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http://www.bls.gov/ect THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-JUNE 2008
Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from March to
June 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today, the same as the increase from December 2007 to March 2008. Wages
and salaries rose 0.7 percent and benefits rose 0.6 percent. In the previous quarter,
wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent and benefits increased 0.6 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).
Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted
Compensation Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June
component 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Wages and salaries 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Benefit costs 1.0 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6
Wages and salaries 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Benefit costs 0.9 0.9 -0.3 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5
State and local government
Compensation costs 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9
Wages and salaries 1.3 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9
Benefit costs 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 0.9 1.2 0.3 1.1
Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent from March to June 2008;
for the prior quarter the increase was 0.8 percent. In state and local government, the
increase was 0.9 percent compared to 0.6 percent in the previous quarter. Wages and
salaries for private industry workers increased 0.7 percent for the March to June 2008 period.
For the previous quarter, the increase was 0.8 percent. In state and local government, the
increase was 0.9 percent, compared with 0.7 percent in the prior quarter. Benefit costs for
private industry rose 0.5 percent, compared to 0.6 percent in the previous quarter. For
state and local government, benefit costs increased 1.1 percent, well above the 0.3 percent
increase in the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Data Series
There will be changes to the availability of Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for metropolitan
and nonmetropolitan areas in future ECI news releases. See note on page 4 for additional
information.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.1 percent for the year ended June 2008.
For the year ended June 2007 the increase was 3.3 percent. In private industry, compensation
costs rose 3.0 percent in the year ended June 2008, about the same as the 3.1 percent increase
for the year ended June 2007. For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month
period ended June 2008 was 3.5 percent, less than the June 2007 increase of 4.8 percent. Wages
and salaries for civilian workers increased 3.2 percent for the 12-month period; in June 2007,
the increase was 3.4 percent. Private industry wages and salaries increased 3.1 percent in
June 2008. In June 2007 the increase was 3.3 percent. State and local government wages
and salaries increased 3.4 percent for the year ended June 2008. In June 2007, the increase
was 3.8 percent. Benefits--which increased 2.9 percent for civilian workers--differed by
ownership sector. Private industry benefit costs increased 2.6 percent, less than the state
and local government increase of 3.5 percent for the 12-month period ended June 2008.
(See table B.)
Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted
June June June June June June
Compensation component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 3.7 3.8 3.2 3.0 3.3 3.1
Wages and salaries 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.8 3.4 3.2
Benefit costs 5.9 7.1 5.0 3.4 3.4 2.9
Private industry
Compensation costs 3.5 3.9 3.1 2.8 3.1 3.0
Wages and salaries 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.8 3.3 3.1
Benefit costs 5.8 7.3 4.7 2.7 2.6 2.6
State and local government government
Compensation costs 4.3 3.5 3.5 3.8 4.8 3.5
Wages and salaries 3.1 2.1 2.3 3.1 3.8 3.4
Benefit costs 6.8 6.6 6.3 5.5 6.6 3.5
Nonfarm private industry
For the year ended June 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 2.8 percent
for goods-producing industries, compared to a 2.6 percent increase in June 2007. Compensation
costs for manufacturing increased 2.1 percent for the year ended June 2008, compared to
1.9 percent for the year ended June 2007. Manufacturing gains have been less than total
private industry gains since March 2006. Compensation costs for the construction industry
rose 4.0 percent, about the same as in the 3.9 percent increase in the previous year.
(See table 5.)
The over-the-year increase for June 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing
industries was 3.1 percent. The June 2007 increase was 3.3 percent. Among the major
service-providing industries, changes in compensation costs ranged from 0.6 percent in
information to 3.8 percent in professional and business services. (See table 5.)
Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from
2.6 percent for production, transportation, and material moving to 3.3 percent for service
occupations. (See table 5.)
Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.7 percent in the year ended June 2008
while compensation cost increases for nonunion workers increased 3.0 percent in the same
12-month period. Wages and salaries for union workers increased 2.9 percent in the 12-month
period ended June 2008. For nonunion workers, the increase was 3.2 percent. Benefit costs
for union workers rose 2.4 percent in the 12-month period; costs for nonunion workers rose
2.7 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
Compensation June June June June June June
component 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Union workers
Compensation costs 4.9 5.7 3.0 3.0 2.1 2.7
Wages and salaries 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.9
Benefit costs 8.1 10.9 4.1 3.8 1.4 2.4
Nonunion workers
Compensation costs 3.2 3.7 3.1 2.8 3.3 3.0
Wages and salaries 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.9 3.4 3.2
Benefit costs 5.3 6.4 4.8 2.5 2.8 2.7
State and local government
For the year ended June 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers
rose 3.4 percent. The increase for the 12-month period ended June 2007 was 3.8 percent.
Benefit costs increased 3.5 percent, down from the increase of 6.6 percent in the previous
year. Public administration wages and salaries increased 3.2 percent, down from the June 2007
increase of 4.1 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 1.7 percent for the 12-month period ended June 2008,
compared to a 0.7 percent increase for the 12-month period ended June 2007. The decrease for
private industry was 1.8 percent compared to an increase of 0.7 percent for the year ended
June 2007. State and local government registered a 1.4 percent decrease, compared to an
increase of 0.9 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
Series June June June June June June
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers 0.6 -0.7 -0.1 -1.3 0.7 -1.7
Occupation
Management, professional, and
related 0.9 -0.7 0.1 -1.3 0.9 -1.5
Sales and office 0.3 -0.3 -0.1 -1.1 0.5 -2.1
Natural resources, construction,
and maintenance 0.5 -0.6 -0.4 -1.1 0.6 -1.3
Production, transportation, and
material moving 0.3 -1.0 -0.2 -2.0 0.0 -2.0
Service 0.2 -1.1 -0.2 -1.8 1.3 -1.6
Industry
Goods-producing 0.8 -1.0 0.0 -1.1 0.2 -1.8
Service-providing 0.5 -0.6 -0.1 -1.4 0.8 -1.6
Private industry 0.5 -0.6 0.0 -1.5 0.7 -1.8
State and local government 1.0 -1.2 -0.1 -1.2 0.9 -1.4
___________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE:
Effective with the release of December 2008 data, compensation and wage and salary data
aggregated across all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas--which currently appear in
tables 6 and 10--will be discontinued as a result of classification changes to metropolitan
statistical areas.
