended March 2008. For the year ended March 2007 the increase was 3.5 percent. In private industry, compensation costs rose 3.2 percent in the year ended March 2008, the same as for the year ended March 2007. For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month period ended March 2008 was 3.6 percent, less than the March 2007 increase of 4.6 percent. Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 3.2 percent for the 12-month period; in March 2007, the increase was 3.6 percent. Private industry wages and salaries increased at the same rate as the civilian sector in March 2007 and March 2008. However, state and local government wage and salary increased 3.5 percent for the year ended March 2008. In March 2007, the increase was 3.8 percent. Benefits--which increased 3.5 percent for civilian workers--differed by ownership sector. Private industry benefit costs increased 3.2 percent, less than the state and local government increase of 4.1 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008. (See table B.) Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Civilian workers Compensation costs 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.8 3.5 3.3 Wages and salaries 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.7 3.6 3.2 Benefit costs 5.9 6.7 5.9 3.4 3.1 3.5 Private industry Compensation costs 3.6 3.8 3.5 2.6 3.2 3.2 Wages and salaries 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.4 3.6 3.2 Benefit costs 5.7 6.8 5.5 3.0 2.2 3.2 State and local government government Compensation costs 4.3 3.4 3.6 3.7 4.6 3.6 Wages and salaries 3.2 2.1 2.3 2.8 3.8 3.5 Benefit costs 6.6 6.4 6.7 5.4 6.3 4.1 Nonfarm private industry For the year ended March 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 3.1 percent for goods-producing industries, compared to a 2.6 percent increase in March 2007. Compensation cost increases for manufacturing remained low, at 2.6 percent for the year ended March 2008, compared to 1.9 percent for the year ended March 2007. Compensation costs for the construction industry rose 4.0 percent, the same as in the previous year. (See table 5.) The over-the-year increase for March 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing industries was 3.3 percent. The March 2007 increase was also 3.3 percent. Among the major service-providing industries, compensation gains ranged from 1.7 percent in information to 4.1 percent in professional and business services. (See table 5.) Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 2.8 percent for sales and office to 3.5 percent for natural resources, construction, and maintenance. (See table 5.) Compensation costs for union workers advanced 3.1 percent for the year ended March 2008 while compensation cost increases for nonunion workers increased 3.2 percent for the same 12-month period. Wages and salaries for union workers increased 2.6 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008, less than those for nonunion workers, which rose 3.3 percent. Benefit costs for union workers rose 4.1 percent for the 12-month period, which was more than benefit cost increases for nonunion workers, which rose 3.0 percent. (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 Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Union workers Compensation costs 4.4 5.6 3.6 2.7 2.2 3.1 Wages and salaries 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.6 Benefit costs 6.7 10.6 5.6 2.9 1.6 4.1 Nonunion workers Compensation costs 3.5 3.5 3.5 2.6 3.3 3.2 Wages and salaries 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.5 3.7 3.3 Benefit costs 5.5 5.9 5.6 2.9 2.4 3.0 State and local government For the year ended March 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.5 percent. The increase for the 12-month period ended March 2007 was 3.8 percent. Benefit costs increased 4.1 percent, less than the increase of 6.3 percent in the previous year. Wages and salaries for health care and social assistance increased 3.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent a year earlier. Public administration wages and salaries increased 3.5 percent. In March 2007 the increase was 4.0 percent. Education services wages and salaries increased 3.4 percent. A year earlier the increase was 3.6 percent. (See tables B, 11, and 12.) Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted After adjusting for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, wages and salaries for civilian workers decreased 0.7 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2008, compared to a 0.7 percent increase for the 12-month period ended March 2007. The decrease for private industry was 0.8 percent compared to an increase of 0.7 percent for the year ended March 2007. State and local government registered a 0.5 percent decrease, compared to an increase of 1.0 percent for the previous year. (See table D.) Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Civilian workers -0.1 0.8 -0.6 -0.7 0.7 -0.7 Occupation Management, professional, and related 0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.8 1.0 -0.6 Sales and office -0.3 1.1 -0.3 -0.7 0.6 -1.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 0.0 0.9 -1.0 -0.4 0.7 -0.3 Production, transportation, and material moving -0.6 0.4 -0.7 -1.0 -0.2 -1.1 Service -0.8 0.4 -0.9 -1.0 1.2 -0.6 Industry Goods-producing -0.2 0.7 -0.7 -0.5 0.3 -0.8 Service-providing -0.1 0.8 -0.5 -0.8 0.8 -0.8 Private industry -0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.9 0.7 -0.8 State and local government 0.2 0.4 -0.8 -0.6 1.0 -0.5 ________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Effective with the release of December 2008 data, series for metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas, which appear in tables 6 and 10, will be discontinued as a result of the classification changes to metropolitan statistical areas. The ECI for June 2008 is scheduled to be released Thursday, July 31, 2008, at 8:30 AM EDT. This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 2003-2007 were revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and historical listings containing revised seasonally adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or telephone to (202) 691-6199. ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at www.bls.gov/ect. For ECI data requests, send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov. BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the subscription link at www.bls.gov/ect or www.bls.gov/bls/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 Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2007 2008 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 106.8 107.6 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 Industry Goods-producing industries(3)(4)......... 