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http://www.bls.gov/ect FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2008
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-SEPTEMBER 2008
Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from June to
September 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today, the same as the increase for the last two quarters. Both components
of compensation--wages and salaries and benefits--registered increases that were the same as
the previous quarter. Wages and salaries rose 0.7 percent and benefits rose 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 Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
component 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
Wages and salaries 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Benefit costs 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6
Wages and salaries 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6
Benefit costs 0.9 -0.3 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.6
State and local government
Compensation costs 1.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9
Wages and salaries 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.0
Benefit costs 1.5 1.7 1.6 0.9 1.2 0.3 1.1 0.7
Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent from June to September 2008, the same
as the increase for the prior quarter. In state and local government, the increase was 0.9 percent,
also the same as in the previous quarter. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased
0.6 percent for the June to September 2008 period. For the previous quarter, the increase was 0.7 percent.
In state and local government, the increase was 1.0 percent, compared with 0.9 percent in the prior quarter.
Benefit costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent, compared to 0.5 percent in the previous quarter.
For state and local government, benefit costs increased 0.7 percent, less than the 1.1 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. See note on page 4 for additional information.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.9 percent for the year ended September 2008, less
than the 3.3 percent increase for the year ended September 2007. In private industry, compensation costs rose
2.8 percent in the year ended September 2008; the increase for the year ended September 2007 was 3.1 percent.
For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month period ended September 2008 was 3.4 percent, down
from the September 2007 increase of 4.3 percent. Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 3.1 percent
for the 12-month period; in September 2007, the increase was 3.3 percent. Private industry wages and salaries
increased 2.9 percent in September 2008. In September 2007 the increase was 3.4 percent. State and local
government wages and salaries increased 3.5 percent for the year ended September 2008, the same as the increase
in September 2007. Benefits increased 2.6 percent for civilian workers. In private industry, benefit costs
increased 2.4 percent, less than the increase for state and local government, which was 3.3 percent for the
12-month period ended September 2008. (See table B.)
Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation component Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 3.9 3.8 3.0 3.3 3.3 2.9
Wages and salaries 2.9 2.5 2.3 3.2 3.3 3.1
Benefit costs 6.3 6.6 5.0 3.3 3.2 2.6
Private industry
Compensation costs 3.9 3.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 2.8
Wages and salaries 3.0 2.6 2.3 3.0 3.4 2.9
Benefit costs 6.3 6.7 4.5 2.8 2.4 2.4
State and local government government
Compensation costs 3.7 3.4 3.9 4.1 4.3 3.4
Wages and salaries 2.4 2.1 2.6 3.7 3.5 3.5
Benefit costs 6.7 6.5 6.5 5.2 6.0 3.3
Nonfarm private industry
For the year ended September 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 2.7 percent for
goods-producing industries, compared to a 2.4 percent increase in September 2007. Compensation costs for
manufacturing increased 2.3 percent for the year ended September 2008, compared to 1.8 percent for the year
ended September 2007. In the construction industry, compensation costs rose 3.5 percent compared to 3.8 percent
for the 12-month period ending September 2007. (See table 5.)
The over-the-year increase for September 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing industries was
2.8 percent. The September 2007 increase was 3.3 percent. Among the major service-providing industries, changes
in compensation costs ranged from 1.3 percent in information to 3.6 percent in professional and business
services. (See table 5.)
Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 2.5 percent for
sales and office occupations to 3.0 percent for management, professional, and related occupations. (See table 5.)
Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.9 percent in the year ended September 2008 while compensation
cost increases for nonunion workers increased 2.8 percent in the same 12-month period. Wages and salaries for
union workers increased 2.9 percent in the 12-month period ended September 2008. For nonunion workers, the
increase was 3.0 percent. Benefit costs for union workers rose 2.8 percent in the 12-month period; costs for
nonunion workers rose 2.4 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 component Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Union workers
Compensation costs 4.7 5.6 3.0 2.8 2.0 2.9
Wages and salaries 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.2 2.7 2.9
Benefit costs 8.3 10.1 4.0 3.6 0.9 2.8
Nonunion workers
Compensation costs 3.9 3.4 2.9 3.1 3.2 2.8
Wages and salaries 3.2 2.5 2.3 3.2 3.4 3.0
Benefit costs 5.9 5.9 4.6 2.7 2.7 2.4
State and local government
For the year ended September 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose
3.5 percent, the same as the increase for the 12-month period ended September 2007. Benefit costs increased
3.3 percent for the current 12-month period, less than the increase for the previous year, which was
6.0 percent. Public administration wages and salaries increased 3.3 percent, also less than its September 2007
12-month percent increase of 4.3 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 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ended September 2008, compared to a 0.6 percent
increase for the 12-month period ended September 2007. The decrease for private industry was 1.8 percent
compared to an increase of 0.5 percent for the year ended September 2007. State and local government registered
a 1.4 percent decrease, compared to an increase of 0.7 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
Sector, occupational group and industry Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Civilian workers 0.6 0.0 -2.3 1.1 0.6 -1.8
Occupation
Management, professional, and related 0.8 -0.1 -2.2 1.5 0.7 -1.6
Sales and office 0.8 0.4 -2.4 1.0 0.2 -2.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 0.3 -0.2 -2.1 1.3 0.6 -1.5
Production, transportation, and material moving 0.2 0.0 -2.5 0.2 0.0 -1.9
Service 0.0 -0.6 -2.1 0.6 1.4 -1.7
Industry
Goods producing 0.6 0.3 -2.3 0.7 0.3 -1.8
Service providing 0.6 -0.1 -2.3 1.2 0.6 -1.8
Private industry 0.8 0.0 -2.3 1.0 0.5 -1.8
State and local government 0.1 -0.5 -2.0 1.6 0.7 -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.