Beginning with data for this quarter--June 2008--ECI estimates for private industry for
as many as 15 individual localities will be released. For each locality, two estimates
will be provided: 12-month percent change for total compensation and 12-month percent
change for wages and salaries. The June 2008 data are scheduled for release on the
Compensation and Working Conditions Online (CWC Online) website at www.bls.gov/opub/cwc
in late September 2008. Information about future release schedules for these data will be
included in the CWC Online article.
The ECI for September 2008 is scheduled for release on Friday, October 31, 2008, at
8:30 AM EDT.
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 or call (202)691-6199. 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/list.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
Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June
2008 2008 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 107.6 108.3 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)(4)......... 106.1 106.7 .6 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6
Manufacturing(3)....................... 104.7 105.1 .5 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4
Service-providing industries(3)(5)....... 107.8 108.8 1.1 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9
Education and health services(3)....... 108.7 109.7 1.4 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9
Education services(3)................ 108.5 109.6 1.5 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8 1.0
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 108.4 109.7 1.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .8 1.2
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 108.6 109.6 1.3 .8 .8 1.1 1.1 1.0 .7 .9
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 108.8 109.7 1.3 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .8
Hospitals(3)....................... 108.3 109.3 1.1 1.0 .9 .9 .7 .8 .7 .9
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 107.2 108.3 1.1 1.2 .6 .7 .5 .8 .8 1.0
Public administration(3)............... 109.5 110.3 1.0 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 107.3 107.9 .9 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9 .8 .6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 108.0 108.8 1.1 .9 .7 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7
Management, business, and financial.... 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .6 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 .6
Professional and related............... 108.2 109.0 1.2 1.1 .7 1.0 .8 .8 .7 .7
Sales and office......................... 106.8 107.3 .6 1.0 .7 .7 .7 1.0 .6 .5
Sales and related...................... 105.5 106.0 .4 .9 .5 .7 .4 1.3 .3 .5
Office and administrative support...... 107.7 108.3 .9 .9 .9 .7 .9 .8 .7 .6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 107.8 108.2 .9 .8 .4 .7 1.0 .9 .9 .4
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 108.8 109.5 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2 .6
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 106.5 106.5 .9 .8 .0 .4 1.1 .8 .6 .0
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 105.5 106.0 .6 .6 .2 .8 .6 .6 1.0 .5
Production............................. 104.8 105.2 .6 .4 .1 .7 .5 .6 .9 .4
Transportation and material moving..... 106.6 107.1 .6 .9 .5 .9 .6 .7 1.1 .5
Service occupations...................... 107.8 108.7 .8 .8 1.3 .8 1.1 .7 .7 .8
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 106.1 106.7 .6 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6
Construction........................... 109.1 109.9 .9 1.1 1.1 .8 .9 1.0 1.2 .7
Manufacturing.......................... 104.7 105.1 .5 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 89.0 90.6 2.7 -1.6 -4.6 1.8 -3.1 -.8 2.7 1.8
Service-providing industries(7).......... 107.6 108.4 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .7
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 106.2 107.2 .9 .8 .1 .9 .6 .8 .7 .9
Wholesale trade...................... 105.7 107.1 1.7 .6 .7 .8 -.3 1.2 .3 1.3
Retail trade......................... 106.8 107.6 .7 .7 .4 .9 1.2 .9 .8 .7
Transportation and warehousing(3).... 105.8 106.4 .4 .9 .7 .9 .4 .2 1.2 .6
Utilities(3)......................... 106.4 107.7 1.2 1.1 -7.6 1.6 .6 1.2 .2 1.2
Information............................ 106.1 105.9 1.1 .6 .9 .9 .4 .7 -.3 -.2
Financial activities................... 106.6 107.1 .6 .7 1.1 .4 1.1 .5 .6 .5
Finance and insurance(3)............. 106.8 107.4 .6 .6 1.1 .3 1.1 .7 .3 .6
Credit intermediation and related
activities(3)..................... 105.3 106.1 .7 -.2 1.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 .3 .8
Insurance carriers and related
activities(3)..................... 107.3 107.8 .7 .5 .9 1.3 1.1 -.2 1.4 .5
Professional and business services..... 108.9 109.6 .8 .8 1.0 1.1 1.0 .8 1.0 .6
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(3)............... 110.8 111.6 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1 .9 1.2 .7
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(3)......................... 107.3 107.8 .4 .8 1.0 .7 1.0 .9 .8 .5
Education and health services.......... 108.6 109.5 1.2 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .8
Education services................... 108.2 109.7 .7 1.3 .6 .8 .8 1.1 .7 1.4
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 108.3 110.0 .9 1.2 .4 1.0 .9 .9 .7 1.6
Health care and social assistance(6) 108.7 109.5 1.3 1.0 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7
Hospitals(3)....................... 108.1 109.1 1.1 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .9
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 107.0 107.9 .9 1.2 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 .8
Leisure and hospitality................ 108.9 109.4 1.1 1.3 1.5 .8 1.3 .6 .7 .5
Accommodation and food services(3)... 109.4 110.1 1.0 1.5 1.6 .8 1.5 .4 .8 .6
Other services, except public
administration........................ 108.7 109.3 .8 1.0 1.2 .3 .8 .9 .7 .6
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 108.9 109.9 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .6 .9
Industry
Education and health services(3)....... 108.7 109.8 1.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 1.0
Education services(3)................ 108.5 109.6 1.6 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .8 .8 1.0
Schools(3)......................... 108.5 109.6 1.6 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .7 .8 1.0
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 108.5 109.7 1.7 .8 1.1 1.0 .8 .7 .8 1.1
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 110.0 111.4 1.6 1.0 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .5 1.3
Hospitals(3)....................... 109.2 110.1 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.0 .5 .9 .9 .8
Public administration(3)............... 109.5 110.3 1.0 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7
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 the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services, except
public administration; and public administration.