105.2 106.1 1.0 .6 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 Manufacturing(3)....................... 103.9 104.7 .9 .5 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 Service-providing industries : Education and health services(3)....... 107.8 108.7 1.0 1.4 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8 Education services(3)................ 107.6 108.5 1.0 1.5 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8 Elementary and secondary schools(3) 107.5 108.4 1.0 1.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .8 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(3)........................ 107.8 108.6 1.0 1.3 .8 .8 1.1 1.1 1.0 .7 Health care and social assistance(3)(5).................... 108.0 108.8 1.1 1.3 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 Hospitals(3)....................... 107.5 108.3 .9 1.1 1.0 .9 .9 .7 .8 .7 Nursing and residential care facilities(3)..................... 106.4 107.2 .6 1.1 1.2 .6 .7 .5 .8 .8 Public administration(3)............... 109.3 109.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 Private industry workers All workers................................ 106.5 107.3 .8 .9 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9 .8 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 107.1 108.0 .8 1.1 .9 .7 .9 .9 .8 .8 Management, business, and financial.... 106.7 107.8 .6 .8 .9 .6 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 Professional and related............... 107.5 108.2 .9 1.2 1.1 .7 1.0 .8 .8 .7 Sales and office......................... 106.2 106.8 .9 .6 1.0 .7 .7 .7 1.0 .6 Sales and related...................... 105.2 105.5 .8 .4 .9 .5 .7 .4 1.3 .3 Office and administrative support...... 106.9 107.7 .9 .9 .9 .9 .7 .9 .8 .7 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 106.8 107.8 1.0 .9 .8 .4 .7 1.0 .9 .9 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................. 107.5 108.8 1.1 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2 Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 105.9 106.5 .9 .9 .8 .0 .4 1.1 .8 .6 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 104.5 105.5 .6 .6 .6 .2 .8 .6 .6 1.0 Production............................. 103.9 104.8 .6 .6 .4 .1 .7 .5 .6 .9 Transportation and material moving..... 105.4 106.6 .6 .6 .9 .5 .9 .6 .7 1.1 Service occupations...................... 107.1 107.8 .7 .8 .8 1.3 .8 1.1 .7 .7 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 105.2 106.1 1.0 .6 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 Construction........................... 107.8 109.1 1.0 .9 1.1 1.1 .8 .9 1.0 1.2 Manufacturing.......................... 103.9 104.7 .9 .5 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 86.7 89.0 2.3 2.7 -1.6 -4.6 1.8 -3.1 -.8 2.7 Service-providing industries(6).......... 106.9 107.6 .8 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 Trade, transportation, and utilities... 105.5 106.2 .5 .9 .8 .1 .9 .6 .8 .7 Wholesale trade...................... 105.4 105.7 .4 1.7 .6 .7 .8 -.3 1.2 .3 Retail trade......................... 106.0 106.8 .5 .7 .7 .4 .9 1.2 .9 .8 Transportation and warehousing(3).... 104.5 105.8 .5 .4 .9 .7 .9 .4 .2 1.2 Utilities(3)......................... 106.2 106.4 .9 1.2 1.1 -7.6 1.6 .6 1.2 .2 Information............................ 106.4 106.1 .8 1.1 .6 .9 .9 .4 .7 -.3 Financial activities................... 106.0 106.6 .6 .6 .7 1.1 .4 1.1 .5 .6 Finance and insurance(3)............. 106.5 106.8 .8 .6 .6 1.1 .3 1.1 .7 .3 Credit intermediation and related activities(3)..................... 105.0 105.3 .7 .7 -.2 1.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 .3 Insurance carriers and related activities(3)..................... 105.8 107.3 .6 .7 .5 .9 1.3 1.1 -.2 1.4 Professional and business services..... 107.8 108.9 1.1 .8 .8 1.0 1.1 1.0 .8 1.0 Professional, scientific, and technical services(3)............... 109.5 110.8 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1 .9 1.2 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(3)......................... 106.5 107.3 1.0 .4 .8 1.0 .7 1.0 .9 .8 Education and health services.......... 107.8 108.6 1.0 1.2 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 Education services................... 107.4 108.2 1.2 .7 1.3 .6 .8 .8 1.1 .7 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(3)........................ 107.5 108.3 1.1 .9 1.2 .4 1.0 .9 .9 .7 Health care and social assistance(5) 107.8 108.7 .9 1.3 1.0 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 Hospitals(3)....................... 107.4 108.1 1.0 1.1 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 Nursing and residential care facilities(3)..................... 106.3 107.0 .6 .9 1.2 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 Leisure and hospitality................ 108.1 108.9 .8 1.1 1.3 1.5 .8 1.3 .6 .7 Accommodation and food services(3)... 108.5 109.4 1.1 1.0 1.5 1.6 .8 1.5 .4 .8 Other services, except public administration........................ 107.9 108.7 1.2 .8 1.0 1.2 .3 .8 .9 .7 State and local government workers All workers................................ 108.2 108.9 1.0 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .6 Industry Education and health services(3)....... 107.8 108.7 1.1 1.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 Education services(3)................ 107.6 108.5 1.0 1.6 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .8 .8 Schools(3)......................... 107.6 108.5 1.0 1.6 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .7 .8 Elementary and secondary schools(3) 107.6 108.5 1.0 1.7 .8 1.1 1.0 .8 .7 .8 Health care and social assistance(3)(5).................... 109.4 110.0 2.0 1.6 1.0 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .5 Hospitals(3)....................... 108.2 109.2 .9 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.0 .5 .9 .9 Public administration(3)............... 109.3 109.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March 2003. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 6 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration.