This quarter’s ECI estimates for private industry for 14 individual localities (introduced last quarter)
will be released Thursday, November 20, 2008. For each locality, two estimates are provided: 12-month percent
change for total compensation and 12-month percent change for wages and salaries. The data will be available
at www.bls.gov/ect as well as in news releases for each area. The regional news releases providing ECI
estimates for the four regions and nine census divisions have been discontinued. However, those estimates
are still included in tables 6 and 10 of this news release. For additional information, see "BLS Introduces
New Employment Cost Indexes for 14 Metropolitan Areas," at www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20080922ar01p1.htm.
The ECI for December 2008 is scheduled for release on Friday, January 30, 2009, at 8:30 AM EST.
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
June Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
2008 2008 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 108.3 109.1 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)(4)......... 106.7 107.2 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .5
Manufacturing(3)....................... 105.1 105.6 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5
Service-providing industries(3)(5)....... 108.8 109.5 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 .6
Education and health services(3)....... 109.7 110.4 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9 .6
Education services(3)................ 109.6 110.5 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .8
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 109.7 110.4 .9 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .8 1.2 .6
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 109.6 110.6 .8 .8 1.1 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 109.7 110.3 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .8 .5
Hospitals(3)....................... 109.3 110.1 1.0 .9 .9 .7 .8 .7 .9 .7
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 108.3 109.0 1.2 .6 .7 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .6
Public administration(3)............... 110.3 111.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 107.9 108.6 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9 .8 .6 .6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 108.8 109.6 .9 .7 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .7
Management, business, and financial.... 108.5 109.2 .9 .6 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 .6 .6
Professional and related............... 109.0 109.8 1.1 .7 1.0 .8 .8 .7 .7 .7
Sales and office......................... 107.3 107.7 1.0 .7 .7 .7 1.0 .6 .5 .4
Sales and related...................... 106.0 105.8 .9 .5 .7 .4 1.3 .3 .5 -.2
Office and administrative support...... 108.3 109.1 .9 .9 .7 .9 .8 .7 .6 .7
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 108.2 108.9 .8 .4 .7 1.0 .9 .9 .4 .6
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 109.5 110.2 .8 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2 .6 .6
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 106.5 107.3 .8 .0 .4 1.1 .8 .6 .0 .8
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 106.0 106.6 .6 .2 .8 .6 .6 1.0 .5 .6
Production............................. 105.2 105.9 .4 .1 .7 .5 .6 .9 .4 .7
Transportation and material moving..... 107.1 107.5 .9 .5 .9 .6 .7 1.1 .5 .4
Service occupations...................... 108.7 109.5 .8 1.3 .8 1.1 .7 .7 .8 .7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 106.7 107.1 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .4
Construction........................... 109.9 110.4 1.1 1.1 .8 .9 1.0 1.2 .7 .5
Manufacturing.......................... 105.1 105.6 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 90.6 91.3 -1.6 -4.6 1.8 -3.1 -.8 2.7 1.8 .8
Service-providing industries(7).......... 108.4 109.1 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 107.2 107.5 .8 .1 .9 .6 .8 .7 .9 .3
Wholesale trade...................... 107.1 107.1 .6 .7 .8 -.3 1.2 .3 1.3 .0
Retail trade......................... 107.6 108.1 .7 .4 .9 1.2 .9 .8 .7 .5
Transportation and warehousing(3).... 106.4 106.6 .9 .7 .9 .4 .2 1.2 .6 .2
Utilities(3)......................... 107.7 108.0 1.1 -7.6 1.6 .6 1.2 .2 1.2 .3
Information............................ 105.9 107.1 .6 .9 .9 .4 .7 -.3 -.2 1.1
Financial activities................... 107.1 107.5 .7 1.1 .4 1.1 .5 .6 .5 .4
Finance and insurance(3)............. 107.4 107.7 .6 1.1 .3 1.1 .7 .3 .6 .3
Credit intermediation and related
activities(3)..................... 106.1 106.8 -.2 1.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 .3 .8 .7
Insurance carriers and related
activities(3)..................... 107.8 108.3 .5 .9 1.3 1.1 -.2 1.4 .5 .5
Professional and business services..... 109.6 110.8 .8 1.0 1.1 1.0 .8 1.0 .6 1.1
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(3)............... 111.6 112.9 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1 .9 1.2 .7 1.2
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(3)......................... 107.8 109.0 .8 1.0 .7 1.0 .9 .8 .5 1.1
Education and health services.......... 109.5 110.2 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .8 .6
Education services................... 109.7 110.9 1.3 .6 .8 .8 1.1 .7 1.4 1.1
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(3)........................ 110.0 111.2 1.2 .4 1.0 .9 .9 .7 1.6 1.1
Health care and social assistance(6) 109.5 110.0 1.0 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .5
Hospitals(3)....................... 109.1 110.0 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .9 .8