6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
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.
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
Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June
2008 2008 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 107.6 108.4 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)(3)......... 107.2 107.8 .5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6
Manufacturing(2)....................... 105.9 106.6 .2 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7
Service-providing industries(2)(4)....... 107.7 108.6 1.1 .7 1.1 .7 .9 .8 .7 .8
Education and health services(2)....... 108.1 109.1 1.3 .8 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .9
Education services(2)................ 107.4 108.5 1.3 .7 .7 .7 1.1 .9 .8 1.0
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 107.1 108.2 1.4 .6 .8 .7 .9 .8 .8 1.0
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 108.0 109.0 1.1 .8 .5 1.0 1.1 1.0 .7 .9
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 108.9 109.7 1.4 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9 .7
Hospitals(2)....................... 108.5 109.5 1.1 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 1.0 .9
Nursing and residential care
facilities(2)..................... 107.3 108.2 1.0 1.1 .8 .6 1.1 .6 .8 .8
Public administration(2)............... 108.1 108.8 .7 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 107.6 108.4 .9 .8 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 108.4 109.2 1.0 .9 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7
Management, business, and financial.... 108.1 108.8 .8 .6 1.2 .7 .9 .7 1.1 .6
Professional and related............... 108.7 109.5 1.2 1.1 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .9 .8
Sales and office......................... 106.9 107.5 .7 .8 1.0 .7 .5 1.0 .7 .6
Sales and related...................... 105.8 106.5 .4 1.0 .7 .6 .1 1.3 .4 .7
Office and administrative support...... 107.7 108.3 .8 .9 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .7 .6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 108.3 108.9 .9 .8 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.1 .6
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 109.3 110.0 1.0 .9 1.0 .9 .9 1.2 1.3 .6
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 107.0 107.5 .9 .7 .8 .2 1.2 .8 .7 .5
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 106.0 106.8 .6 .6 .8 .6 .7 .5 1.0 .8
Transportation and material moving..... 106.6 107.4 .7 .7 .7 .8 .7 .6 1.2 .8
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 107.2 107.8 .5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6
Construction........................... 109.2 109.9 .8 1.1 1.2 .9 .8 1.0 1.2 .7
Manufacturing.......................... 105.9 106.6 .2 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7
Aircraft manufacturing(2)............ 106.4 107.1 .9 .3 .7 .4 .1 .7 1.1 .6
Service-providing industries(6).......... 107.7 108.5 1.0 .8 1.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 .7
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 106.0 107.2 1.1 .7 .7 .9 .2 .9 .6 1.1
Retail trade......................... 106.6 107.6 .9 .9 .5 1.0 .8 1.0 .5 1.0
Transportation and warehousing(2).... 105.3 105.9 .4 .9 .8 .8 .2 .5 .9 .6
Utilities(2)......................... 108.1 109.1 1.0 .8 .7 .9 .7 .9 1.1 .9
Information............................ 105.3 106.1 1.0 .1 1.2 .9 .4 .4 -.2 .8
Financial activities................... 107.1 107.4 .5 .7 1.3 .1 1.3 .3 .8 .3
Finance and insurance(2)............. 107.7 108.1 .5 .6 1.5 .0 1.2 .6 .6 .4
Credit intermediation and related
activities(2)..................... 105.1 105.4 .7 -.7 2.2 -1.9 1.3 1.2 .2 .3
Professional and business services..... 109.1 109.8 .8 .8 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.3 .6
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(2)............... 110.7 111.5 1.2 .9 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 1.6 .7
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(2)......................... 107.6 108.0 .6 .9 1.0 .6 1.1 .9 .8 .4
Education and health services.......... 108.6 109.4 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7
Education services................... 108.0 109.1 .8 1.3 .3 .8 .8 1.2 .7 1.0
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 107.9 109.0 1.0 1.2 .0 1.0 .8 1.1 .7 1.0
Health care and social assistance(5) 108.8 109.5 1.3 .9 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 .6
Hospitals(2)....................... 108.2 109.3 .9 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 1.0
Leisure and hospitality................ 109.6 110.0 .9 1.4 1.8 .9 1.5 .6 .7 .4
Accommodation and food services(2)... 109.9 110.5 .8 1.6 2.0 .7 1.7 .6 .8 .6
Other services, except public
administration(2)..................... 109.2 109.8 .8 .8 1.5 .3 1.0 1.0 .9 .6
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 107.7 108.7 1.3 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9
Industry
Education and health services(2)....... 107.6 108.7 1.4 .6 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0
Education services(2)................ 107.3 108.4 1.5 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0
Schools(2)......................... 107.3 108.4 1.5 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 107.1 108.2 1.5 .5 .8 .7 1.0 .7 .8 1.1
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 110.0 111.3 1.4 .9 .9 .8 .7 1.0 .7 1.2
Hospitals(2)....................... 109.7 110.6 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 .7 .9 1.1 .8
Public administration(2)............... 108.1 108.8 .7 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .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 the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities;
information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; health care and
social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services, except
public administration; and public administration.