Table 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 Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2007 2008 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 106.7 107.6 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Industry Goods-producing industries(2)(3)......... 106.1 107.2 1.0 .5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 Manufacturing(2)....................... 105.1 105.9 1.0 .2 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 Service-providing industries : Education and health services(2)....... 107.2 108.1 1.0 1.3 .8 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 Education services(2)................ 106.6 107.4 .9 1.3 .7 .7 .7 1.1 .9 .8 Elementary and secondary schools(2) 106.2 107.1 .8 1.4 .6 .8 .7 .9 .8 .8 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(2)........................ 107.2 108.0 1.0 1.1 .8 .5 1.0 1.1 1.0 .7 Health care and social assistance(2)(4).................... 107.9 108.9 1.1 1.4 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9 Hospitals(2)....................... 107.4 108.5 .9 1.1 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 1.0 Nursing and residential care facilities(2)..................... 106.4 107.3 .5 1.0 1.1 .8 .6 1.1 .6 .8 Public administration(2)............... 107.3 108.1 .9 .7 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 Private industry workers All workers................................ 106.7 107.6 .8 .9 .8 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 107.4 108.4 .9 1.0 .9 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 Management, business, and financial.... 106.9 108.1 .8 .8 .6 1.2 .7 .9 .7 1.1 Professional and related............... 107.7 108.7 .9 1.2 1.1 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .9 Sales and office......................... 106.2 106.9 .9 .7 .8 1.0 .7 .5 1.0 .7 Sales and related...................... 105.4 105.8 .9 .4 1.0 .7 .6 .1 1.3 .4 Office and administrative support...... 106.9 107.7 .9 .8 .9 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .7 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 107.1 108.3 1.0 .9 .8 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.1 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................. 107.9 109.3 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 .9 .9 1.2 1.3 Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 106.2 107.0 .6 .9 .7 .8 .2 1.2 .8 .7 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 105.0 106.0 .6 .6 .6 .8 .6 .7 .5 1.0 Transportation and material moving..... 105.4 106.6 .7 .7 .7 .7 .8 .7 .6 1.2 Industry Goods-producing industries(3)............ 106.1 107.2 1.0 .5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 Construction........................... 107.9 109.2 1.2 .8 1.1 1.2 .9 .8 1.0 1.2 Manufacturing.......................... 105.1 105.9 1.0 .2 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 Aircraft manufacturing(2)............ 105.3 106.4 .8 .9 .3 .7 .4 .1 .7 1.1 Service-providing industries(5).......... 106.9 107.7 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 Trade, transportation, and utilities... 105.4 106.0 .4 1.1 .7 .7 .9 .2 .9 .6 Retail trade......................... 106.0 106.6 .3 .9 .9 .5 1.0 .8 1.0 .5 Transportation and warehousing(2).... 104.3 105.3 .4 .4 .9 .8 .8 .2 .5 .9 Utilities(2)......................... 107.0 108.1 1.0 1.0 .8 .7 .9 .7 .9 1.1 Information............................ 105.5 105.3 .5 1.0 .1 1.2 .9 .4 .4 -.2 Financial activities................... 106.3 107.1 .8 .5 .7 1.3 .1 1.3 .3 .8 Finance and insurance(2)............. 107.1 107.7 1.0 .5 .6 1.5 .0 1.2 .6 .6 Credit intermediation and related activities(2)..................... 104.9 105.1 .7 .7 -.7 2.2 -1.9 1.3 1.2 .2 Professional and business services..... 107.7 109.1 1.1 .8 .8 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.3 Professional, scientific, and technical services(2)............... 109.0 110.7 1.3 1.2 .9 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 1.6 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(2)......................... 106.7 107.6 .7 .6 .9 1.0 .6 1.1 .9 .8 Education and health services.......... 107.7 108.6 1.0 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 Education services................... 107.2 108.0 1.1 .8 1.3 .3 .8 .8 1.2 .7 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(2)........................ 107.2 107.9 1.0 1.0 1.2 .0 1.0 .8 1.1 .7 Health care and social assistance(4) 107.7 108.8 1.0 1.3 .9 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 Hospitals(2)....................... 107.2 108.2 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 Leisure and hospitality................ 108.8 109.6 .9 .9 1.4 1.8 .9 1.5 .6 .7 Accommodation and food services(2)... 109.0 109.9 1.0 .8 1.6 2.0 .7 1.7 .6 .8 Other services, except public administration(2)..................... 108.2 109.2 1.2 .8 .8 1.5 .3 1.0 1.0 .9 State and local government workers All workers................................ 106.9 107.7 .9 1.3 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 Industry Education and health services(2)....... 106.7 107.6 1.0 1.4 .6 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 Education services(2)................ 106.4 107.3 .8 1.5 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 Schools(2)......................... 106.4 107.3 .8 1.5 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 Elementary and secondary schools(2) 106.2 107.1 .8 1.5 .5 .8 .7 1.0 .7 .8 Health care and social assistance(2)(4).................... 109.2 110.0 2.2 1.4 .9 .9 .8 .7 1.0 .7 Hospitals(2)....................... 108.5 109.7 .9 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 .7 .9 1.1 Public administration(2)............... 107.3 108.1 .9 .7 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March 2003. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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 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 Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2007 2008 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 106.9 107.5 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 Private industry workers All workers................................ 105.8 106.4 .8 .9 .9 -.3 1.1 .8 .8 .6 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 106.5 106.9 .7 1.2 1.1 -.4 1.3 .8 .9 .4 Sales and office......................... 106.2 106.5 .7 .7 1.0 .2 .9 1.0 1.0 .3 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 106.0 106.8 1.2 1.0 .8 -.6 .9 .7 .8 .8 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 103.7 104.5 .7 .7 .6 -.9 1.1 .4 1.0 .8 Service occupations...................... 106.9 107.4 .9 .9 .9 .1 1.0 1.0 .8 .4 Industry Goods-producing industries(2)............ 103.3 104.1 .9 .8 .6 -.8 1.2 .1 1.0 .8 Manufacturing.......................... 101.7 102.3 .8 .8 .4 -1.3 1.4 -.3 1.0 .6 Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 66.8 70.5 4.3 5.5 -4.0 -11.9 4.2 -8.0 -3.2 5.5 Service-providing industries(4).......... 106.8 107.4 .8 .9 1.0 .0 1.0 1.0 .8 .6 State and local government workers All workers................................ 111.0 111.3 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 .9 1.2 .3 1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March 2003. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration.
Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for civilian workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 104.2 106.7 107.6 0.9 0.6 0.8 3.5 3.3 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(3) 104.2 106.8 107.8 .8 .6 .9 3.4 3.3 3.5 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 104.7 107.2 108.3 1.0 .5 1.0 3.8 3.4 3.4 Management, business, and financial.... 104.4 106.6 108.2 1.2 .4 1.5 3.1 3.3 3.6 Professional and related............... 104.9 107.6 108.4 .9 .6 .7 4.2 3.5 3.3 Sales and office......................... 103.8 106.4 106.8 .8 .9 .4 3.3 3.3 2.9 Sales and related...................... 102.4 105.2 105.0 .1 1.1 -.2 2.5 2.8 2.5 Office and administrative support...... 104.7 107.1 108.0 1.2 .7 .8 3.8 3.5 3.2 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 104.1 106.8 107.7 .5 .7 .8 3.3 3.1 3.5 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................. 104.3 107.4 108.5 .6 .8 1.0 3.6 3.6 4.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 103.7 106.2 106.7 .1 .6 .5 2.8 2.5 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 102.7 104.7 105.6 .3 .5 .9 2.3 2.2 2.8 Production............................. 102.1 104.1 104.8 .1 .8 .7 1.7 2.1 2.6 Transportation and material moving..... 103.4 105.6 106.6 .6 .3 .9 2.9 2.7 3.1 Service occupations...................... 104.8 107.7 108.4 1.3 .7 .6 4.0 4.1 3.4 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 102.9 105.0 106.1 .4 .6 1.0 2.6 2.4 3.1 Manufacturing.......................... 102.0 103.8 104.7 .2 .6 .9 1.9 2.0 2.6 Service-providing industries(5).......... 104.4 107.0 107.8 .9 .6 .7 3.5 3.4 3.3 Education and health services.......... 104.9 107.9 108.6 .7 .7 .6 4.3 3.6 3.5 Education services................... 104.5 107.9 108.3 .4 .6 .4 4.3 3.7 3.6 Elementary and secondary schools... 104.6 107.9 108.2 .4 .5 .3 4.4 3.6 3.4 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools........................... 104.3 108.0 108.5 .5 .8 .5 3.9 4.0 4.0 Health care and social assistance(6) 105.4 107.9 108.9 1.1 .7 .9 4.3 3.5 3.3 Hospitals.......................... 105.1 107.5 108.4 1.1 .7 .8 3.9 3.4 3.1 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 104.5 106.3 107.3 .8 .7 .9 3.5 2.5 2.7 Public administration.................... 105.6 109.1 109.7 1.7 1.0 .5 5.0 5.1 3.9 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, 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. 6 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 104.0 106.3 107.3 0.8 0.6 0.9 3.2 3.0 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).. 104.0 106.4 107.6 .8 .6 1.1 3.1 3.1 3.5 Occupational group Management, professional, and related...... 104.6 106.8 108.1 1.1 .4 1.2 3.5 3.2 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 104.5 106.8 108.1 1.0 .4 1.2 3.4 3.2 3.4 Management, business, and financial...... 104.3 106.3 108.0 1.2 .3 1.6 3.0 3.1 3.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 104.1 106.5 108.2 1.0 .4 1.6 2.9 3.3 3.9 Professional and related................. 104.9 107.3 108.3 1.0 .6 .9 3.9 3.3 3.2 Sales and office........................... 103.7 106.1 106.6 .8 .8 .5 3.2 3.1 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 104.2 106.7 107.8 1.0 .7 1.0 3.3 3.4 3.5 Sales and related........................ 102.4 105.2 105.0 .1 1.0 -.2 2.5 2.8 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 103.6 106.5 107.9 .7 .9 1.3 2.7 3.5 4.2 Office and administrative support........ 104.5 106.7 107.8 1.1 .7 1.0 3.6 3.2 3.2 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................... 104.0 106.7 107.6 .4 .8 .8 3.2 3.0 3.5 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................... 104.4 107.4 108.6 .7 .8 1.1 3.7 3.6 4.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 103.5 105.8 106.3 .1 .6 .5 2.6 2.3 2.7 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................... 102.5 104.5 105.5 .2 .6 1.0 2.1 2.2 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 102.4 104.5 105.4 .2 .6 .9 2.0 2.3 2.9 Production............................... 102.1 104.0 104.8 .1 .8 .8 1.7 2.0 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 102.0 103.9 104.7 .0 .7 .8 1.6 1.9 2.6 Transportation and material moving....... 103.1 105.3 106.4 .5 .4 1.0 2.7 2.6 3.2 Service occupations........................ 104.5 107.0 107.8 1.4 .6 .7 3.7 3.8 3.2 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(3).............. 102.9 105.0 106.1 .4 .6 1.0 2.6 2.4 3.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 102.9 105.2 106.3 .4 .7 1.0 2.5 2.6 3.3 Management, professional, and related.. 102.7 104.4 106.1 .7 .1 1.6 2.5 2.4 3.3 Sales and office....................... 103.0 104.8 105.1 .2 .7 .3 3.1 1.9 2.0 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance........................... 104.0 107.0 108.1 .7 .8 1.0 3.4 3.6 3.9 Production, transportation, and material moving....................... 102.1 104.0 104.8 .1 .7 .8 1.8 2.0 2.6 Construction............................. 104.7 107.6 108.9 1.1 .7 1.2 4.0 3.9 4.0 Manufacturing............................ 102.0 103.8 104.7 .2 .6 .9 1.9 2.0 2.6 Management, professional, and related 102.0 103.5 104.9 .6 .2 1.4 2.0 2.1 2.8 Sales and office..................... 102.4 104.3 105.0 .3 .8 .7 2.9 2.2 2.5 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance......................... 101.7 103.9 104.6 -.4 1.1 .7 1.6 1.8 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving..................... 101.9 103.8 104.5 .0 .7 .7 1.7 1.9 2.6 Aircraft manufacturing................. 89.2 87.2 89.7 -4.3 .1 2.9 -1.9 -6.4 .6 Service-providing industries(4)............ 104.3 106.7 107.7 .9 .6 .9 3.3 3.2 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)...................... 104.4 106.9 108.0 .9 .6 1.0 3.3 3.3 3.4 Management, professional, and related.. 105.0 107.3 108.5 1.2 .5 1.1 3.7 3.4 3.3 Sales and office....................... 103.7 106.3 106.8 .8 .9 .5 3.1 3.3 3.0 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance........................... 104.0 106.2 106.7 .0 .5 .5 2.8 2.1 2.6 Production, transportation, and material moving....................... 103.0 105.2 106.4 .4 .5 1.1 2.4 2.5 3.3 Service occupations.................... 104.5 107.1 107.9 1.4 .7 .7 3.6 3.9 3.3 Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 103.1 105.5 106.1 .1 .8 .6 2.3 2.4 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 103.4 105.9 106.9 .3 .7 .9 2.3 2.7 3.4 Wholesale trade........................ 103.7 105.3 105.7 .8 1.1 .4 3.4 2.3 1.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 104.1 106.2 107.4 .9 .7 1.1 3.1 2.9 3.2 Retail trade........................... 102.9 106.1 106.6 .2 1.0 .5 2.3 3.3 3.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 103.3 106.3 107.3 .7 .8 .9 2.5 3.6 3.9 Transportation and warehousing......... 102.8 104.5 105.6 .6 .0 1.1 2.4 2.3 2.7 Utilities.............................. 102.8 105.6 106.5 -6.9 .6 .9 -4.6 -4.3 3.6 Information.............................. 