Nursing and residential care
facilities(3)..................... 107.9 108.7 1.2 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 .8 .7
Leisure and hospitality................ 109.4 110.6 1.3 1.5 .8 1.3 .6 .7 .5 1.1
Accommodation and food services(3)... 110.1 111.3 1.5 1.6 .8 1.5 .4 .8 .6 1.1
Other services, except public
administration........................ 109.3 109.7 1.0 1.2 .3 .8 .9 .7 .6 .4
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 109.9 110.9 1.1 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .6 .9 .9
Industry
Education and health services(3)....... 109.8 110.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 1.0 .7
Education services(3)................ 109.6 110.4 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .7
Schools(3)......................... 109.6 110.4 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .7 .8 1.0 .7
Elementary and secondary schools(3) 109.7 110.4 .8 1.1 1.0 .8 .7 .8 1.1 .6
Health care and social
assistance(3)(6).................... 111.4 112.3 1.0 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .5 1.3 .8
Hospitals(3)....................... 110.1 110.5 1.3 1.2 1.0 .5 .9 .9 .8 .4
Public administration(3)............... 110.3 111.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2
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 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
June Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
2008 2008 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 108.4 109.2 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)(3)......... 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6
Manufacturing(2)....................... 106.6 107.3 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7
Service-providing industries(2)(4)....... 108.6 109.3 .7 1.1 .7 .9 .8 .7 .8 .6
Education and health services(2)....... 109.1 109.9 .8 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .9 .7
Education services(2)................ 108.5 109.6 .7 .7 .7 1.1 .9 .8 1.0 1.0
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 108.2 109.3 .6 .8 .7 .9 .8 .8 1.0 1.0
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 109.0 110.0 .8 .5 1.0 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 109.7 110.3 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9 .7 .5
Hospitals(2)....................... 109.5 110.4 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 1.0 .9 .8
Nursing and residential care
facilities(2)..................... 108.2 109.1 1.1 .8 .6 1.1 .6 .8 .8 .8
Public administration(2)............... 108.8 109.9 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 108.4 109.0 .8 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7 .6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 109.2 110.0 .9 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .7
Management, business, and financial.... 108.8 109.6 .6 1.2 .7 .9 .7 1.1 .6 .8
Professional and related............... 109.5 110.3 1.1 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .9 .8 .7
Sales and office......................... 107.5 107.8 .8 1.0 .7 .5 1.0 .7 .6 .3
Sales and related...................... 106.5 106.0 1.0 .7 .6 .1 1.3 .4 .7 -.4
Office and administrative support...... 108.3 109.2 .9 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .7 .6 .8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 108.9 109.6 .8 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.1 .6 .6
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 110.0 110.7 .9 1.0 .9 .9 1.2 1.3 .6 .7
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 107.5 108.3 .7 .8 .2 1.2 .8 .7 .5 .7
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 106.8 107.5 .6 .8 .6 .7 .5 1.0 .8 .7
Transportation and material moving..... 107.4 107.8 .7 .7 .8 .7 .6 1.2 .8 .4
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6
Construction........................... 109.9 110.4 1.1 1.2 .9 .8 1.0 1.2 .7 .5
Manufacturing.......................... 106.6 107.3 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7
Aircraft manufacturing(2)............ 107.1 107.8 .3 .7 .4 .1 .7 1.1 .6 .6
Service-providing industries(6).......... 108.5 109.2 .8 1.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6
Trade, transportation, and utilities... 107.2 107.4 .7 .7 .9 .2 .9 .6 1.1 .2
Retail trade......................... 107.6 108.0 .9 .5 1.0 .8 1.0 .5 1.0 .4
Transportation and warehousing(2).... 105.9 106.4 .9 .8 .8 .2 .5 .9 .6 .5
Utilities(2)......................... 109.1 109.2 .8 .7 .9 .7 .9 1.1 .9 .1
Information............................ 106.1 107.2 .1 1.2 .9 .4 .4 -.2 .8 1.0
Financial activities................... 107.4 107.7 .7 1.3 .1 1.3 .3 .8 .3 .3
Finance and insurance(2)............. 108.1 108.3 .6 1.5 .0 1.2 .6 .6 .4 .2
Credit intermediation and related
activities(2)..................... 105.4 106.1 -.7 2.2 -1.9 1.3 1.2 .2 .3 .6
Professional and business services..... 109.8 111.0 .8 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.3 .6 1.1
Professional, scientific, and
technical services(2)............... 111.5 112.7 .9 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 1.6 .7 1.1
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation
services(2)......................... 108.0 109.4 .9 1.0 .6 1.1 .9 .8 .4 1.3
Education and health services.......... 109.4 110.1 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .6
Education services................... 109.1 110.4 1.3 .3 .8 .8 1.2 .7 1.0 1.2
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools(2)........................ 109.0 110.3 1.2 .0 1.0 .8 1.1 .7 1.0 1.2
Health care and social assistance(5) 109.5 110.0 .9 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 .6 .5