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 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
Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June
2008 2008 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 107.5 108.1 1.0 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 106.4 106.9 .9 .9 -.3 1.1 .8 .8 .6 .5
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 106.9 107.7 1.2 1.1 -.4 1.3 .8 .9 .4 .7
Sales and office......................... 106.5 106.9 .7 1.0 .2 .9 1.0 1.0 .3 .4
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 106.8 106.7 1.0 .8 -.6 .9 .7 .8 .8 -.1
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.5 104.5 .7 .6 -.9 1.1 .4 1.0 .8 .0
Service occupations...................... 107.4 108.4 .9 .9 .1 1.0 1.0 .8 .4 1.0
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 104.1 104.4 .8 .6 -.8 1.2 .1 1.0 .8 .3
Manufacturing.......................... 102.3 102.2 .8 .4 -1.3 1.4 -.3 1.0 .6 -.1
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 70.5 72.9 5.5 -4.0 -11.9 4.2 -8.0 -3.2 5.5 3.4
Service-providing industries(4).......... 107.4 108.0 .9 1.0 .0 1.0 1.0 .8 .6 .6
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 111.3 112.5 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 .9 1.2 .3 1.1
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 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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 105.0 107.6 108.3 0.8 0.8 0.7 3.3 3.3 3.1
Excluding incentive paid occupations(3) 105.1 107.8 108.5 .9 .9 .6 3.5 3.5 3.2
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 105.5 108.3 109.0 .8 1.0 .6 3.8 3.4 3.3
Management, business, and financial.... 105.2 108.2 108.9 .8 1.5 .6 3.2 3.6 3.5
Professional and related............... 105.7 108.4 109.0 .8 .7 .6 4.2 3.3 3.1
Sales and office......................... 104.8 106.8 107.7 1.0 .4 .8 3.1 2.9 2.8
Sales and related...................... 103.6 105.0 106.1 1.2 -.2 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.4
Office and administrative support...... 105.5 108.0 108.6 .8 .8 .6 3.5 3.2 2.9
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 105.1 107.7 108.4 1.0 .8 .6 3.0 3.5 3.1
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 105.7 108.5 109.6 1.3 1.0 1.0 3.6 4.0 3.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 104.4 106.7 107.0 .7 .5 .3 2.4 2.9 2.5
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 103.5 105.6 106.2 .8 .9 .6 2.4 2.8 2.6
Production............................. 102.8 104.8 105.3 .7 .7 .5 1.8 2.6 2.4
Transportation and material moving..... 104.4 106.6 107.3 1.0 .9 .7 3.1 3.1 2.8
Service occupations...................... 105.5 108.4 109.1 .7 .6 .6 4.0 3.4 3.4
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 103.9 106.1 106.8 1.0 1.0 .7 2.6 3.1 2.8
Manufacturing.......................... 102.9 104.7 105.1 .9 .9 .4 1.9 2.6 2.1
Service-providing industries(5).......... 105.2 107.8 108.5 .8 .7 .6 3.5 3.3 3.1
Education and health services.......... 105.5 108.6 109.2 .6 .6 .6 4.1 3.5 3.5
Education services................... 104.9 108.3 108.9 .4 .4 .6 4.2 3.6 3.8
Elementary and secondary schools... 105.0 108.2 108.8 .4 .3 .6 4.5 3.4 3.6
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 104.9 108.5 109.0 .6 .5 .5 4.0 4.0 3.9
Health care and social assistance(6) 106.1 108.9 109.6 .7 .9 .6 4.0 3.3 3.3
Hospitals.......................... 105.7 108.4 109.2 .6 .8 .7 3.7 3.1 3.3
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 105.0 107.3 108.2 .5 .9 .8 3.6 2.7 3.0
Public administration.................. 106.6 109.7 110.1 .9 .5 .4 5.3 3.9 3.3
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 and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services;
health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other
services, except public administration; and public administration.
6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 104.9 107.3 108.0 0.9 0.9 0.7 3.1 3.2 3.0
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).. 105.0 107.6 108.3 1.0 1.1 .7 3.2 3.5 3.1
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 105.5 108.1 108.9 .9 1.2 .7 3.5 3.3 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.5 108.1 108.9 1.0 1.2 .7 3.6 3.4 3.2
Management, business, and financial...... 105.1 108.0 108.7 .8 1.6 .6 3.0 3.5 3.4
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.2 108.2 108.9 1.1 1.6 .6 3.2 3.9 3.5
Professional and related................. 105.9 108.3 109.0 1.0 .9 .6 4.0 3.2 2.9
Sales and office........................... 104.7 106.6 107.5 1.0 .5 .8 3.1 2.8 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.2 107.8 108.5 1.0 1.0 .6 3.2 3.5 3.1
Sales and related........................ 103.6 105.0 106.2 1.2 -.2 1.1 2.5 2.5 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 104.7 107.9 108.5 1.1 1.3 .6 2.7 4.2 3.6
Office and administrative support........ 105.4 107.8 108.5 .9 1.0 .6 3.4 3.2 2.9
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 105.0 107.6 108.3 1.0 .8 .7 2.8 3.5 3.1
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 105.7 108.6 109.7 1.2 1.1 1.0 3.4 4.0 3.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 104.1 106.3 106.6 .6 .5 .3 2.0 2.7 2.4
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 103.3 105.5 106.0 .8 1.0 .5 2.2 2.9 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 103.3 105.4 105.9 .9 .9 .5 2.2 2.9 2.5
Production............................... 102.8 104.8 105.2 .7 .8 .4 1.8 2.6 2.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 102.8 104.7 105.2 .8 .8 .5 1.8 2.6 2.3
Transportation and material moving....... 104.1 106.4 107.2 1.0 1.0 .8 2.9 3.2 3.0
Service occupations........................ 105.2 107.8 108.7 .7 .7 .8 3.6 3.2 3.3
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(3).............. 103.9 106.1 106.8 1.0 1.0 .7 2.6 3.1 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 104.0 106.3 106.9 1.1 1.0 .6 2.7 3.3 2.8
Management, professional, and related.. 103.8 106.1 106.6 1.1 1.6 .5 3.1 3.3 2.7
Sales and office....................... 103.7 105.1 106.3 .7 .3 1.1 1.0 2.0 2.5