104.3 106.1 106.1 1.1 .3 .0 3.4 2.8 1.7 Financial activities..................... 104.2 105.6 106.8 1.7 .2 1.1 3.0 3.0 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 104.2 105.9 107.4 1.4 .3 1.4 3.0 3.0 3.1 Finance and insurance.................. 104.6 106.1 107.0 1.7 .4 .8 3.1 3.1 2.3 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 104.0 104.5 105.5 2.0 .9 1.0 2.6 2.5 1.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 104.4 106.3 108.2 1.2 .4 1.8 3.1 3.0 3.6 Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 103.5 105.7 107.4 .9 -.3 1.6 2.6 3.0 3.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 103.4 105.4 106.9 1.0 .5 1.4 2.6 2.9 3.4 Real estate and rental and leasing..... 102.2 103.7 105.5 1.4 -.4 1.7 2.4 2.9 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).................... 104.4 105.9 108.1 2.3 .1 2.1 3.7 3.7 3.5 Professional and business services....... 104.7 107.5 109.0 1.2 .6 1.4 3.6 3.9 4.1 Professional, scientific, and technical services.............................. 106.0 109.1 111.1 1.5 .6 1.8 4.4 4.5 4.8 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services... 103.8 106.4 107.1 1.0 .8 .7 3.3 3.5 3.2 Education and health services............ 105.1 107.7 108.6 1.0 .7 .8 4.1 3.5 3.3 Education services..................... 104.5 107.5 108.1 .3 .7 .6 3.8 3.2 3.4 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools............................. 104.5 107.7 108.3 .1 .7 .6 3.6 3.2 3.6 Health care and social assistance(5)... 105.2 107.8 108.8 1.1 .8 .9 4.1 3.6 3.4 Hospitals............................ 105.0 107.3 108.2 1.1 .8 .8 3.7 3.3 3.0 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 104.3 106.2 107.1 .8 .7 .8 3.3 2.6 2.7 Nursing care facilities(2)......... 104.2 106.2 107.2 1.1 .6 .9 3.4 3.0 2.9 Leisure and hospitality.................. 105.3 108.1 109.0 1.5 .6 .8 4.7 4.2 3.5 Accommodation and food services........ 105.8 108.6 109.5 1.7 .5 .8 5.3 4.4 3.5 Other services, except public administration.......................... 105.7 107.6 108.7 1.6 .5 1.0 4.2 3.5 2.8 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Bargaining status Union.................................... 102.7 105.1 105.9 -0.3 0.7 0.8 2.2 2.0 3.1 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 101.5 104.0 104.6 -.7 .9 .6 1.6 1.8 3.1 Manufacturing........................ 99.2 101.0 101.4 -1.6 1.0 .4 -.1 .2 2.2 Service-providing industries(3)........ 103.7 106.0 107.0 .1 .6 .9 2.7 2.3 3.2 Nonunion................................. 104.2 106.5 107.5 1.0 .6 .9 3.3 3.2 3.2 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 103.3 105.4 106.5 .8 .6 1.0 2.8 2.8 3.1 Manufacturing........................ 102.8 104.6 105.6 .7 .5 1.0 2.5 2.4 2.7 Service-providing industries(3)........ 104.4 106.8 107.7 1.0 .6 .8 3.4 3.3 3.2 Census region and division(4) Northeast................................ 104.0 106.8 107.4 .7 .6 .6 3.1 3.4 3.3 New England............................ 103.6 106.1 106.7 .5 .7 .6 2.9 2.9 3.0 Middle Atlantic........................ 104.2 107.1 107.8 .9 .6 .7 3.3 3.7 3.5 South.................................... 104.3 106.7 107.8 .8 .6 1.0 3.3 3.1 3.4 South Atlantic......................... 104.9 107.3 108.5 1.1 .5 1.1 3.7 3.4 3.4 East South Central..................... 103.3 105.4 106.5 1.0 .6 1.0 2.6 3.0 3.1 West South Central..................... 103.7 106.1 107.3 .3 .5 1.1 3.0 2.6 3.5 Midwest.................................. 103.3 105.3 106.0 .5 .7 .7 2.6 2.4 2.6 East North Central..................... 103.2 105.0 105.5 .4 .6 .5 2.5 2.1 2.2 West North Central..................... 103.5 105.9 107.3 .8 .6 1.3 2.9 3.1 3.7 West..................................... 104.2 106.5 107.8 1.2 .8 1.2 3.6 3.4 3.5 Mountain............................... 105.2 107.5 108.4 2.0 .8 .8 4.2 4.3 3.0 Pacific................................ 103.9 106.1 107.6 .9 .7 1.4 3.4 3.0 3.6 Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas....................... 103.9 106.3 107.2 .8 .6 .8 3.1 3.1 3.2 Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 104.1 106.5 107.5 .8 .7 .9 3.3 3.1 3.3 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.) 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 State and local government workers All workers................................ 105.1 108.4 108.9 1.0 0.7 0.5 4.6 4.1 3.6 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 104.9 108.3 108.8 .9 .7 .5 4.6 4.1 3.7 Professional and related............... 104.8 108.2 108.6 .8 .7 .4 4.6 4.0 3.6 Sales and office......................... 105.6 108.6 108.8 1.4 .6 .2 4.7 4.3 3.0 Office and administrative support...... 105.7 108.9 109.3 1.4 .6 .4 4.7 4.5 3.4 Service occupations...................... 105.4 109.1 109.7 .9 1.0 .5 4.8 4.4 4.1 Industry Education and health services............ 104.8 108.2 108.6 .5 .7 .4 4.5 3.7 3.6 Education services..................... 104.6 108.0 108.4 .5 .6 .4 4.4 3.7 3.6 Schools(2)........................... 104.6 108.0 108.4 .5 .6 .4 4.4 3.7 3.6 Elementary and secondary schools... 104.7 108.0 108.3 .5 .6 .3 4.5 3.6 3.4 Health care and social assistance(3)... 107.1 109.3 110.1 1.3 .6 .7 5.7 3.4 2.8 Hospitals............................ 105.6 108.2 109.2 1.2 .7 .9 4.7 3.7 3.4 Public administration.................... 105.6 109.1 109.7 1.7 1.0 .5 5.0 5.1 3.9 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 3 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 104.3 106.7 107.6 1.1 0.7 0.8 3.6 3.4 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2) 104.2 106.8 107.8 1.0 .6 .9 3.5 3.5 3.5 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 104.7 107.1 108.2 1.1 .5 1.0 3.9 3.4 3.3 Management, business, and financial.... 104.7 106.7 108.2 1.6 .3 1.4 3.5 3.5 3.3 Professional and related............... 104.7 107.4 108.3 .9 .7 .8 4.1 3.5 3.4 Sales and office......................... 103.8 106.2 106.7 .8 .8 .5 3.4 3.1 2.8 Sales and related...................... 102.7 105.5 105.2 .2 1.2 -.3 2.9 2.9 2.4 Office and administrative support...... 104.5 106.8 107.8 1.2 .7 .9 3.7 3.4 3.2 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 104.3 107.1 108.1 .9 .8 .9 3.6 3.6 3.6 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................. 104.6 107.7 109.0 .9 1.0 1.2 3.9 3.9 4.2 Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 103.8 106.4 107.0 .7 .6 .6 3.2 3.2 3.1 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 103.2 105.1 106.1 .7 .4 1.0 2.6 2.5 2.8 Production............................. 103.2 104.7 105.7 .9 .4 1.0 2.5 2.3 2.4 Transportation and material moving..... 103.3 105.5 106.6 .6 .4 1.0 2.8 2.7 3.2 Service occupations...................... 104.6 107.3 108.0 1.4 .8 .7 4.1 4.0 3.3 Industry Goods-producing industries(3)............ 103.9 106.0 107.1 1.0 .6 1.0 3.2 3.0 3.1 Manufacturing.......................... 