Hospitals(2)....................... 109.3 110.2 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 1.0 .8
Leisure and hospitality................ 110.0 111.4 1.4 1.8 .9 1.5 .6 .7 .4 1.3
Accommodation and food services(2)... 110.5 111.9 1.6 2.0 .7 1.7 .6 .8 .6 1.3
Other services, except public
administration(2)..................... 109.8 110.2 .8 1.5 .3 1.0 1.0 .9 .6 .4
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 108.7 109.8 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 1.0
Industry
Education and health services(2)....... 108.7 109.8 .6 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 1.0
Education services(2)................ 108.4 109.4 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9
Schools(2)......................... 108.4 109.4 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9
Elementary and secondary schools(2) 108.2 109.3 .5 .8 .7 1.0 .7 .8 1.1 1.0
Health care and social
assistance(2)(5).................... 111.3 112.6 .9 .9 .8 .7 1.0 .7 1.2 1.2
Hospitals(2)....................... 110.6 111.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 .7 .9 1.1 .8 .7
Public administration(2)............... 108.8 109.9 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0
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
June Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
2008 2008 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 108.1 108.8 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 106.9 107.5 .9 -.3 1.1 .8 .8 .6 .5 .6
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 107.7 108.5 1.1 -.4 1.3 .8 .9 .4 .7 .7
Sales and office......................... 106.9 107.5 1.0 .2 .9 1.0 1.0 .3 .4 .6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 106.7 107.4 .8 -.6 .9 .7 .8 .8 -.1 .7
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.5 104.8 .6 -.9 1.1 .4 1.0 .8 .0 .3
Service occupations...................... 108.4 108.7 .9 .1 1.0 1.0 .8 .4 1.0 .3
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 104.4 104.5 .6 -.8 1.2 .1 1.0 .8 .3 .1
Manufacturing.......................... 102.2 102.3 .4 -1.3 1.4 -.3 1.0 .6 -.1 .1
Aircraft manufacturing(3)............ 72.9 73.7 -4.0 -11.9 4.2 -8.0 -3.2 5.5 3.4 1.0
Service-providing industries(4).......... 108.0 108.7 1.0 .0 1.0 1.0 .8 .6 .6 .6
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 112.5 113.3 1.5 1.7 1.6 .9 1.2 .3 1.1 .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 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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(2)............................. 106.1 108.3 109.2 1.0 0.7 0.8 3.3 3.1 2.9
Excluding incentive paid occupations(3) 106.2 108.5 109.5 1.0 .6 .9 3.4 3.2 3.1
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 106.7 109.0 110.1 1.1 .6 1.0 3.6 3.3 3.2
Management, business, and financial.... 106.2 108.9 109.7 1.0 .6 .7 3.4 3.5 3.3
Professional and related............... 107.0 109.0 110.4 1.2 .6 1.3 3.7 3.1 3.2
Sales and office......................... 105.5 107.7 108.2 .7 .8 .5 3.0 2.8 2.6
Sales and related...................... 104.1 106.1 106.0 .5 1.0 -.1 2.4 2.4 1.8
Office and administrative support...... 106.4 108.6 109.5 .9 .6 .8 3.5 2.9 2.9
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 106.1 108.4 109.3 1.0 .6 .8 3.0 3.1 3.0
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 106.5 109.6 110.3 .8 1.0 .6 3.4 3.7 3.6
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 105.6 107.0 108.0 1.1 .3 .9 2.5 2.5 2.3
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.2 106.2 106.9 .7 .6 .7 2.4 2.6 2.6
Production............................. 103.3 105.3 105.9 .5 .5 .6 1.7 2.4 2.5
Transportation and material moving..... 105.3 107.3 108.1 .9 .7 .7 3.0 2.8 2.7
Service occupations...................... 106.9 109.1 110.2 1.3 .6 1.0 4.3 3.4 3.1
Industry
Goods-producing industries(4)............ 104.4 106.8 107.3 .5 .7 .5 2.4 2.8 2.8
Manufacturing.......................... 103.2 105.1 105.6 .3 .4 .5 1.8 2.1 2.3
Service-providing industries(5).......... 106.4 108.5 109.5 1.1 .6 .9 3.4 3.1 2.9
Education and health services.......... 107.2 109.2 110.8 1.6 .6 1.5 3.6 3.5 3.4
Education services................... 107.3 108.9 111.1 2.3 .6 2.0 3.8 3.8 3.5
Elementary and secondary schools... 107.4 108.8 111.1 2.3 .6 2.1 3.8 3.6 3.4
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 107.1 109.0 111.1 2.1 .5 1.9 3.7 3.9 3.7
Health care and social assistance(6) 107.1 109.6 110.4 .9 .6 .7 3.5 3.3 3.1
Hospitals.......................... 106.7 109.2 110.2 .9 .7 .9 3.4 3.3 3.3
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 105.6 108.2 109.0 .6 .8 .7 2.9 3.0 3.2
Public administration.................. 108.0 110.1 111.6 1.3 .4 1.4 5.5 3.3 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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 105.7 108.0 108.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 3.1 3.0 2.8
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2).. 105.8 108.3 109.0 .8 .7 .6 3.2 3.1 3.0
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 106.4 108.9 109.6 .9 .7 .6 3.4 3.2 3.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.4 108.9 109.7 .9 .7 .7 3.5 3.2 3.1
Management, business, and financial...... 106.0 108.7 109.3 .9 .6 .6 3.2 3.4 3.1
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.1 108.9 109.6 .9 .6 .6 3.4 3.5 3.3
Professional and related................. 106.7 109.0 109.9 .8 .6 .8 3.5 2.9 3.0
Sales and office........................... 105.3 107.5 107.9 .6 .8 .4 2.9 2.7 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.0 108.5 109.2 .8 .6 .6 3.4 3.1 3.0
Sales and related........................ 104.2 106.2 106.0 .6 1.1 -.2 2.5 2.5 1.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 105.6 108.5 109.1 .9 .6 .6 3.3 3.6 3.3
Office and administrative support........ 106.0 108.5 109.2 .6 .6 .6 3.2 2.9 3.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 105.9 108.3 109.0 .9 .7 .6 2.8 3.1 2.9
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 106.5 109.7 110.3 .8 1.0 .5 3.3 3.8 3.6
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 105.2 106.6 107.4 1.1 .3 .8 2.1 2.4 2.1
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 103.9 106.0 106.6 .6 .5 .6 2.2 2.6 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 103.9 105.9 106.6 .6 .5 .7 2.2 2.5 2.6
Production............................... 103.2 105.2 105.8 .4 .4 .6 1.6 2.3 2.5
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 103.2 105.2 105.8 .4 .5 .6 1.7 2.3 2.5
Transportation and material moving....... 104.9 107.2 107.7 .8 .8 .5 2.8 3.0 2.7
Service occupations........................ 106.4 108.7 109.4 1.1 .8 .6 4.0 3.3 2.8
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(3).............. 104.4 106.8 107.2 .5 .7 .4 2.4 2.8 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 104.5 106.9 107.4 .5 .6 .5 2.5 2.8 2.8
Management, professional, and related.. 104.3 106.6 106.7 .5 .5 .1 2.7 2.7 2.3
Sales and office....................... 104.1 106.3 106.7 .4 1.1 .4 2.0 2.5 2.5
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 106.1 109.0 109.8 .8 .8 .7 3.3 3.5 3.5
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 103.3 105.3 105.8 .4 .5 .5 1.7 2.3 2.4
Construction............................. 106.9 110.1 110.6 .9 1.1 .5 3.8 4.0 3.5
Manufacturing............................ 103.2 105.1 105.6 .3 .4 .5 1.8 2.1 2.3
Management, professional, and related 103.3 105.2 105.4 .0 .3 .2 2.0 1.8 2.0
Sales and office..................... 103.5 106.1 106.7 .3 1.0 .6 2.2 2.8 3.1
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 102.8 104.5 105.3 .4 -.1 .8 1.3 2.1 2.4
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 103.1 105.0 105.5 .5 .5 .5 1.6 2.3 2.3
Aircraft manufacturing................. 87.1 89.9 90.9 -2.8 .2 1.1 -7.2 .3 4.4
Service-providing industries(4)............ 106.1 108.5 109.1 .9 .7 .6 3.3 3.1 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2)...................... 106.3 108.7 109.5 .9 .6 .7 3.5 3.1 3.0
Management, professional, and related.. 106.8 109.3 110.2 .8 .7 .8 3.5 3.2 3.2
Sales and office....................... 105.4 107.7 108.0 .6 .8 .3 3.0 2.8 2.5
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 105.7 107.3 107.8 1.1 .6 .5 2.0 2.7 2.0
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.7 107.0 107.6 .7 .6 .6 2.7 2.9 2.8
Service occupations.................... 106.4 108.7 109.5 1.0 .7 .7 4.0 3.2 2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 104.7 107.3 107.6 .5 1.1 .3 2.2 3.0 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.2 107.8 108.4 .8 .8 .6 2.6 3.3 3.0
Wholesale trade........................ 104.2 107.2 107.1 -.4 1.4 -.1 1.8 2.5 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.5 108.0 108.9 .6 .6 .8 2.9 3.0 3.2
Retail trade........................... 105.1 107.6 108.2 1.2 .9 .6 3.1 3.6 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.5 108.1 108.9 1.2 .7 .7 3.3 3.6 3.2
Transportation and warehousing......... 104.5 106.4 106.8 .5 .8 .4 2.9 2.3 2.2
Utilities.............................. 105.0 108.1 108.1 .3 1.5 .0 -4.6 3.2 3.0
Information.............................. 105.8 106.2 107.2 .2 .1 .9 2.7 .6 1.3
Financial activities..................... 105.4 107.3 107.4 .8 .5 .1 3.2 2.6 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.6 108.2 108.6 .4 .7 .4 3.2 2.9 2.8
Finance and insurance.................. 105.7 107.7 107.6 .8 .7 -.1 3.0 2.7 1.8
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 103.6 106.4 106.5 .5 .9 .1 1.2 3.2 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.9 109.2 109.7 .7 .9 .5 3.1 3.8 3.6
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 106.0 107.9 108.3 1.0 .5 .4 3.9 2.8 2.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 104.9 107.9 108.1 .1 .9 .2 2.8 3.0 3.1
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 104.1 105.7 106.4 1.1 .2 .7 3.9 2.6 2.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(2).................... 105.8 108.5 109.3 .5 .4 .7 4.1 3.0 3.3
Professional and business services....... 106.9 109.9 110.8 .9 .8 .8 3.9 3.8 3.6
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 108.4 111.9 112.8 .8 .7 .8 4.6 4.1 4.1
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 105.6 108.0 109.0 .8 .8 .9 3.4 3.1 3.2
Education and health services............ 106.9 109.4 110.3 1.1 .7 .8 3.6 3.5 3.2
Education services..................... 106.7 109.1 111.4 1.7 .9 2.1 3.4 4.0 4.4
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 106.9 109.5 111.6 1.7 1.1 1.9 3.3 4.2 4.4
Health care and social assistance(5)... 106.9 109.4 110.1 .9 .6 .6 3.6 3.3 3.0
Hospitals............................ 106.5 109.1 110.1 .9 .8 .9 3.2 3.3 3.4
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 105.5 107.8 108.7 .7 .7 .8 3.0 2.9 3.0
Nursing care facilities(2)......... 105.6 108.0 108.9 .9 .7 .8 3.5 3.2 3.1
Leisure and hospitality.................. 107.5 109.3 110.6 1.4 .3 1.2 5.0 3.1 2.9
Accommodation and food services........ 108.1 110.0 111.4 1.6 .5 1.3 5.5 3.4 3.1
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 107.1 109.4 109.9 .9 .6 .5 3.4 3.1 2.6
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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 104.4 106.7 107.4 0.5 0.8 0.7 2.0 2.7 2.9
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 103.1 105.6 106.2 .3 1.0 .6 1.3 2.7 3.0
Manufacturing........................ 100.0 101.7 102.1 .0 .3 .4 -.5 1.7 2.1
Service-providing industries(3)........ 105.4 107.5 108.3 .7 .5 .7 2.4 2.7 2.8