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 105.3 108.1 109.0 1.2 1.0 .8 3.3 3.9 3.5
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 102.9 104.8 105.3 .8 .8 .5 1.9 2.6 2.3
Construction............................. 105.9 108.9 110.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 3.9 4.0 4.0
Manufacturing............................ 102.9 104.7 105.1 .9 .9 .4 1.9 2.6 2.1
Management, professional, and related 103.3 104.9 105.2 1.3 1.4 .3 2.8 2.8 1.8
Sales and office..................... 103.2 105.0 106.1 .8 .7 1.0 .4 2.5 2.8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 102.4 104.6 104.5 .7 .7 -.1 1.6 2.9 2.1
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 102.6 104.5 105.0 .7 .7 .5 1.7 2.6 2.3
Aircraft manufacturing................. 89.6 89.7 89.9 .4 2.9 .2 -1.9 .6 .3
Service-providing industries(4)............ 105.2 107.7 108.5 .9 .9 .7 3.3 3.3 3.1
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.4 108.0 108.7 1.0 1.0 .6 3.4 3.4 3.1
Management, professional, and related.. 105.9 108.5 109.3 .9 1.1 .7 3.6 3.3 3.2
Sales and office....................... 104.8 106.8 107.7 1.1 .5 .8 3.3 3.0 2.8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 104.5 106.7 107.3 .5 .5 .6 2.0 2.6 2.7
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.0 106.4 107.0 1.0 1.1 .6 2.7 3.3 2.9
Service occupations.................... 105.3 107.9 108.7 .8 .7 .7 3.7 3.3 3.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 104.2 106.1 107.3 1.1 .6 1.1 2.8 2.9 3.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 104.4 106.9 107.8 1.0 .9 .8 2.5 3.4 3.3
Wholesale trade........................ 104.6 105.7 107.2 .9 .4 1.4 3.8 1.9 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 104.9 107.4 108.0 .8 1.1 .6 3.2 3.2 3.0
Retail trade........................... 103.9 106.6 107.6 1.0 .5 .9 2.7 3.6 3.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 104.3 107.3 108.1 1.0 .9 .7 2.7 3.9 3.6
Transportation and warehousing......... 104.0 105.6 106.4 1.2 1.1 .8 3.0 2.7 2.3
Utilities.............................. 104.7 106.5 108.1 1.8 .9 1.5 -4.2 3.6 3.2
Information.............................. 105.6 106.1 106.2 1.2 .0 .1 3.4 1.7 .6
Financial activities..................... 104.6 106.8 107.3 .4 1.1 .5 2.8 2.5 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.2 107.4 108.2 1.0 1.4 .7 3.4 3.1 2.9
Finance and insurance.................. 104.9 107.0 107.7 .3 .8 .7 2.4 2.3 2.7
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 103.1 105.5 106.4 -.9 1.0 .9 .8 1.4 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.2 108.2 109.2 .8 1.8 .9 3.1 3.6 3.8
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 105.0 107.4 107.9 1.4 1.6 .5 3.3 3.8 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 104.8 106.9 107.9 1.4 1.4 .9 3.1 3.4 3.0
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 103.0 105.5 105.7 .8 1.7 .2 3.7 3.2 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.3 108.1 108.5 .9 2.1 .4 4.8 3.5 3.0
Professional and business services....... 105.9 109.0 109.9 1.1 1.4 .8 3.6 4.1 3.8
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 107.5 111.1 111.9 1.4 1.8 .7 4.7 4.8 4.1
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 104.8 107.1 108.0 1.0 .7 .8 2.8 3.2 3.1
Education and health services............ 105.7 108.6 109.4 .6 .8 .7 3.8 3.3 3.5
Education services..................... 104.9 108.1 109.1 .4 .6 .9 3.3 3.4 4.0
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 105.1 108.3 109.5 .6 .6 1.1 3.4 3.6 4.2
Health care and social assistance(5)... 105.9 108.8 109.4 .7 .9 .6 3.9 3.4 3.3
Hospitals............................ 105.6 108.2 109.1 .6 .8 .8 3.5 3.0 3.3
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 104.8 107.1 107.8 .5 .8 .7 3.4 2.7 2.9
Nursing care facilities(2)......... 104.7 107.2 108.0 .5 .9 .7 3.5 2.9 3.2
Leisure and hospitality.................. 106.0 109.0 109.3 .7 .8 .3 4.6 3.5 3.1
Accommodation and food services........ 106.4 109.5 110.0 .6 .8 .5 4.9 3.5 3.4
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 106.1 108.7 109.4 .4 1.0 .6 3.3 2.8 3.1
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.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 103.9 105.9 106.7 1.2 0.8 0.8 2.1 3.1 2.7
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 102.8 104.6 105.6 1.3 .6 1.0 1.6 3.1 2.7
Manufacturing........................ 100.0 101.4 101.7 .8 .4 .3 -.1 2.2 1.7
Service-providing industries(3)........ 104.7 107.0 107.5 1.0 .9 .5 2.4 3.2 2.7
Nonunion................................. 105.1 107.5 108.3 .9 .9 .7 3.3 3.2 3.0
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 104.2 106.5 107.1 .9 1.0 .6 2.8 3.1 2.8
Manufacturing........................ 103.7 105.6 106.2 .9 1.0 .6 2.4 2.7 2.4
Service-providing industries(3)........ 105.3 107.7 108.6 .9 .8 .8 3.4 3.2 3.1
Census region and division(4)
Northeast................................ 105.1 107.4 108.1 1.1 .6 .7 3.2 3.3 2.9
New England............................ 104.8 106.7 107.1 1.2 .6 .4 3.4 3.0 2.2
Middle Atlantic........................ 105.3 107.8 108.6 1.1 .7 .7 3.3 3.5 3.1
South.................................... 105.3 107.8 108.5 1.0 1.0 .6 3.6 3.4 3.0
South Atlantic......................... 106.0 108.5 109.1 1.0 1.1 .6 4.0 3.4 2.9
East South Central..................... 103.8 106.5 107.2 .5 1.0 .7 2.9 3.1 3.3
West South Central..................... 104.8 107.3 108.2 1.1 1.1 .8 3.4 3.5 3.2
Midwest.................................. 104.2 106.0 107.0 .9 .7 .9 2.5 2.6 2.7
East North Central..................... 104.1 105.5 106.5 .9 .5 .9 2.4 2.2 2.3
West North Central..................... 104.3 107.3 108.4 .8 1.3 1.0 2.8 3.7 3.9
West..................................... 104.9 107.8 108.4 .7 1.2 .6 3.0 3.5 3.3
Mountain............................... 105.2 108.4 109.4 .0 .8 .9 3.3 3.0 4.0
Pacific................................ 104.8 107.6 108.1 .9 1.4 .5 2.9 3.6 3.1
Metropolitan area status
Metropolitan areas....................... 104.9 107.2 108.0 1.0 .8 .7 3.1 3.2 3.0
Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 105.0 107.5 108.4 .9 .9 .8 3.4 3.3 3.2
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.)
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 105.7 108.9 109.4 0.6 0.5 0.5 4.8 3.6 3.5
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 105.4 108.8 109.3 .5 .5 .5 4.6 3.7 3.7
Professional and related............... 105.3 108.6 109.1 .5 .4 .5 4.5 3.6 3.6
Sales and office......................... 106.2 108.8 109.3 .6 .2 .5 4.6 3.0 2.9
Office and administrative support...... 106.4 109.3 109.8 .7 .4 .5 4.7 3.4 3.2
Service occupations...................... 106.3 109.7 110.0 .9 .5 .3 5.0 4.1 3.5
Industry
Education and health services............ 105.3 108.6 109.1 .5 .4 .5 4.5 3.6 3.6
Education services..................... 105.0 108.4 108.8 .4 .4 .4 4.5 3.6 3.6
Schools(2)........................... 104.9 108.4 108.8 .3 .4 .4 4.4 3.6 3.7
Elementary and secondary schools... 105.0 108.3 108.8 .3 .3 .5 4.5 3.4 3.6
Health care and social assistance(3)... 107.6 110.1 111.1 .5 .7 .9 4.6 2.8 3.3
Hospitals............................ 106.3 109.2 109.7 .7 .9 .5 4.9 3.4 3.2
Public administration.................... 106.6 109.7 110.1 .9 .5 .4 5.3 3.9 3.3
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.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 105.0 107.6 108.4 0.7 0.8 0.7 3.4 3.2 3.2
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2) 105.1 107.8 108.6 .9 .9 .7 3.5 3.5 3.3
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 105.4 108.2 109.0 .7 1.0 .7 3.7 3.3 3.4
Management, business, and financial.... 105.4 108.2 109.0 .7 1.4 .7 3.3 3.3 3.4
Professional and related............... 105.3 108.3 109.0 .6 .8 .6 3.8 3.4 3.5
Sales and office......................... 104.8 106.7 107.7 1.0 .5 .9 3.1 2.8 2.8
Sales and related...................... 103.9 105.2 106.6 1.2 -.3 1.3 2.6 2.4 2.6
Office and administrative support...... 105.3 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .6 3.4 3.2 3.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 105.1 108.1 109.0 .8 .9 .8 3.2 3.6 3.7
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 105.7 109.0 109.9 1.1 1.2 .8 3.7 4.2 4.0
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 104.4 107.0 107.8 .6 .6 .7 2.8 3.1 3.3
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 103.9 106.1 106.9 .7 1.0 .8 2.7 2.8 2.9
Production............................. 103.6 105.7 106.5 .4 1.0 .8 2.4 2.4 2.8
Transportation and material moving..... 104.2 106.6 107.3 .9 1.0 .7 3.0 3.2 3.0
Service occupations...................... 105.3 108.0 108.7 .7 .7 .6 4.1 3.3 3.2
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 104.7 107.1 108.0 .8 1.0 .8 2.8 3.1 3.2
Manufacturing.......................... 103.9 105.9 106.7 .6 1.0 .8 2.2 2.5 2.7
Service-providing industries(4).......... 105.1 107.7 108.5 .8 .8 .7 3.5 3.3 3.2
Education and health services.......... 104.9 108.0 108.7 .5 .6 .6 3.8 3.4 3.6
Education services................... 104.0 107.3 107.9 .3 .4 .6 3.5 3.5 3.8
Elementary and secondary schools... 103.8 107.0 107.5 .2 .4 .5 3.5 3.3 3.6
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 104.3 107.9 108.4 .4 .4 .5 3.4 3.8 3.9
Health care and social assistance(5) 105.9 108.9 109.6 .8 .9 .6 4.0 3.6 3.5
Hospitals.......................... 105.6 108.4 109.4 .8 .9 .9 3.8 3.4 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 104.7 107.4 108.1 .6 .9 .7 3.5 3.2 3.2
Public administration.................. 105.2 108.2 108.6 .7 .7 .4 4.1 3.5 3.2
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 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 and technical
services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services;
health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other
services, except public administration; and public administration.
5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 105.1 107.6 108.4 0.8 0.9 0.7 3.3 3.2 3.1
Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).. 105.2 107.9 108.7 .9 1.1 .7 3.4 3.5 3.3
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 105.8 108.5 109.3 .9 1.2 .7 3.7 3.4 3.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.8 108.5 109.3 1.0 1.2 .7 3.8 3.5 3.3
Management, business, and financial...... 105.5 108.2 109.0 .8 1.5 .7 3.2 3.3 3.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.7 108.4 109.3 1.1 1.4 .8 3.6 3.6 3.4
Professional and related................. 106.0 108.7 109.5 .9 1.0 .7 4.1 3.4 3.3
Sales and office........................... 104.8 106.7 107.7 1.0 .5 .9 3.1 2.8 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.2 108.0 108.7 1.0 1.2 .6 3.3 3.6 3.3
Sales and related........................ 104.0 105.3 106.6 1.2 -.2 1.2 2.7 2.4 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 104.8 108.3 109.1 1.1 1.6 .7 2.9 4.4 4.1
Office and administrative support........ 105.4 107.7 108.5 .9 .9 .7 3.4 3.1 2.9
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 105.1 108.1 109.0 .9 .9 .8 3.2 3.7 3.7
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 105.8 109.2 110.1 1.1 1.3 .8 3.7 4.3 4.1
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 104.2 106.8 107.6 .5 .7 .7 2.6 3.0 3.3
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 103.8 106.0 106.8 .7 1.0 .8 2.6 2.8 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 103.8 106.0 106.7 .7 1.0 .7 2.7 2.8 2.8
Production............................... 103.6 105.6 106.4 .5 1.0 .8 2.4 2.4 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 103.6 105.5 106.3 .6 .9 .8 2.4 2.4 2.6
Transportation and material moving....... 104.1 106.5 107.4 .9 1.0 .8 2.9 3.2 3.2
Service occupations........................ 105.3 107.9 108.8 .7 .7 .8 3.9 3.2 3.3
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(2).............. 104.7 107.1 108.0 .8 1.0 .8 2.8 3.1 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 104.9 107.4 108.2 .9 1.1 .7 3.1 3.3 3.1
Management, professional, and related.. 105.3 107.7 108.4 .9 1.6 .6 3.5 3.2 2.9
Sales and office....................... 104.1 105.8 107.2 .7 .3 1.3 .7 2.3 3.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 105.6 108.8 109.6 1.1 1.1 .7 3.6 4.2 3.8
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 103.7 105.7 106.6 .5 .9 .9 2.4 2.4 2.8
Construction............................. 106.0 109.0 110.0 1.0 1.1 .9 3.9 3.9 3.8
Manufacturing............................ 103.9 105.9 106.7 .6 1.0 .8 2.2 2.5 2.7
Management, professional, and related 104.6 106.7 107.2 .8 1.3 .5 3.1 2.8 2.5
Sales and office..................... 103.2 105.5 106.9 .8 .8 1.3 -.6 3.0 3.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 104.3 106.8 107.1 .5 .8 .3 2.6 2.9 2.7
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 103.6 105.4 106.3 .5 .9 .9 2.3 2.2 2.6
Aircraft manufacturing................. 104.8 107.0 107.4 .1 2.3 .4 2.2 2.2 2.5
Service-providing industries(3)............ 105.3 107.7 108.6 .9 .8 .8 3.5 3.2 3.1
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.3 108.0 108.9 .9 1.0 .8 3.5 3.4 3.4
Management, professional, and related.. 105.9 108.6 109.4 .9 1.1 .7 3.8 3.4 3.3
Sales and office....................... 104.9 106.8 107.7 1.1 .5 .8 3.5 2.9 2.7
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 104.3 106.9 108.0 .4 .6 1.0 2.5 2.9 3.5
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.0 106.3 107.1 1.0 1.0 .8 3.0 3.2 3.0
Service occupations.................... 105.3 108.0 108.8 .7 .7 .7 3.9 3.3 3.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 104.3 105.9 107.2 1.1 .4 1.2 3.4 2.6 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 104.6 106.8 107.8 1.0 .8 .9 3.2 3.1 3.1
Wholesale trade........................ 104.8 105.2 107.2 1.0 .0 1.9 4.1 1.3 2.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.2 107.4 108.3 .8 .8 .8 3.3 2.9 2.9
Retail trade........................... 104.2 106.4 107.6 1.1 .3 1.1 3.3 3.2 3.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 104.6 107.1 108.0 1.1 .8 .8 3.2 3.5 3.3
Transportation and warehousing......... 103.7 105.0 106.0 1.2 .8 1.0 3.0 2.4 2.2
Utilities.............................. 105.5 108.0 109.3 1.2 1.1 1.2 3.3 3.5 3.6
Information.............................. 104.9 105.3 106.3 1.1 .0 .9 3.1 1.4 1.3
Financial activities..................... 104.9 107.2 107.7 .2 1.2 .5 2.5 2.4 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.6 108.1 108.8 1.0 1.7 .6 3.5 3.3 3.0
Finance and insurance.................. 105.5 107.9 108.4 .1 1.2 .5 2.6 2.4 2.7
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 103.0 105.2 106.0 -1.4 1.0 .8 .1 .7 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.6 108.7 109.5 .7 1.9 .7 3.2 3.6 3.7
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 105.8 107.9 108.5 1.6 1.4 .6 3.8 3.7 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.4 107.1 108.3 1.4 1.1 1.1 3.5 3.1 2.8
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 102.4 104.5 104.7 .8 1.4 .2 2.5 2.9 2.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.2 107.4 107.8 .9 1.5 .4 3.6 3.0 2.5
Professional and business services....... 105.9 109.1 110.0 1.0 1.5 .8 3.5 4.1 3.9
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 107.1 110.8 111.7 1.1 1.9 .8 4.3 4.6 4.3
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 104.8 107.4 108.3 1.1 .8 .8 3.0 3.6 3.3
Education and health services............ 105.6 108.6 109.2 .8 .8 .6 3.9 3.6 3.4
Education services..................... 104.6 107.9 108.6 .4 .5 .6 3.2 3.6 3.8
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 104.6 107.8 108.4 .5 .4 .6 3.2 3.6 3.6
Health care and social assistance(4)... 105.8 108.7 109.4 .9 .8 .6 4.1 3.6 3.4
Hospitals............................ 105.4 108.2 109.2 .8 .9 .9 3.5 3.4 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 104.8 107.4 108.1 .6 .8 .7 3.5 3.1 3.1
Nursing care facilities(1)......... 104.8 107.4 108.1 .6 .9 .7 3.6 3.1 3.1
Leisure and hospitality.................. 106.4 109.7 109.9 .7 .8 .2 5.0 3.8 3.3
Accommodation and food services........ 106.5 110.0 110.4 .5 .9 .4 5.1 3.8 3.7
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 106.1 109.2 109.9 .4 1.2 .6 3.4 3.3 3.6
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.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 103.7 105.5 106.7 0.9 0.8 1.1 2.5 2.6 2.9
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 103.6 105.2 106.4 .9 .9 1.1 2.0 2.4 2.7
Manufacturing........................ 102.5 103.4 104.4 .5 .8 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.9
Service-providing industries(2)........ 103.8 105.8 106.9 .9 .9 1.0 2.9 2.8 3.0
Nonunion................................. 105.3 107.9 108.7 .8 .9 .7 3.4 3.3 3.2
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 105.0 107.7 108.4 .8 1.2 .6 3.0 3.4 3.2
Manufacturing........................ 104.2 106.6 107.3 .6 1.0 .7 2.4 2.9 3.0
Service-providing industries(2)........ 105.4 107.9 108.8 .8 .8 .8 3.6 3.2 3.2
Census region and division(3)
Northeast................................ 105.0 107.5 108.2 1.0 .8 .7 3.2 3.4 3.0
New England............................ 104.8 107.1 107.6 1.2 .8 .5 3.3 3.4 2.7
Middle Atlantic........................ 105.1 107.6 108.4 .9 .8 .7 3.3 3.3 3.1
South.................................... 105.6 108.1 109.1 1.0 1.0 .9 3.9 3.3 3.3
South Atlantic......................... 106.1 108.6 109.5 1.0 1.0 .8 4.1 3.4 3.2
East South Central..................... 104.5 107.2 107.9 .3 .8 .7 3.0 2.9 3.3
West South Central..................... 105.3 107.8 108.8 1.2 1.1 .9 4.1 3.6 3.3
Midwest.................................. 104.4 106.3 107.5 .8 .7 1.1 3.0 2.6 3.0
East North Central..................... 104.4 105.8 107.0 .8 .5 1.1 3.0 2.1 2.5
West North Central..................... 104.5 107.9 108.9 .7 1.5 .9 3.0 3.9 4.2
West..................................... 105.4 108.3 108.9 .6 1.2 .6 3.2 3.3 3.3
Mountain............................... 105.5 108.9 109.9 .2 1.0 .9 3.7 3.4 4.2
Pacific................................ 105.3 108.1 108.6 .7 1.2 .5 3.0 3.3 3.1
Metropolitan area status
Metropolitan areas....................... 105.1 107.5 108.4 .8 .9 .8 3.3 3.1 3.1
Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 105.2 108.1 108.9 .8 1.0 .7 3.5 3.5 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.)
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 104.6 107.7 108.2 0.5 0.6 0.5 3.8 3.5 3.4
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 104.3 107.6 108.2 .3 .6 .6 3.6 3.5 3.7
Professional and related............... 104.2 107.5 108.1 .3 .5 .6 3.5 3.5 3.7
Sales and office......................... 104.8 107.4 107.9 .3 .4 .5 3.6 2.8 3.0
Office and administrative support...... 105.0 107.8 108.3 .3 .5 .5 3.6 3.0 3.1
Service occupations...................... 105.2 108.3 108.6 .7 .6 .3 4.4 3.6 3.2
Industry
Education and health services............ 104.2 107.5 108.1 .2 .4 .6 3.5 3.4 3.7
Education services..................... 103.9 107.2 107.7 .2 .4 .5 3.5 3.4 3.7
Schools(1)........................... 103.9 107.2 107.7 .3 .4 .5 3.5 3.5 3.7
Elementary and secondary schools... 103.8 106.9 107.5 .2 .3 .6 3.5 3.2 3.6
Health care and social assistance(2)... 107.2 110.1 111.0 .6 .8 .8 4.1 3.3 3.5
Hospitals............................ 106.5 109.8 110.3 .8 1.1 .5 5.0 3.9 3.6
Public administration.................... 105.2 108.2 108.6 .7 .7 .4 4.1 3.5 3.2
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.
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-
June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008
June Mar. June June Mar. June
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 105.1 107.6 108.1 1.1 0.7 0.5 3.4 3.5 2.9
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 104.3 106.5 107.0 1.1 .9 .5 2.6 3.2 2.6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 104.9 107.3 107.9 1.1 1.2 .6 3.0 3.4 2.9
Sales and office......................... 104.3 106.5 107.0 .9 .5 .5 2.7 3.0 2.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 104.8 106.5 107.0 1.4 .6 .5 2.0 3.0 2.1
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 102.4 104.4 104.5 1.2 .7 .1 1.4 3.2 2.1
Service occupations...................... 105.1 107.6 108.5 .9 .8 .8 2.8 3.3 3.2
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 102.2 104.0 104.4 1.3 .8 .4 1.8 3.1 2.2
Manufacturing.......................... 101.0 102.3 102.2 1.4 .6 -.1 1.3 2.7 1.2
Aircraft manufacturing............... 73.4 71.1 71.3 1.1 3.6 .3 -7.3 -2.1 -2.9
Service-providing industries(3).......... 105.2 107.6 108.1 1.1 .9 .5 2.8 3.4 2.8
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 104.1 106.6 106.6 1.7 .8 .0 1.4 4.1 2.4
Nonunion................................. 104.3 106.5 107.1 .9 .9 .6 2.8 3.0 2.7
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 108.0 111.4 111.8 .9 .4 .4 6.6 4.1 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 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.
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[S1]. 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 personal
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
year-end, referral, 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. 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 U.S. 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 June 2008 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately
56,500 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 12,100 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 December 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 December 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/ectsfact.htm 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 al
l 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/ectvar.htm 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, September 10, 2008.
Historical ECEC data are available in summary documents. Both the release and historical
data are available at www.bls.gov/ect, by email to NCSinfo@bls.gov, or by calling
(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.
United States Department of Labor