103.3 104.9 105.9 1.0 .4 1.0 2.6 2.5 2.5 Service-providing industries(4).......... 104.3 106.8 107.7 1.0 .6 .8 3.6 3.4 3.3 Education and health services.......... 104.4 107.4 108.0 .6 .8 .6 4.0 3.5 3.4 Education services................... 103.7 106.9 107.3 .2 .7 .4 3.5 3.3 3.5 Elementary and secondary schools... 103.6 106.6 107.0 .2 .6 .4 3.6 3.1 3.3 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools........................... 103.9 107.5 107.9 .3 .8 .4 3.4 3.8 3.8 Health care and social assistance(5) 105.1 107.9 108.9 1.0 .7 .9 4.3 3.7 3.6 Hospitals.......................... 104.8 107.4 108.4 1.0 .7 .9 3.9 3.5 3.4 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 104.1 106.4 107.4 .8 .6 .9 3.4 3.0 3.2 Public administration.................... 104.5 107.4 108.2 1.0 .9 .7 4.0 3.8 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 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services, except public administration. 5 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 104.3 106.6 107.6 1.1 0.6 0.9 3.6 3.3 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).. 104.3 106.7 107.9 1.1 .6 1.1 3.5 3.4 3.5 Occupational group Management, professional, and related...... 104.9 107.2 108.5 1.3 .5 1.2 3.8 3.5 3.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 104.8 107.2 108.5 1.2 .5 1.2 3.8 3.5 3.5 Management, business, and financial...... 104.7 106.6 108.2 1.6 .3 1.5 3.4 3.4 3.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 104.6 106.9 108.4 1.4 .3 1.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 Professional and related................. 105.1 107.6 108.7 1.1 .6 1.0 4.2 3.5 3.4 Sales and office........................... 103.8 106.2 106.7 .8 .9 .5 3.4 3.1 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 104.2 106.7 108.0 1.1 .7 1.2 3.4 3.5 3.6 Sales and related........................ 102.8 105.5 105.3 .2 1.1 -.2 3.0 2.8 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 103.7 106.6 108.3 .9 .9 1.6 2.8 3.7 4.4 Office and administrative support........ 104.5 106.7 107.7 1.2 .7 .9 3.6 3.3 3.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................... 104.2 107.1 108.1 .8 .8 .9 3.5 3.6 3.7 Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry................... 104.7 107.8 109.2 1.0 1.0 1.3 4.0 4.0 4.3 Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 103.7 106.1 106.8 .7 .5 .7 3.0 3.0 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................... 103.1 105.0 106.0 .7 .5 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 103.1 105.0 106.0 .9 .4 1.0 2.5 2.7 2.8 Production............................... 103.1 104.6 105.6 .9 .4 1.0 2.4 2.3 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 103.0 104.6 105.5 .8 .5 .9 2.4 2.3 2.4 Transportation and material moving....... 103.2 105.4 106.5 .6 .4 1.0 2.8 2.7 3.2 Service occupations........................ 104.6 107.1 107.9 1.7 .6 .7 4.0 4.1 3.2 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(2).............. 103.9 106.0 107.1 1.0 .6 1.0 3.2 3.0 3.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 104.0 106.2 107.4 1.1 .6 1.1 3.2 3.2 3.3 Management, professional, and related.. 104.4 106.0 107.7 1.6 .1 1.6 3.3 3.1 3.2 Sales and office....................... 103.4 105.5 105.8 .3 .8 .3 3.6 2.3 2.3 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance........................... 104.4 107.6 108.8 1.0 1.0 1.1 3.7 4.1 4.2 Production, transportation, and material moving....................... 103.2 104.8 105.7 .8 .4 .9 2.5 2.3 2.4 Construction............................. 104.9 107.8 109.0 1.2 .7 1.1 4.3 4.0 3.9 Manufacturing............................ 103.3 104.9 105.9 1.0 .4 1.0 2.6 2.5 2.5 Management, professional, and related 103.8 105.3 106.7 1.5 .3 1.3 2.7 2.9 2.8 Sales and office..................... 102.4 104.7 105.5 .4 .8 .8 2.9 2.6 3.0 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance......................... 103.8 105.9 106.8 .8 .9 .8 2.9 2.8 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving..................... 103.1 104.5 105.4 .8 .3 .9 2.4 2.2 2.2 Aircraft manufacturing................. 104.7 104.6 107.0 1.9 .2 2.3 2.7 1.9 2.2 Service-providing industries(3)............ 104.4 106.8 107.7 1.1 .7 .8 3.6 3.4 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)...................... 104.4 106.9 108.0 1.1 .6 1.0 3.5 3.5 3.4 Management, professional, and related.. 105.0 107.4 108.6 1.3 .6 1.1 3.9 3.6 3.4 Sales and office....................... 103.8 106.3 106.8 .9 .9 .5 3.3 3.3 2.9 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance........................... 103.9 106.3 106.9 .5 .6 .6 3.2 2.8 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving....................... 103.0 105.2 106.3 .6 .6 1.0 2.6 2.7 3.2 Service occupations.................... 104.6 107.2 108.0 1.7 .6 .7 4.0 4.2 3.3 Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 103.2 105.5 105.9 .5 .9 .4 2.8 2.7 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 103.6 106.0 106.8 .9 .6 .8 2.9 3.2 3.1 Wholesale trade........................ 103.8 105.2 105.2 .8 1.2 .0 3.6 2.1 1.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 104.4 106.5 107.4 1.1 .7 .8 3.3 3.1 2.9 Retail trade........................... 103.1 106.1 106.4 .3 1.0 .3 2.6 3.2 3.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 103.5 106.3 107.1 .9 .8 .8 2.8 3.6 3.5 Transportation and warehousing......... 102.5 104.2 105.0 .6 .1 .8 2.4 2.3 2.4 Utilities.............................. 104.3 106.8 108.0 .8 .7 1.1 3.5 3.2 3.5 Information.............................. 103.8 105.3 105.3 1.4 .1 .0 2.8 2.8 1.4 Financial activities..................... 104.7 105.9 107.2 1.8 -.1 1.2 3.4 3.0 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 104.6 106.3 108.1 1.5 .2 1.7 3.4 3.1 3.3 Finance and insurance.................. 105.4 106.6 107.9 2.1 .1 1.2 3.7 3.3 2.4 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 104.5 104.2 105.2 2.8 .7 1.0 3.0 2.5 .7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 104.9 106.7 108.7 1.6 .4 1.9 3.6 3.4 3.6 Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 104.1 106.4 107.9 1.1 -.7 1.4 3.1 3.3 3.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 103.9 105.9 107.1 1.3 .3 1.1 3.0 3.2 3.1 Real estate and rental and leasing..... 101.6 103.1 104.5 .2 -.5 1.4 1.8 1.7 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).................... 104.3 105.8 107.4 1.3 .0 1.5 3.4 2.7 3.0 Professional and business services....... 104.8 107.5 109.1 1.3 .7 1.5 3.8 3.9 4.1 Professional, scientific, and technical services.............................. 105.9 108.7 110.8 1.5 .7 1.9 4.5 4.2 4.6 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services... 103.7 106.5 107.4 1.0 .8 .8 3.2 3.7 3.6 Education and health services............ 104.8 107.7 108.6 .8 .7 .8 4.1 3.6 3.6 Education services..................... 