Nonunion................................. 105.9 108.3 108.9 .8 .7 .6 3.2 3.0 2.8
Goods-producing industries(2).......... 104.8 107.1 107.6 .6 .6 .5 2.7 2.8 2.7
Manufacturing........................ 104.1 106.2 106.6 .4 .6 .4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Service-providing industries(3)........ 106.2 108.6 109.2 .9 .8 .6 3.4 3.1 2.8
Census region and division(4)
Northeast................................ 106.2 108.1 108.7 1.0 .7 .6 3.6 2.9 2.4
New England............................ 105.4 107.1 107.8 .6 .4 .7 3.2 2.2 2.3
Middle Atlantic........................ 106.5 108.6 109.1 1.1 .7 .5 3.8 3.1 2.4
South.................................... 106.1 108.5 109.1 .8 .6 .6 3.2 3.0 2.8
South Atlantic......................... 106.8 109.1 109.7 .8 .6 .5 3.6 2.9 2.7
East South Central..................... 104.8 107.2 108.0 1.0 .7 .7 3.3 3.3 3.1
West South Central..................... 105.6 108.2 108.7 .8 .8 .5 2.8 3.2 2.9
Midwest.................................. 104.6 107.0 107.4 .4 .9 .4 2.2 2.7 2.7
East North Central..................... 104.4 106.5 106.9 .3 .9 .4 2.1 2.3 2.4
West North Central..................... 105.3 108.4 108.8 1.0 1.0 .4 2.8 3.9 3.3
West..................................... 105.7 108.4 109.3 .8 .6 .8 3.1 3.3 3.4
Mountain............................... 106.6 109.4 110.3 1.3 .9 .8 3.8 4.0 3.5
Pacific................................ 105.4 108.1 108.9 .6 .5 .7 2.8 3.1 3.3
Metropolitan area status
Metropolitan areas....................... 105.7 108.0 108.6 .8 .7 .6 3.1 3.0 2.7
Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 105.8 108.4 109.1 .8 .8 .6 3.1 3.2 3.1
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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 107.6 109.4 111.3 1.8 0.5 1.7 4.3 3.5 3.4
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 107.5 109.3 111.3 2.0 .5 1.8 4.1 3.7 3.5
Professional and related............... 107.5 109.1 111.1 2.1 .5 1.8 4.0 3.6 3.3
Sales and office......................... 107.9 109.3 111.0 1.6 .5 1.6 4.5 2.9 2.9
Office and administrative support...... 108.2 109.8 111.4 1.7 .5 1.5 4.5 3.2 3.0
Service occupations...................... 108.0 110.0 111.9 1.6 .3 1.7 4.8 3.5 3.6
Industry
Education and health services............ 107.5 109.1 111.2 2.1 .5 1.9 3.7 3.6 3.4
Education services..................... 107.4 108.8 111.0 2.3 .4 2.0 3.8 3.6 3.4
Schools(2)........................... 107.4 108.8 111.0 2.4 .4 2.0 3.8 3.7 3.4
Elementary and secondary schools... 107.4 108.8 111.1 2.3 .5 2.1 3.7 3.6 3.4
Health care and social assistance(3)... 108.6 111.1 112.7 .9 .9 1.4 3.3 3.3 3.8
Hospitals............................ 107.5 109.7 110.8 1.1 .5 1.0 4.1 3.2 3.1
Public administration.................... 108.0 110.1 111.6 1.3 .4 1.4 5.5 3.3 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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 106.0 108.4 109.3 1.0 0.7 0.8 3.3 3.2 3.1
Excluding incentive paid occupations(2) 106.2 108.6 109.6 1.0 .7 .9 3.6 3.3 3.2
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 106.6 109.0 110.1 1.1 .7 1.0 3.6 3.4 3.3
Management, business, and financial.... 106.4 109.0 109.8 .9 .7 .7 3.6 3.4 3.2
Professional and related............... 106.7 109.0 110.3 1.3 .6 1.2 3.5 3.5 3.4
Sales and office......................... 105.4 107.7 108.1 .6 .9 .4 2.9 2.8 2.6
Sales and related...................... 104.3 106.6 106.3 .4 1.3 -.3 2.3 2.6 1.9
Office and administrative support...... 106.1 108.5 109.3 .8 .6 .7 3.4 3.0 3.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 106.3 109.0 109.9 1.1 .8 .8 3.5 3.7 3.4
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................. 106.6 109.9 110.7 .9 .8 .7 3.6 4.0 3.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair.. 105.8 107.8 108.8 1.3 .7 .9 3.1 3.3 2.8
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 104.7 106.9 107.7 .8 .8 .7 2.7 2.9 2.9
Production............................. 104.3 106.5 107.2 .7 .8 .7 2.5 2.8 2.8
Transportation and material moving..... 105.1 107.3 108.2 .9 .7 .8 2.9 3.0 2.9
Service occupations...................... 106.5 108.7 109.9 1.1 .6 1.1 4.2 3.2 3.2
Industry
Goods-producing industries(3)............ 105.4 108.0 108.6 .7 .8 .6 3.0 3.2 3.0
Manufacturing.......................... 104.5 106.7 107.4 .6 .8 .7 2.6 2.7 2.8
Service-providing industries(4).......... 106.2 108.5 109.4 1.0 .7 .8 3.4 3.2 3.0
Education and health services.......... 106.6 108.7 110.2 1.6 .6 1.4 3.4 3.6 3.4
Education services................... 106.2 107.9 110.0 2.1 .6 1.9 3.1 3.8 3.6
Elementary and secondary schools... 106.0 107.5 109.9 2.1 .5 2.2 3.0 3.6 3.7
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools........................... 106.6 108.4 110.4 2.2 .5 1.8 3.5 3.9 3.6
Health care and social assistance(5) 107.1 109.6 110.4 1.1 .6 .7 3.8 3.5 3.1
Hospitals.......................... 106.7 109.4 110.5 1.0 .9 1.0 3.7 3.6 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities........................ 105.8 108.1 109.1 1.1 .7 .9 3.5 3.2 3.1
Public administration.................. 106.4 108.6 109.9 1.1 .4 1.2 4.3 3.2 3.3
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 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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Private industry workers
All workers.................................. 106.0 108.4 109.1 0.9 0.7 0.6 3.4 3.1 2.9
Excluding incentive paid occupations(1).. 106.1 108.7 109.5 .9 .7 .7 3.5 3.3 3.2
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related...... 106.7 109.3 110.1 .9 .7 .7 3.6 3.3 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.7 109.3 110.2 .9 .7 .8 3.7 3.3 3.3
Management, business, and financial...... 106.3 109.0 109.7 .8 .7 .6 3.4 3.3 3.2
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.6 109.3 110.1 .9 .8 .7 3.9 3.4 3.3
Professional and related................. 107.0 109.5 110.4 .9 .7 .8 3.8 3.3 3.2
Sales and office........................... 105.3 107.7 108.0 .5 .9 .3 2.8 2.8 2.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.0 108.7 109.5 .8 .6 .7 3.5 3.3 3.3
Sales and related........................ 104.4 106.6 106.4 .4 1.2 -.2 2.4 2.5 1.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.7 109.1 109.7 .9 .7 .5 3.4 4.1 3.8
Office and administrative support........ 106.0 108.5 109.2 .6 .7 .6 3.3 2.9 3.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................... 106.2 109.0 109.8 1.0 .8 .7 3.3 3.7 3.4
Construction, extraction, farming,
fishing, and forestry................... 106.7 110.1 110.8 .9 .8 .6 3.6 4.1 3.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair.... 105.6 107.6 108.5 1.3 .7 .8 2.9 3.3 2.7
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................... 104.5 106.8 107.5 .7 .8 .7 2.7 2.9 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 104.6 106.7 107.5 .8 .7 .7 2.9 2.8 2.8
Production............................... 104.2 106.4 107.2 .6 .8 .8 2.5 2.7 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 104.1 106.3 107.2 .5 .8 .8 2.4 2.6 3.0
Transportation and material moving....... 105.0 107.4 108.0 .9 .8 .6 2.9 3.2 2.9
Service occupations........................ 106.5 108.8 109.7 1.1 .8 .8 4.4 3.3 3.0
Industry and occupational group
Goods-producing industries(2).............. 105.4 108.0 108.6 .7 .8 .6 3.0 3.2 3.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 105.6 108.2 108.9 .7 .7 .6 3.2 3.1 3.1
Management, professional, and related.. 105.9 108.4 108.7 .6 .6 .3 3.4 2.9 2.6
Sales and office....................... 104.7 107.2 107.6 .6 1.3 .4 2.4 3.0 2.8
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 106.5 109.6 110.5 .9 .7 .8 3.7 3.8 3.8
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.4 106.6 107.3 .7 .9 .7 2.5 2.8 2.8
Construction............................. 107.0 110.0 110.6 .9 .9 .5 4.0 3.8 3.4
Manufacturing............................ 104.5 106.7 107.4 .6 .8 .7 2.6 2.7 2.8
Management, professional, and related 105.0 107.2 107.6 .4 .5 .4 2.7 2.5 2.5
Sales and office..................... 103.9 106.9 107.6 .7 1.3 .7 2.8 3.6 3.6
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance......................... 105.0 107.1 108.1 .7 .3 .9 2.6 2.7 3.0
Production, transportation, and
material moving..................... 104.2 106.3 107.1 .6 .9 .8 2.4 2.6 2.8
Aircraft manufacturing................. 104.4 107.4 107.6 -.4 .4 .2 1.5 2.5 3.1
Service-providing industries(3)............ 106.1 108.6 109.3 .8 .8 .6 3.4 3.1 3.0
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1)...................... 106.3 108.9 109.7 .9 .8 .7 3.7 3.4 3.2
Management, professional, and related.. 106.8 109.4 110.3 .8 .7 .8 3.6 3.3 3.3
Sales and office....................... 105.4 107.7 108.0 .5 .8 .3 2.9 2.7 2.5
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance........................... 105.7 108.0 108.6 1.3 1.0 .6 2.6 3.5 2.7
Production, transportation, and
material moving....................... 104.6 107.1 107.8 .6 .8 .7 2.9 3.0 3.1
Service occupations.................... 106.6 108.8 109.7 1.2 .7 .8 4.5 3.3 2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities..... 104.6 107.2 107.5 .3 1.2 .3 2.4 2.8 2.8
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.4 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .6 3.2 3.1 2.9
Wholesale trade........................ 104.0 107.2 106.8 -.8 1.9 -.4 1.3 2.3 2.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.8 108.3 109.1 .6 .8 .7 3.0 2.9 3.1
Retail trade........................... 105.1 107.6 108.1 .9 1.1 .5 3.1 3.3 2.9
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.5 108.0 108.9 .9 .8 .8 3.4 3.3 3.2
Transportation and warehousing......... 104.1 106.0 106.7 .4 1.0 .7 2.7 2.2 2.5
Utilities.............................. 106.1 109.3 109.3 .6 1.2 .0 3.0 3.6 3.0
Information.............................. 105.2 106.3 107.3 .3 .9 .9 2.5 1.3 2.0
Financial activities..................... 106.0 107.7 107.7 1.0 .5 .0 3.4 2.7 1.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.1 108.8 109.2 .5 .6 .4 3.4 3.0 2.9
Finance and insurance.................. 106.5 108.4 108.2 .9 .5 -.2 3.5 2.7 1.6
Credit intermediation and related
activities.......................... 103.5 106.0 105.9 .5 .8 -.1 .8 2.9 2.3
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 106.3 109.5 110.0 .7 .7 .5 3.3 3.7 3.5
Insurance carriers and related
activities.......................... 107.2 108.5 109.0 1.3 .6 .5 4.8 2.6 1.7
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.6 108.3 108.6 .2 1.1 .3 3.3 2.8 2.8
Real estate and rental and leasing..... 103.6 104.7 105.3 1.2 .2 .6 2.8 2.2 1.6
Excluding incentive paid
occupations(1).................... 105.8 107.8 108.7 .6 .4 .8 3.2 2.5 2.7
Professional and business services....... 106.7 110.0 111.0 .8 .8 .9 3.6 3.9 4.0
Professional, scientific, and technical
services.............................. 107.9 111.7 112.7 .7 .8 .9 4.1 4.3 4.4
Administrative and support and waste
management and remediation services... 105.7 108.3 109.4 .9 .8 1.0 3.6 3.3 3.5
Education and health services............ 106.9 109.2 110.2 1.2 .6 .9 3.8 3.4 3.1
Education services..................... 106.4 108.6 110.8 1.7 .6 2.0 3.2 3.8 4.1
Junior colleges, colleges,
universities, and professional
schools............................. 106.5 108.4 110.8 1.8 .6 2.2 3.0 3.6 4.0
Health care and social assistance(4)... 107.0 109.4 110.1 1.1 .6 .6 3.9 3.4 2.9
Hospitals............................ 106.5 109.2 110.3 1.0 .9 1.0 3.5 3.6 3.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities.......................... 105.9 108.1 109.0 1.0 .7 .8 3.6 3.1 2.9
Nursing care facilities(1)......... 106.0 108.1 109.0 1.1 .7 .8 3.8 3.1 2.8
Leisure and hospitality.................. 108.1 109.9 111.4 1.6 .2 1.4 5.7 3.3 3.1
Accommodation and food services........ 108.4 110.4 111.9 1.8 .4 1.4 6.1 3.7 3.2
Other services, except public
administration.......................... 107.3 109.9 110.4 1.1 .6 .5 3.8 3.6 2.9
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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 104.4 106.7 107.4 0.7 1.1 0.7 2.7 2.9 2.9
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 104.3 106.4 107.1 .7 1.1 .7 2.4 2.7 2.7
Manufacturing........................ 102.9 104.4 104.9 .4 1.0 .5 1.5 1.9 1.9
Service-providing industries(2)........ 104.6 106.9 107.7 .8 1.0 .7 3.0 3.0 3.0
Nonunion................................. 106.2 108.7 109.4 .9 .7 .6 3.4 3.2 3.0
Goods-producing industries(1).......... 105.8 108.4 109.0 .8 .6 .6 3.3 3.2 3.0
Manufacturing........................ 104.9 107.3 108.0 .7 .7 .7 2.8 3.0 3.0
Service-providing industries(2)........ 106.3 108.8 109.4 .9 .8 .6 3.5 3.2 2.9
Census region and division(3)
Northeast................................ 106.1 108.2 108.7 1.0 .7 .5 3.5 3.0 2.5
New England............................ 105.7 107.6 108.3 .9 .5 .7 3.3 2.7 2.5
Middle Atlantic........................ 106.4 108.4 109.0 1.2 .7 .6 3.8 3.1 2.4
South.................................... 106.5 109.1 109.8 .9 .9 .6 3.5 3.3 3.1
South Atlantic......................... 106.9 109.5 110.2 .8 .8 .6 3.6 3.2 3.1
East South Central..................... 105.6 107.9 109.0 1.1 .7 1.0 3.4 3.3 3.2
West South Central..................... 106.1 108.8 109.4 .8 .9 .6 3.3 3.3 3.1
Midwest.................................. 105.0 107.5 107.9 .6 1.1 .4 2.9 3.0 2.8
East North Central..................... 104.7 107.0 107.3 .3 1.1 .3 2.7 2.5 2.5
West North Central..................... 105.6 108.9 109.5 1.1 .9 .6 3.1 4.2 3.7
West..................................... 106.2 108.9 109.9 .8 .6 .9 3.4 3.3 3.5
Mountain............................... 106.7 109.9 110.8 1.1 .9 .8 3.8 4.2 3.8
Pacific................................ 106.0 108.6 109.6 .7 .5 .9 3.2 3.1 3.4
Metropolitan area status
Metropolitan areas....................... 105.9 108.4 109.0 .8 .8 .6 3.3 3.1 2.9
Nonmetropolitan areas.................... 106.2 108.9 109.9 1.0 .7 .9 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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 106.4 108.2 110.1 1.7 0.5 1.8 3.5 3.4 3.5
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 106.3 108.2 110.1 1.9 .6 1.8 3.3 3.7 3.6
Professional and related............... 106.3 108.1 110.1 2.0 .6 1.9 3.2 3.7 3.6
Sales and office......................... 106.3 107.9 109.3 1.4 .5 1.3 3.6 3.0 2.8
Office and administrative support...... 106.5 108.3 109.7 1.4 .5 1.3 3.7 3.1 3.0
Service occupations...................... 106.5 108.6 110.4 1.2 .3 1.7 4.0 3.2 3.7
Industry
Education and health services............ 106.3 108.1 110.2 2.0 .6 1.9 3.1 3.7 3.7
Education services..................... 106.1 107.7 109.9 2.1 .5 2.0 3.0 3.7 3.6
Schools(1)........................... 106.1 107.7 109.9 2.1 .5 2.0 3.0 3.7 3.6
Elementary and secondary schools... 106.0 107.5 109.8 2.1 .6 2.1 2.9 3.6 3.6
Health care and social assistance(2)... 108.2 111.0 112.8 .9 .8 1.6 3.2 3.5 4.3
Hospitals............................ 107.6 110.3 111.4 1.0 .5 1.0 4.4 3.6 3.5
Public administration.................... 106.4 108.6 109.9 1.1 .4 1.2 4.3 3.2 3.3
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-
Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008
Sept. June Sept. Sept. June Sept.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
Civilian workers
All workers(1)............................. 106.1 108.1 108.9 1.0 0.5 0.7 3.2 2.9 2.6
Private industry workers
All workers................................ 105.0 107.0 107.5 .7 .5 .5 2.4 2.6 2.4
Occupational group
Management, professional, and related.... 105.6 107.9 108.5 .7 .6 .6 2.7 2.9 2.7
Sales and office......................... 105.2 107.0 107.6 .9 .5 .6 3.1 2.6 2.3
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance............................. 105.3 107.0 107.5 .5 .5 .5 1.7 2.1 2.1
Production, transportation, and material
moving.................................. 102.7 104.5 104.8 .3 .1 .3 1.1 2.1 2.0
Service occupations...................... 106.0 108.5 108.7 .9 .8 .2 2.9 3.2 2.5
Industry
Goods-producing industries(2)............ 102.4 104.4 104.6 .2 .4 .2 1.1 2.2 2.1
Manufacturing.......................... 100.7 102.2 102.3 -.3 -.1 .1 .2 1.2 1.6
Aircraft manufacturing............... 68.5 71.3 73.1 -6.7 .3 2.5 -18.7 -2.9 6.7
Service-providing industries(3).......... 106.0 108.1 108.7 .8 .5 .6 2.9 2.8 2.5
Bargaining status
Union.................................... 104.3 106.6 107.2 .2 .0 .6 .9 2.4 2.8
Nonunion................................. 105.1 107.1 107.6 .8 .6 .5 2.7 2.7 2.4
State and local government workers
All workers................................ 110.3 111.8 113.9 2.1 .4 1.9 6.0 3.5 3.3
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 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. 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 September 2008 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 56,000
occupational observations selected from a sample of about 12,000 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 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/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 EST, Wednesday, December 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