104.2 107.4 107.9 .1 .9 .5 3.5 3.2 3.6 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools............................. 104.1 107.4 107.8 -.3 .8 .4 3.2 2.9 3.6 Health care and social assistance(4)... 104.9 107.8 108.7 1.0 .7 .8 4.2 3.8 3.6 Hospitals............................ 104.6 107.2 108.2 .9 .7 .9 3.7 3.4 3.4 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 104.2 106.5 107.4 .8 .6 .8 3.5 3.0 3.1 Nursing care facilities(1)......... 104.2 106.4 107.4 1.1 .4 .9 3.5 3.2 3.1 Leisure and hospitality.................. 105.7 108.8 109.7 1.9 .6 .8 5.1 4.9 3.8 Accommodation and food services........ 106.0 109.0 110.0 2.1 .6 .9 5.5 5.0 3.8 Other services, except public administration.......................... 105.7 107.9 109.2 1.8 .6 1.2 4.3 3.9 3.3 1 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 4 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Bargaining status Union.................................... 102.8 104.7 105.5 0.5 0.3 0.8 2.5 2.3 2.6 Goods-producing industries(1).......... 102.7 104.3 105.2 .4 .0 .9 2.2 2.0 2.4 Manufacturing........................ 102.0 102.6 103.4 .3 -.3 .8 1.4 .9 1.4 Service-providing industries(2)........ 102.9 104.9 105.8 .7 .3 .9 2.8 2.6 2.8 Nonunion................................. 104.5 106.9 107.9 1.2 .7 .9 3.7 3.5 3.3 Goods-producing industries(1).......... 104.2 106.4 107.7 1.2 .6 1.2 3.5 3.3 3.4 Manufacturing........................ 103.6 105.5 106.6 1.1 .6 1.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 Service-providing industries(2)........ 104.6 107.0 107.9 1.2 .7 .8 3.8 3.5 3.2 Census region and division(3) Northeast................................ 104.0 106.6 107.5 .9 .5 .8 3.2 3.4 3.4 New England............................ 103.6 106.3 107.1 .5 .6 .8 2.9 3.1 3.4 Middle Atlantic........................ 104.2 106.7 107.6 1.1 .3 .8 3.4 3.5 3.3 South.................................... 104.6 107.0 108.1 1.0 .5 1.0 3.6 3.3 3.3 South Atlantic......................... 105.0 107.5 108.6 1.1 .6 1.0 3.7 3.5 3.4 East South Central..................... 104.2 106.3 107.2 1.1 .7 .8 3.5 3.1 2.9 West South Central..................... 104.1 106.6 107.8 .7 .5 1.1 3.5 3.1 3.6 Midwest.................................. 103.6 105.6 106.3 1.0 .6 .7 3.2 2.9 2.6 East North Central..................... 103.6 105.3 105.8 1.1 .6 .5 3.3 2.7 2.1 West North Central..................... 103.8 106.3 107.9 1.1 .7 1.5 3.2 3.5 3.9 West..................................... 104.8 107.0 108.3 1.6 .8 1.2 4.1 3.7 3.3 Mountain............................... 105.3 107.8 108.9 2.0 1.0 1.0 4.7 4.5 3.4 Pacific................................ 104.6 106.8 108.1 1.3 .8 1.2 3.8 3.4 3.3 Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas....................... 104.3 106.5 107.5 1.2 .6 .9 3.6 3.3 3.1 Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 104.4 107.0 108.1 .9 .8 1.0 3.5 3.4 3.5 1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 3 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.) 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 State and local government workers All workers................................ 104.1 107.1 107.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 3.8 3.5 3.5 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 104.0 107.0 107.6 .5 .7 .6 3.8 3.4 3.5 Professional and related............... 103.9 107.0 107.5 .3 .7 .5 3.7 3.3 3.5 Sales and office......................... 104.5 107.0 107.4 1.3 .7 .4 3.9 3.7 2.8 Office and administrative support...... 104.7 107.3 107.8 1.3 .8 .5 4.0 3.8 3.0 Service occupations...................... 104.5 107.7 108.3 .6 1.1 .6 4.2 3.7 3.6 Industry Education and health services............ 104.0 107.1 107.5 .4 .8 .4 3.8 3.4 3.4 Education services..................... 103.7 106.8 107.2 .3 .7 .4 3.6 3.3 3.4 Schools(1)........................... 103.6 106.8 107.2 .2 .7 .4 3.5 3.3 3.5 Elementary and secondary schools... 103.6 106.6 106.9 .2 .6 .3 3.6 3.1 3.2 Health care and social assistance(2)... 106.6 109.2 110.1 1.0 .9 .8 5.5 3.5 3.3 Hospitals............................ 105.7 108.6 109.8 1.2 .9 1.1 4.8 4.0 3.9 Public administration.................... 104.5 107.4 108.2 1.0 .9 .7 4.0 3.8 3.5 1 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 2 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. 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- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2008 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 104.0 106.8 107.6 0.4 0.7 0.7 3.1 3.1 3.5 Private industry workers All workers................................ 103.2 105.6 106.5 .1 .6 .9 2.2 2.4 3.2 Occupational group Management, professional, and related.... 103.8 106.0 107.3 .4 .4 1.2 2.5 2.5 3.4 Sales and office......................... 103.4 106.0 106.5 .5 .8 .5 2.6 3.0 3.0 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance............................. 103.4 105.9 106.5 -.6 .6 .6 2.3 1.8 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving.................................. 101.2 103.7 104.4 -.8 1.0 .7 1.1 1.7 3.2 Service occupations...................... 104.2 106.7 107.6 .6 .7 .8 2.7 3.0 3.3 Industry Goods-producing industries(2)............ 100.9 103.2 104.0 -.8 .8 .8 1.3 1.5 3.1 Manufacturing.......................... 99.6 101.7 102.3 -1.2 1.0 .6 .6 .9 2.7 Aircraft manufacturing............... 72.6 68.6 71.1 -12.7 .1 3.6 -8.2 -17.5 -2.1 Service-providing industries(3).......... 104.1 106.6 107.6 .4 .6 .9 2.6 2.8 3.4 Bargaining status Union.................................... 102.4 105.8 106.6 -1.7 1.4 .8 1.6 1.5 4.1 Nonunion................................. 103.4 105.6 106.5 .5 .5 .9 2.4 2.6 3.0 State and local government workers All workers................................ 107.0 111.0 111.4 1.7 .6 .4 6.3 5.5 4.1 1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 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, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the total private nonfarm economy excluding private households, and the public sector excluding the federal government. The private industry series and the state and local government series provide data for the two sectors separately. Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2007 North American Industry Classification system (NAICS). Prior to December 2007, the 2002 NAICS classification system was used. Differences between the two NAICS systems did not affect any of the published ECI series. All industries are classified into two sectors--goods-producing and service-providing, except for public administration, which is a separate category in state and local government. Within a sample establishment, specific job categories are selected and classified into about 800 occupational classifications according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are combined to represent one of ten intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or one of five higher-level aggregations such as management, professional, and related occupations. Both the NAICS and the SOC classification systems are defined by the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. To be included in the ECI, employees in occupations must receive cash payments from the establishment for services performed and the establishment must pay the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes on that individual’s wages. Major exclusions from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their own pay (for example, proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), volunteers, unpaid workers, family members being paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, and U.S. citizens working overseas. Data for the March 2008 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 57,000 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 12,200 establishments in private industry and approximately 11,800 occupations from a sample of about 1,900 establishments in state and local governments. The state and local government sample, which is replaced less frequently than the private industry sample, was replaced in its entirety in September 2007. As a result of this replacement, the number of state and local government occupations and establishments increased substantially. The private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis. Fixed employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most aggregate series--civilian, private, and state and local government. These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and occupational series indexes. Beginning with March 2006 estimates, 2002 fixed employment weights from the Bureau’s Occupational Employment Statistics survey were introduced. For the series based on bargaining status, census region and division, 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 www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf. Beginning with the release of the March 2006 data, indexes were rebased to December 2005=100 from June 1989=100. The percentage changes shown in the current- and constant-dollar historical tables were calculated from the rebased indexes. Thus, changes may differ from those originally published because of rounding. The ECI state and local government sample consists of 152 areas that represent the Nation's 361 metropolitan statistical areas and 573 micropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in June 2003 and the remaining portions of the 50 states. The ECI private industry sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation's 326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB 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. The private industry estimates will begin the conversion to June 2003 OMB areas definitions in December 2008. Seasonally adjusted data for selected ECI series began with the December 1990 ECI release. Seasonal adjustment removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year. These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. The seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once per year. The March release contains data reflecting the newly updated seasonal adjustment factors. The historical data for the last five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2008 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available at www.bls.gov/ect or upon request. Several new seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes of occupational series were added this quarter, with historical data available beginning with March 2003. Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample design may differ from one other. A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error. The statements of comparisons appearing in this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better, unless otherwise indicated. This means that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference. The ECI uses standard errors to evaluate published series. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of series, the standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/ect shortly after the publication of the news release. When determining data to be used in contract negotiations, it is important to note that differences by bargaining status may be due to factors other than union status, such as occupational and industry mix. An important consideration when choosing a series for escalation is the sampling error. For more information, see www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm. More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include a chapter, "National compensation measures," (www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf) from the BLS Handbook of Methods, and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working Conditions. The articles and other descriptive pieces are available at www.bls.gov/ect/#publications, by calling (202) 691-6199, or sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. Historical ECI data, using industry categories based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System and classifying jobs into occupational classifications according to the Census of Population, are available dating from the first publication of each series to December 2005 at: www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 and 2007 North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005=100 as the base period at: www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf. In addition, constant-dollar ECI series derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) are available. The constant-dollar series are calculated by converting the CPI-U to the same base as the ECI. The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period. The CPI-U U.S. City Average All Items is used to compute all series except for the regional estimates, which use corresponding CPI regional data. Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health insurance in private industry, are also available at www.bls.gov/ect/sp/echealth.pdf. The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, are published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" (ECEC). The next ECEC release is scheduled for 10:00 AM EDT, Wednesday, June 11, 2008. Historical ECEC data are also available in summary documents. Both the release and historical data are available at www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or (202) 691-6199. Since the ECEC is calculated with current employment weights rather than the fixed weights used in computing the ECI, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI.