Technical Contact: USDL: 06-732 (202) 691-6199 ncsinfo@bls.gov Media Contact: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL (202) 691-5902 IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED Internet address: UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EDT), http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2006 EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-MARCH 2006 Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.6 percent from December 2005 to March 2006, seasonally adjusted, compared with the 0.8 percent gain from September to December 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs between December and March rose 0.5 percent, decelerating from the gain of 0.9 percent from the previous quarter. Wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent during the quarter, the same increase as the previous quarter. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government). Beginning with this release, the Employment Cost Index has introduced a number of changes. Among the most significant, data are based on new industry and occupational classifications: the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. These systems replace the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and the 1990 Occupational Classification System (OCS) based on the Census of Population. The tables are reordered and renumbered; for a crosswalk between the old and new tables see the BLS website http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ecicrswlk.htm. Estimates for "excluding incentive paid occupations" and nine census divisions are added. In addition, all series are rebased to December 2005 = 100 from June 1989 = 100. See page 2 for additional information. Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.6 percent from December 2005 to March 2006, after advancing 0.7 percent in the prior quarter. For state and local government workers, compensation costs increased 0.5 percent from December to March, slowing from the increase of 1.1 percent for the quarter ended in December. (See tables A and 1.) Wages and salaries of civilian workers rose 0.7 percent in the March quarter, unchanged from the prior quarter. Private industry workers wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent during the March 2006 quarter, compared with a 0.6 percent gain in the previous quarter. Wages and salaries in state and local government advanced 0.4 percent during the December to March period, moderating from the 1.0 percent increase in the prior quarter. (See tables A and 2.) Benefit costs advanced 0.5 percent for civilian workers in the March quarter, slowing from the 0.9 percent gain in the December 2005 quarter. Private sector benefit costs rose 0.4 percent for the March quarter, following a 0.7 percent gain in the previous quarter. Benefit costs for state and local government workers increased 0.7 percent in the March quarter, moderating from the 1.5 percent gain in the December quarter. (See tables A and 3.) CHANGES TO THE ECI The ECI introduced the following changes with this release: - The 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) replaced the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. See the BLS Web site http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm for more information. - The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system replaced the 1990 Occupational Classification System (OCS) based on the Census of Population. For more information on the background and definitions, see the Web site http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. - The tables were reordered and renumbered. For a crosswalk between the new and old tables, see the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ect/ecicrswlk.htm. - Severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefit plans, formerly included in total compensation and benefits, are no longer collected. - New series were added for "excluding incentive paid occupations." - In addition to the four census regions, new series were added for the nine census divisions within these regions. - The index was rebased, setting December 2005 equal to 100 for each non-seasonally adjusted series. Historical data series were also rebased to December 2005 = 100 and are available upon request or on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm. - Improvements in seasonal adjustment methodology were introduced. See the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm for the latest annual seasonal factors. - A new imputation procedure utilizing additional information for estimating missing values was introduced. - New 2002 fixed employment weights replaced the 1990 fixed employment weights that were used from 1995 through 2005. The introduction of the NAICS and SOC classification systems to replace the SIC and OCS systems has caused changes in series. Broad categories, such as civilian workers and private industry workers, are comparable for both the old and new classification systems; however, some detailed occupational and industry classifications (even those with the same title) may not be comparable. Additional industry and occupational series based on NAICS and SOC are introduced with this release while others are discontinued. For more information on the comparability of industry and occupational series, see the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsm0001.htm. NAICS classifies industries into 20 sectors, 4 within goods producing and 16 within service providing. In addition, BLS has created additional "supersectors," which combine industry sectors. Within service-providing private industries, the ECI will publish series for all sectors and 7 supersectors. The SOC system defines 5 high-level and 10 intermediate nonmilitary aggregations. The ECI includes estimates for all but the farming, fishing, and forestry occupational group. The April 2006 Monthly Labor Review is devoted to a series of articles detailing the changes to the ECI. In addition, a question-and-answer document provides more information on these changes. For more details on these publications, call (202) 691-6199, send an e-mail message to ncsinfo@bls.gov, or visit the BLS websites at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/welcome.htm and http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsm0001.htm. Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. Compensation component 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers Compensation costs 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 Benefit costs 1.7 1.2 1.3 1.6 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5 Private industry Compensation costs 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 Benefit costs 1.6 1.0 1.2 1.5 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.4 State and local government Compensation costs 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.5 Wages and salaries 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.0 0.4 Benefit costs 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 0.7 Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted Annual compensation cost increases moderated for civilian and private industry workers for the year ended March 2006, compared with their over-the-year increases for March 2005. Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.8 percent for the year ended March 2006, moderating from the 3.6 percent over-the-year increase for March 2005. Compensation costs in private industry rose 2.6 percent in the year ended March 2006, slowing from a 3.5 percent increase in March 2005. In contrast, compensation costs increased 3.7 percent for state and local governments for the year ended March 2006, compared with the over-the-year gain of 3.6 percent in March 2005. (See tables B, 4, 5, and 7.) Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Civilian workers Compensation costs 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.8 Wages and salaries 3.7 3.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.7 Benefit costs 4.7 4.5 5.9 6.7 5.9 3.4 Private industry Compensation costs 4.2 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.5 2.6 Wages and salaries 3.8 3.5 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.4 Benefit costs 5.2 4.4 5.7 6.8 5.5 3.0 State and local government government Compensation costs 3.3 3.7 4.3 3.4 3.6 3.7 Wages and salaries 3.5 3.3 3.2 2.1 2.3 2.8 Benefit costs 2.9 4.8 6.6 6.4 6.7 5.4 The components of compensation differed in their rates of change. While increases in wages and salaries continued at a moderate pace, the sharp increases in benefit costs seen over the past several years slowed to a more moderate pace. For civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 2.7 percent in the year ended March 2006, compared with a gain of 2.5 percent in March 2005. Benefit costs gained 3.4 percent for civilian workers for the year ended March 2006, slowing sharply from an increase of 5.9 percent for the year ended March 2005. (See tables B, 8, and 12.) Nonfarm private industry For the year ended March 2006, compensation costs increased 2.3 percent for goods-producing industries, sharply lower than the increase of 3.7 percent for the year ended March 2005. The rise in compensation costs for manufacturing moderated for the year ending March 2006, advancing 1.9 percent compared with the 3.7 percent gain in March 2005. Compensation costs for construction rose 3.4 percent in March 2006, compared with a 3.1 percent gain in March 2005. (See table 5.) The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-providing industries was 2.7 percent, compared with the 3.4 percent gain for the year ended March 2005. Among service-providing supersector industries, compensation gains ranged from 2.0 percent in professional and business services to 3.5 percent in other services, except public administration. For the year ended March 2006, compensation costs jumped 9.9 percent in the utilities industry sector, higher than the increase of 6.4 percent for the year ended March 2005. In contrast, compensation costs slowed sharply for the real estate and rental and leasing sector, increasing 3.0 percent for March 2006 compared with a 9.5 percent gain for the year ended March 2005. (See table 5.) Among white-collar occupational groups, over-the-year compensation cost gains for the year ended March 2006 ranged from 2.2 percent for management, business, and financial workers, to 3.1 percent for professional and related employees. Among blue-collar occupational groups, compensation cost changes ranged from 1.8 percent for production workers to 3.1 percent for construction and extraction workers. Service workers gained 2.3 percent for the year ended March 2006. (See table 5.) Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.7 percent over the year ended March 2006, slowing from the 3.6 percent gain for the year ended March 2005. For nonunion workers, compensation costs rose 2.6 percent for the year ended March 2006, slowing from a gain of 3.5 percent in March 2005. Wages and salaries for both union and nonunion workers rose 2.5 percent for the 12 months ended in March 2006. Benefit costs for both union and nonunion workers rose 2.9 percent for the year ended March 2006, moderating from the gain of 5.6 percent for both groups in March 2005. (See tables C, 6, 10, and 12.) Table C. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, private industry workers, not seasonally adjusted Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Union workers Compensation costs 3.5 4.5 4.4 5.6 3.6 2.7 Wages and salaries 3.6 4.3 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.5 Benefit costs 3.2 5.1 6.7 10.6 5.6 2.9 Nonunion workers Compensation costs 4.1 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.5 2.6 Wages and salaries 3.7 3.5 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.5 Benefit costs 5.7 4.1 5.5 5.9 5.6 2.9 In manufacturing industries, compensation cost gains slowed for nonunion workers, rising 2.1 percent for the year ended March 2006, less than the 4.0 percent increase in March 2005. For union workers in manufacturing, compensation costs rose 1.0 percent for the year ended March 2006, compared with an over-the-year gain of 2.8 percent in March 2005. (See table 6.) Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs ranged from 2.1 percent in the South to 3.4 percent in the Northeast the year ended March 2006. Compensation costs rose 2.2 percent in the West and 3.0 percent in the Midwest. Gains in wages and salaries ranged from 2.1 percent in the South to 3.1 percent in the Northeast for the year ended March 2006. Wages and salaries rose 2.3 percent in West and 2.7 percent in the Midwest for the same period. (See tables 6 and 10.) State and local government Wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 2.8 percent in the year ended March 2006, compared with the gain of 2.3 percent for the year ended March 2005. Benefit costs rose 5.4 percent for the year ended March 2006, moderating from the gain of 6.7 percent for the year ended March 2005. (See tables B, 11, and 12.) For the year ended March 2006, compensation costs increased 3.7 percent for education services, outpacing the 3.2 percent increase for the year ended March 2005. Compensation costs for elementary and secondary schools rose 3.9 percent, compared with an increase of 3.4 percent for the year ended March 2005. Among occupations, compensation costs of office and administrative support workers rose 3.7 percent and service workers rose 4.6 percent for the year ended March 2006. (See table 7.) Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted Annual changes are computed in terms of December 2005 dollars to give an approximate measure of changes in wages and salaries after adjustment for the changes over the same time in the price of consumer goods and services. These estimates, in "constant dollars," show wages and salaries for civilian workers dropped -0.7 percent for the year ended March 2006, nearly the same -0.6 percent change for the year ended March 2005. Wages and salaries in private industry declined -0.9 percent in the year ended March 2006, compared with a -0.5 percent change in March 2005. Wages and salaries changed -0.6 percent for state and local government for the year ended March 2006, compared with an over-the-year decline of -0.8 percent in March 2005. These inflation-adjusted ECI series were derived using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average All Items. (See table D and the Technical Note for details.) Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Civilian workers 0.7 2.0 -0.1 0.8 -0.6 -0.7 Occupation Management, professional, and related 1.0 2.2 0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.8 Sales and office -0.3 2.1 -0.3 1.1 -0.3 -0.7 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 0.9 1.8 0.0 0.9 -1.0 -0.4 Production, transportation, and material moving 1.0 2.0 -0.6 0.4 -0.7 -1.0 Service 1.0 1.7 -0.8 0.4 -0.9 -1.0 Industry Goods producing 1.0 1.7 -0.2 0.7 -0.7 -0.5 Service providing 0.6 2.1 -0.1 0.8 -0.5 -0.8 Private industry 0.7 2.1 -0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.9 State and local government 0.5 1.8 0.2 0.4 -0.8 -0.6 ________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 2001-05 were revised to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and historical listings containing revised seasonally adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm, by e-mail request to ncsinfo@bls.gov, or by telephone at (202) 691-6199. The ECI for June 2006 is scheduled to be released Friday, July 28, 2006, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT). ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm. To access data using Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address ftp://ftp.bls.gov. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov. For ECI data requests, send e-mail to ncsinfo@bls.gov. BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the subscription link on http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or http://www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.htm. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service Number: 1-800-877-8339. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), by ownership, occupational group, and industry Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended- 2005 = 100) Occupational group and industry Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2005 2006 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 100.1 100.7 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 Private industry workers All workers................................ 100.2 100.8 1.0 .9 .7 .9 .6 .7 .7 .6 Occupational group White-collar occupations(3).............. 100.2 100.8 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .7 .7 .7 .6 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 100.2 100.6 1.0 .8 .7 .6 .6 .7 .6 .4 Industry Goods-producing industries(5)............ 100.2 100.3 .9 1.1 .7 .9 .9 .8 .5 .1 Construction........................... 100.2 100.9 .7 1.0 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .7 .7 Manufacturing.......................... 100.2 100.0 .9 1.2 .5 1.1 .8 .8 .5 -.2 Durable goods........................ 100.1 99.9 1.0 1.2 .5 1.3 .9 .7 .4 -.2 Nondurable goods..................... 100.5 100.4 .9 1.1 .6 .5 .7 .9 .7 -.1 Service-providing industries(6).......... 100.1 100.9 1.0 .8 .6 .9 .5 .7 .7 .8 Trade, transportation, and utilities(7).......................... 100.2 100.8 1.2 .7 .3 .9 .3 1.0 .8 .6 Retail trade......................... 100.2 100.6 1.0 .4 .8 .9 .5 .8 .8 .4 Information(7)......................... 100.3 100.7 -.1 .7 .5 1.0 .9 .4 .9 .4 Financial activities(7)................ 100.3 101.2 1.0 .9 1.0 1.5 .7 .5 1.0 .9 Professional and business services(7)........................... 100.0 101.1 1.2 .9 .6 .6 .3 .1 .4 1.1 Education and health services(7)....... 100.1 100.9 .9 1.1 .7 .9 .8 .8 .9 .8 Education services................... 99.9 100.8 1.0 .5 1.3 1.0 .9 1.1 .7 .9 Health care and social assistance(8)....................... 100.1 101.0 .8 1.2 .6 .9 .8 .7 .9 .9 Leisure and hospitality(7)............. 100.0 100.4 .6 .6 .8 .6 .6 .7 .6 .4 Other services, except public administration(7)..................... 100.2 101.4 1.4 .3 1.0 .7 .6 1.4 .3 1.2 State and local government workers All workers................................ 99.9 100.4 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .9 1.0 1.1 .5 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 6 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 7 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 8 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. Table 2. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, by ownership, occupational group, and industry Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended- 2005 = 100) Occupational group and industry Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2005 2006 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 100.0 100.7 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 Private industry workers All workers................................ 100.1 100.8 .7 .8 .4 .7 .5 .6 .6 .7 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 100.1 100.8 .8 .9 .4 .7 .6 .6 .6 .7 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 100.0 100.7 .7 .7 .4 .5 .6 .6 .6 .7 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 100.2 100.8 .6 1.0 .3 .6 .7 .8 .8 .6 Construction........................... 100.1 100.8 .3 .8 .3 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .7 Manufacturing.......................... 100.2 100.7 .7 1.0 .3 .6 .6 .8 .6 .5 Durable goods........................ 100.1 100.8 .6 1.1 .3 .7 .5 .7 .6 .7 Nondurable goods..................... 100.3 100.5 .7 .9 .2 .4 .5 1.1 .6 .2 Service-providing industries(5).......... 100.0 100.8 .8 .8 .5 .7 .5 .6 .6 .8 Trade, transportation, and utilities(6).......................... 100.1 100.4 .8 .7 .1 .6 .4 1.0 .7 .3 Retail trade......................... 100.1 100.6 .7 .2 .7 .6 .6 .8 .6 .5 Information(6)......................... 100.1 100.9 -.4 .8 .3 .7 .8 .2 .8 .8 Financial activities(6)................ 100.2 101.3 .7 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .2 .7 1.1 Professional and business services(6)........................... 100.0 100.9 1.2 .8 .6 .5 .2 .0 .3 .9 Education and health services(6)....... 100.0 100.7 .6 1.1 .6 .9 .7 .6 .8 .7 Education services................... 99.8 100.8 .8 .6 1.3 1.0 .8 .9 .6 1.0 Health care and social assistance(7)....................... 100.0 100.7 .6 1.2 .5 .9 .7 .6 .8 .7 Leisure and hospitality(6)............. 99.9 100.5 .4 .3 .7 .5 .8 .9 .6 .6 State and local government workers All workers................................ 99.9 100.3 .6 .5 .5 .7 .6 .7 1.0 .4 1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 6 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 7 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. Table 3. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by ownership, occupational group, and industry Indexes (Dec. Percent changes for 3-months ended- 2005 = 100) Occupational group and industry Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. 2005 2006 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 100.3 100.8 1.7 1.2 1.3 1.6 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5 Private industry workers All workers................................ 100.4 100.8 1.6 1.0 1.2 1.5 .8 .9 .7 .4 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 100.7 100.6 1.7 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.0 -.1 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 100.4 100.5 1.7 1.0 1.3 .8 .6 .8 .6 .1 Industry Goods-producing industries(4)............ 100.3 99.5 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.6 1.2 .9 .0 -.8 Manufacturing.......................... 100.2 98.8 1.5 1.4 .9 2.0 1.2 .8 .2 -1.4 Service-providing industries(5).......... 100.4 101.3 1.7 .9 1.0 1.5 .6 .9 1.0 .9 State and local government workers All workers................................ 99.9 100.6 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 .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 the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for civilian workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(2)............................. 98.0 100.0 100.7 1.0 0.6 0.7 3.6 3.1 2.8 Excluding sales occupations............ 98.0 100.0 100.8 1.0 .5 .8 3.5 3.1 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(3)(4)..................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Occupational group White-collar occupations(5).............. 97.9 100.0 100.8 1.1 .6 .8 3.6 3.3 3.0 Excluding sales occupations........ 98.0 100.0 100.9 1.1 .6 .9 3.7 3.2 3.0 Management, professional, and related(6)............................ 98.0 100.0 100.9 1.2 .6 .9 3.7 3.3 3.0 Management, business, and financial.. 99.0 100.0 101.3 1.3 .3 1.3 3.4 2.4 2.3 Professional and related............. 97.5 100.0 100.7 1.2 .7 .7 3.8 3.8 3.3 Sales and office(6).................... 97.7 100.0 100.5 .9 .7 .5 3.6 3.3 2.9 Sales and related(6)................. 97.3 100.0 99.9 1.0 .8 -.1 3.5 3.8 2.7 Office and administrative support.... 98.0 100.0 100.9 .9 .6 .9 3.6 3.0 3.0 Blue-collar occupations(7)............... 98.1 100.0 100.6 .7 .4 .6 3.3 2.7 2.5 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(6)(8)..................... 97.8 100.0 100.8 .8 .5 .8 3.3 3.1 3.1 Construction and extraction(6)....... 97.6 100.0 100.7 .5 .6 .7 3.2 3.0 3.2 Installation, maintenance, and repair(6)........................... 98.0 100.0 100.9 1.1 .4 .9 3.4 3.2 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(6).................... 98.4 100.0 100.4 .7 .3 .4 3.3 2.4 2.0 Production(6)........................ 98.5 100.0 100.4 .8 .4 .4 3.4 2.4 1.9 Transportation and material moving(6) 98.2 100.0 100.5 .6 .2 .5 2.9 2.5 2.3 Service occupations...................... 97.8 100.0 100.8 .8 .6 .8 3.2 3.1 3.1 Industry Goods-producing industries(9)............ 98.0 100.0 100.3 1.1 .2 .3 3.7 3.2 2.3 Manufacturing.......................... 98.2 100.0 100.1 1.3 .2 .1 3.7 3.2 1.9 Service-providing industries(10)......... 97.9 100.0 100.9 .9 .7 .9 3.4 3.1 3.1 Education and health services(6)....... 97.2 100.0 100.6 .8 .9 .6 3.5 3.7 3.5 Education services................... 96.7 100.0 100.2 .6 1.0 .2 3.3 4.1 3.6 Elementary and secondary schools(6) 96.4 100.0 100.2 .4 1.1 .2 3.4 4.2 3.9 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(6)........................ 97.4 100.0 100.4 1.0 0.7 0.4 3.0 3.7 3.1 Health care and social assistance(11) 97.8 100.0 101.1 1.1 .7 1.1 3.6 3.4 3.4 Hospitals.......................... 97.5 100.0 101.2 1.4 .7 1.2 4.3 4.0 3.8 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 97.5 100.0 101.0 .9 .8 1.0 2.6 3.5 3.6 Public administration.................. 97.1 100.0 100.6 1.4 1.0 .6 4.3 4.4 3.6 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 4 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 5 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 6 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 7 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 8 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 9 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 10 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 11 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 5. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for private industry workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 98.2 100.0 100.8 1.0 0.5 0.8 3.5 2.9 2.6 Excluding sales occupations.............. 98.4 100.0 100.9 1.1 .4 .9 3.5 2.8 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)....................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - Occupational group White-collar occupations(4)................ 98.2 100.0 100.9 1.2 .5 .9 3.7 3.1 2.7 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.4 100.0 101.1 1.3 .4 1.1 3.7 3.0 2.7 Management, professional, and related(5). 98.5 100.0 101.1 1.4 .4 1.1 3.8 3.0 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 101.1 - - 1.1 - - - Management, business, and financial.... 99.1 100.0 101.3 1.2 .3 1.3 3.3 2.1 2.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 101.2 - - 1.2 - - - Professional and related............... 98.0 100.0 101.0 1.6 .5 1.0 4.1 3.6 3.1 Sales and office(5)...................... 97.8 100.0 100.5 1.0 .7 .5 3.6 3.3 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - Sales and related...................... 97.2 100.0 99.9 1.0 .8 -.1 3.4 4.0 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - Office and administrative support...... 98.1 100.0 100.9 .9 .5 .9 3.6 2.9 2.9 Blue-collar occupations(6)................. 98.2 100.0 100.6 .7 .4 .6 3.2 2.6 2.4 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)....................... 97.9 100.0 100.8 .8 .5 .8 3.3 3.0 3.0 Construction and extraction(5)......... 97.7 100.0 100.7 .5 .5 .7 3.2 2.9 3.1 Installation, maintenance, and repair(5)............................. 98.1 100.0 100.9 1.1 .4 .9 3.3 3.1 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving(5)............................... 98.5 100.0 100.4 .7 .3 .4 3.1 2.2 1.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 100.4 - - .4 - - - Production(5).......................... 98.6 100.0 100.4 .9 .4 .4 3.5 2.4 1.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 100.4 - - .4 - - - Transportation and material moving(5).. 98.3 100.0 100.4 .4 .2 .4 2.7 2.1 2.1 Service occupations........................ 98.5 100.0 100.8 .8 .5 .8 2.7 2.4 2.3 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(8).............. 98.0 100.0 100.3 1.1 0.2 0.3 3.7 3.2 2.3 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.2 100.0 100.4 1.1 .2 .4 3.7 3.0 2.2 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 100.4 - - .4 - - - White-collar occupations(4).............. 97.6 100.0 100.1 2.0 .0 .1 4.9 4.5 2.6 Excluding sales occupations.......... 97.9 100.0 100.4 2.0 -.1 .4 4.9 4.2 2.6 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 98.0 100.0 100.2 2.5 -.2 .2 5.4 4.6 2.2 Sales and office(5).................... 96.8 100.0 99.9 1.0 .3 -.1 4.1 4.4 3.2 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 98.3 100.0 100.4 .7 .3 .4 3.1 2.5 2.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 97.9 100.0 100.6 .6 .4 .6 3.2 2.8 2.8 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 98.6 100.0 100.3 .8 .2 .3 3.1 2.2 1.7 Construction............................. 97.4 100.0 100.7 0.7 0.3 0.7 3.1 3.4 3.4 Manufacturing............................ 98.2 100.0 100.1 1.3 .2 .1 3.7 3.2 1.9 White-collar occupations(4)............ 97.6 100.0 99.9 2.2 .1 -.1 4.7 4.7 2.4 Excluding sales occupations........ 97.7 100.0 100.2 2.3 .2 .2 4.6 4.7 2.6 Management, professional, and related(5).......................... 97.6 100.0 100.0 2.6 .2 .0 4.8 5.2 2.5 Sales and office(5).................. 97.6 100.0 99.5 1.3 .1 -.5 4.5 3.8 1.9 Blue-collar occupations(6)............. 98.6 100.0 100.2 .7 .3 .2 3.0 2.1 1.6 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)................... 98.3 100.0 100.1 .4 .5 .1 3.1 2.1 1.8 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................. 98.7 100.0 100.2 .8 .2 .2 3.1 2.1 1.5 Durable goods.......................... 98.1 100.0 99.8 1.3 .2 -.2 4.0 3.3 1.7 Aircraft manufacturing............... 98.0 100.0 90.9 16.0 1.5 -9.1 17.6 18.3 -7.2 White-collar occupations(4)........ 99.0 100.0 92.5 16.7 .6 -7.5 17.4 17.9 -6.6 Blue-collar occupations(6)......... 96.4 100.0 88.4 14.8 3.1 -11.6 18.3 19.0 -8.3 Nondurable goods....................... 98.4 100.0 100.6 1.2 .3 .6 3.1 2.9 2.2 Service-providing industries(9)............ 98.3 100.0 101.0 1.0 .5 1.0 3.4 2.8 2.7 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.4 100.0 101.1 1.0 .5 1.1 3.4 2.7 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................... - - 101.1 - - 1.1 - - - White-collar occupations(4).............. 98.3 100.0 101.0 1.1 .6 1.0 3.5 2.9 2.7 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.5 100.0 101.2 1.2 .5 1.2 3.6 2.8 2.7 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 98.6 100.0 101.3 1.2 .5 1.3 3.6 2.7 2.7 Sales and office(5).................... 97.9 100.0 100.6 1.0 .7 .6 3.5 3.2 2.8 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 98.1 100.0 100.8 .7 .5 .8 3.3 2.7 2.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 97.9 100.0 101.2 1.2 .6 1.2 3.5 3.4 3.4 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 98.3 100.0 100.6 .6 .4 .6 3.1 2.4 2.3 Service occupations...................... 98.5 100.0 100.9 .8 .5 .9 2.7 2.4 2.4 Trade, transportation, and utilities(5).. 98.1 100.0 100.8 1.1 .6 .8 3.3 3.1 2.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 101.1 - - 1.1 - - - Wholesale trade........................ 97.7 100.0 100.3 1.8 .8 .3 3.6 4.2 2.7 Excluding sales occupations........ 99.1 100.0 100.9 1.8 .2 .9 3.7 2.8 1.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 101.0 - - 1.0 - - - Retail trade........................... 98.1 100.0 100.6 1.0 0.5 .6 3.0 3.0 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Transportation and warehousing......... 98.4 100.0 100.4 -.1 .3 .4 2.5 1.5 2.0 Utilities.............................. 98.1 100.0 107.8 3.2 .5 7.8 6.4 5.2 9.9 Information(5)........................... 98.3 100.0 100.9 1.5 .5 .9 2.2 3.3 2.6 Financial activities..................... 98.4 100.0 101.2 1.7 .8 1.2 4.3 3.3 2.8 Excluding sales occupations........ 99.0 100.0 101.7 1.6 .6 1.7 4.0 2.7 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 101.2 - - 1.2 - - - Finance and insurance(5)............... 98.7 100.0 101.5 .9 .5 1.5 3.5 2.2 2.8 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 99.6 100.0 101.4 .6 .5 1.4 3.2 1.0 1.8 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 101.3 - - 1.3 - - - Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 98.0 100.0 100.9 1.4 .6 .9 4.9 3.5 3.0 Excluding sales occupations........ 98.3 100.0 100.9 1.7 .5 .9 4.6 3.4 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Real estate and rental and leasing(5).. 96.9 100.0 99.8 6.3 1.4 -.2 9.5 9.6 3.0 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)................. - - 100.7 - - 0.7 - - - Professional and business services(5).... 99.1 100.0 101.1 0.6 0.4 1.1 3.3 1.5 2.0 Professional, scientific, and technical services(5)........................... 99.7 100.0 101.5 .9 .5 1.5 3.7 1.2 1.8 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(5) 99.0 100.0 100.5 .4 .1 .5 3.4 1.4 1.5 Education and health services(5)......... 97.7 100.0 101.0 1.0 .7 1.0 3.6 3.4 3.4 Education services..................... 97.1 100.0 100.7 .7 .4 .7 3.7 3.7 3.7 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(5).......................... 97.2 100.0 100.9 .7 .5 .9 3.4 3.6 3.8 Health care and social assistance(10).. 97.8 100.0 101.1 1.1 .7 1.1 3.6 3.4 3.4 Hospitals............................ 97.5 100.0 101.3 1.6 .8 1.3 4.4 4.2 3.9 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 97.5 100.0 101.0 .7 .9 1.0 2.4 3.3 3.6 Leisure and hospitality(5)............... 98.5 100.0 100.6 .8 .4 .6 1.5 2.4 2.1 Accommodation and food services(5)..... 98.7 100.0 100.5 .8 .5 .5 2.1 2.1 1.8 Other services, except public administration(5)....................... 98.0 100.0 101.4 .8 .1 1.4 3.4 2.9 3.5 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 5 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 6 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 7 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 8 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 9 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 10 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 6. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for private industry workers, by bargaining status, census region, census divisions, and area Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Bargaining status, census region and division, and metropolitan area status 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Bargaining status Union.................................... 97.9 100.0 100.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 3.6 2.8 2.7 Blue-collar occupations(2)........... 97.9 100.0 100.2 .4 .4 .2 3.4 2.6 2.3 Goods-producing industries(3).......... 97.7 100.0 99.9 .5 .4 -.1 3.3 2.9 2.3 Manufacturing........................ 98.3 100.0 99.3 .5 .3 -.7 2.8 2.2 1.0 Blue-collar occupations(2)......... 98.3 100.0 99.4 .1 .3 -.6 2.5 1.8 1.1 Service-providing industries(4)........ 98.1 100.0 101.0 .8 .4 1.0 3.9 2.8 3.0 Nonunion................................. 98.3 100.0 100.9 1.1 .5 .9 3.5 2.9 2.6 Blue-collar occupations(2)........... 98.4 100.0 100.8 .9 .4 .8 3.0 2.6 2.4 Goods-producing industries(3).......... 98.1 100.0 100.5 1.3 .1 .5 3.8 3.3 2.4 Manufacturing........................ 98.2 100.0 100.3 1.7 .2 .3 4.0 3.5 2.1 Blue-collar occupations(2)......... 98.8 100.0 100.7 1.1 .3 .7 3.5 2.4 1.9 Service-providing industries(4)........ 98.3 100.0 101.0 1.0 .6 1.0 3.3 2.8 2.7 Census region and division(5) Northeast................................ 97.6 100.0 100.9 1.0 .8 .9 3.6 3.5 3.4 New England(6)......................... - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Middle Atlantic(6)..................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - South.................................... 98.9 100.0 101.0 1.2 .3 1.0 3.9 2.4 2.1 South Atlantic(6)...................... - - 101.2 - - 1.2 - - - East South Central(6).................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - West South Central(6).................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Midwest.................................. 97.8 100.0 100.7 .9 .5 .7 2.9 3.2 3.0 East North Central(6).................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - West North Central(6).................. - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - West..................................... 98.4 100.0 100.6 1.0 .3 .6 3.3 2.7 2.2 Mountain(6)............................ - - 101.0 - - 1.0 - - - Pacific(6)............................. - - 100.5 - - .5 - - - Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas(7).................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Nonmetropolitan areas(7)................. - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 5 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 6 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 7 Data are available beginning with December 2005. NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.) Dashes indicate data not available. Table 7. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), for State and local government workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 State and local government workers All workers................................ 96.9 100.0 100.5 0.8 0.9 0.5 3.6 4.1 3.7 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 97.0 100.0 100.4 .8 1.0 .4 3.4 4.0 3.5 Management, professional, and related(3)............................ 97.0 100.0 100.3 .8 1.0 .3 3.4 4.0 3.4 Professional and related............. 96.8 100.0 100.2 .7 1.1 .2 3.4 4.1 3.5 Sales and office(3).................... 97.5 100.0 100.9 1.0 .7 .9 4.1 3.6 3.5 Office and administrative support.... 97.4 100.0 101.0 1.0 .8 1.0 4.2 3.7 3.7 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 97.2 100.0 100.6 1.5 .5 .6 4.2 4.4 3.5 Service occupations...................... 96.2 100.0 100.6 .7 .9 .6 4.2 4.7 4.6 Industry Education and health services(3)....... 96.7 100.0 100.3 .6 1.0 .3 3.2 4.1 3.7 Education services................... 96.6 100.0 100.2 .5 1.1 .2 3.2 4.1 3.7 Schools(5)......................... 96.6 100.0 100.2 .5 1.1 .2 3.2 4.1 3.7 Elementary and secondary schools. 96.4 100.0 100.2 .4 1.2 .2 3.4 4.2 3.9 Health care and social assistance(6). 97.6 100.0 101.3 1.1 .5 1.3 3.6 3.6 3.8 Hospitals.......................... 97.6 100.0 100.9 .9 .5 .9 3.9 3.4 3.4 Public administration.................. 97.1 100.0 100.6 1.4 1.0 .6 4.3 4.4 3.6 1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 8. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for civilian workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 98.1 100.0 100.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 2.5 2.6 2.7 Excluding sales occupations............ 98.2 100.0 100.8 .6 .6 .8 2.5 2.5 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(2)(3)..................... - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Occupational group White-collar occupations(4).............. 98.1 100.0 100.7 .7 .6 .7 2.6 2.7 2.7 Excluding sales occupations........ 98.3 100.0 100.8 .8 .6 .8 2.7 2.6 2.5 Management, professional, and related(5)............................ 98.3 100.0 100.8 .8 .6 .8 2.6 2.6 2.5 Management, business, and financial.. 99.1 100.0 101.2 .7 .4 1.2 2.5 1.6 2.1 Professional and related............. 97.8 100.0 100.6 .7 .7 .6 2.6 3.0 2.9 Sales and office(5).................... 97.8 100.0 100.4 .6 .7 .4 2.7 2.9 2.7 Sales and related(5)................. 97.3 100.0 99.8 .7 .8 -.2 3.1 3.5 2.6 Office and administrative support.... 98.2 100.0 100.8 .6 .6 .8 2.6 2.5 2.6 Blue-collar occupations(6)............... 98.1 100.0 100.6 .5 .5 .6 2.3 2.5 2.5 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(5)(7)..................... 97.8 100.0 100.7 .4 .6 .7 2.1 2.7 3.0 Construction and extraction(5)....... 97.8 100.0 100.7 .4 .7 .7 2.1 2.7 3.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair(5)........................... 97.8 100.0 100.6 .4 .5 .6 2.2 2.7 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving(5).................... 98.3 100.0 100.6 .5 .4 .6 2.5 2.2 2.3 Production(5)........................ 98.2 100.0 100.7 .7 .5 .7 2.7 2.6 2.5 Transportation and material moving(5) 98.4 100.0 100.5 .2 .3 .5 2.2 1.8 2.1 Service occupations...................... 98.2 100.0 100.5 .6 .5 .5 2.2 2.5 2.3 Industry Goods-producing industries(8)............ 97.9 100.0 100.7 .7 .5 .7 2.4 2.9 2.9 Manufacturing.......................... 98.2 100.0 100.7 .8 .4 .7 2.6 2.7 2.5 Service-providing industries(9).......... 98.2 100.0 100.7 .7 .6 .7 2.6 2.6 2.5 Education and health services(5)....... 97.6 100.0 100.4 .6 .9 .4 2.6 3.1 2.9 Education services................... 97.4 100.0 100.2 .5 1.0 .2 2.4 3.2 2.9 Elementary and secondary schools(5) 97.1 100.0 100.0 .2 1.1 .0 2.2 3.2 3.0 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(5)........................ 98.0 100.0 100.5 0.9 0.7 0.5 2.6 3.0 2.6 Health care and social assistance(10) 98.0 100.0 100.8 .9 .8 .8 3.2 3.0 2.9 Hospitals.......................... 97.6 100.0 100.9 .9 .8 .9 3.4 3.4 3.4 Nursing and residential care facilities........................ 97.7 100.0 100.7 .8 .9 .7 2.4 3.2 3.1 Public administration.................. 97.9 100.0 100.5 .9 .7 .5 2.4 3.1 2.7 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 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 5 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 6 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 7 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 8 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 9 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 10 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 9. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Private industry workers All workers.................................. 98.3 100.0 100.7 0.7 0.5 0.7 2.7 2.5 2.4 Excluding sales occupations.............. 98.4 100.0 100.9 .7 .5 .9 2.6 2.4 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)....................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Occupational group White-collar occupations(3)................ 98.3 100.0 100.8 .8 .5 .8 2.8 2.6 2.5 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.5 100.0 101.0 .8 .5 1.0 2.7 2.4 2.5 Management, professional, and related(4). 98.6 100.0 101.1 .8 .4 1.1 2.7 2.2 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 101.0 - - 1.0 - - - Management, business, and financial.... 99.2 100.0 101.3 .7 .5 1.3 2.5 1.5 2.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 101.1 - - 1.1 - - - Professional and related............... 98.2 100.0 100.9 1.0 .4 .9 3.0 2.9 2.7 Sales and office(4)...................... 97.8 100.0 100.4 .6 .7 .4 2.8 2.9 2.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Sales and related...................... 97.3 100.0 99.8 .7 .8 -.2 3.1 3.5 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - Office and administrative support...... 98.2 100.0 100.9 .6 .6 .9 2.7 2.5 2.7 Blue-collar occupations(5)................. 98.1 100.0 100.6 .4 .5 .6 2.3 2.4 2.5 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)....................... 97.8 100.0 100.7 .3 .6 .7 2.1 2.6 3.0 Construction and extraction(4)......... 97.8 100.0 100.7 .3 .7 .7 2.1 2.6 3.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair(4)............................. 97.8 100.0 100.7 .4 .5 .7 2.0 2.7 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(4)............................... 98.3 100.0 100.6 .5 .4 .6 2.4 2.2 2.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - Production(4).......................... 98.3 100.0 100.7 .8 .5 .7 2.8 2.6 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - Transportation and material moving(4).. 98.5 100.0 100.4 .3 .3 .4 2.2 1.8 1.9 Service occupations........................ 98.6 100.0 100.6 .7 .4 .6 2.3 2.1 2.0 Industry and occupational group Goods-producing industries(7).............. 97.9 100.0 100.7 0.7 0.5 0.7 2.4 2.9 2.9 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.0 100.0 100.8 .7 .5 .8 2.3 2.8 2.9 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - White-collar occupations(3).............. 97.6 100.0 100.7 .7 .3 .7 2.6 3.2 3.2 Excluding sales occupations.......... 97.9 100.0 101.1 .7 .4 1.1 2.4 2.9 3.3 Management, professional, and related(4)............................ 98.0 100.0 101.1 .8 .3 1.1 2.3 2.9 3.2 Sales and office(4).................... 96.8 100.0 99.8 .6 .3 -.2 3.3 4.0 3.1 Blue-collar occupations(5)............... 98.1 100.0 100.7 .7 .6 .7 2.3 2.7 2.7 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)..................... 97.9 100.0 100.7 .5 .6 .7 2.1 2.7 2.9 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................... 98.2 100.0 100.7 .7 .5 .7 2.4 2.6 2.5 Construction............................. 97.3 100.0 100.6 0.4 0.6 0.6 2.0 3.2 3.4 Manufacturing............................ 98.2 100.0 100.7 .8 .4 .7 2.6 2.7 2.5 White-collar occupations(3)............ 98.1 100.0 100.6 .7 .1 .6 2.6 2.7 2.5 Excluding sales occupations........ 98.1 100.0 101.1 .6 .2 1.1 2.4 2.6 3.1 Management, professional, and related(4).......................... 98.2 100.0 101.1 .7 .1 1.1 2.3 2.6 3.0 Sales and office(4).................. 97.9 100.0 99.5 .7 .0 -.5 3.6 2.9 1.6 Blue-collar occupations(5)............. 98.3 100.0 100.7 .8 .6 .7 2.5 2.6 2.4 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)................... 97.8 100.0 100.9 .7 .9 .9 2.2 3.0 3.2 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................. 98.3 100.0 100.7 .8 .5 .7 2.5 2.6 2.4 Durable goods.......................... 98.2 100.0 100.7 .7 .4 .7 2.7 2.6 2.5 Aircraft manufacturing............... 98.8 100.0 101.9 1.9 .5 1.9 3.1 3.1 3.1 White-collar occupations(3)........ 99.1 100.0 103.1 2.8 .6 3.1 3.3 3.7 4.0 Blue-collar occupations(5)......... 98.3 100.0 99.9 .3 .4 -.1 3.1 2.0 1.6 Nondurable goods....................... 98.2 100.0 100.6 .8 .3 .6 2.3 2.7 2.4 Service-providing industries(8)............ 98.4 100.0 100.8 .7 .5 .8 2.7 2.4 2.4 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.5 100.0 100.9 .6 .5 .9 2.6 2.1 2.4 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................... - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - White-collar occupations(3).............. 98.4 100.0 100.8 .8 .6 .8 2.8 2.5 2.4 Excluding sales occupations.......... 98.6 100.0 101.0 .8 .5 1.0 2.8 2.2 2.4 Management, professional, and related(4)............................ 98.7 100.0 101.1 .8 .4 1.1 2.8 2.1 2.4 Sales and office(4).................... 97.9 100.0 100.5 .6 .7 .5 2.8 2.8 2.7 Blue-collar occupations(5)............... 98.2 100.0 100.5 .2 .4 .5 2.4 2.0 2.3 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(4)(6)..................... 97.8 100.0 100.7 .2 .6 .7 2.2 2.5 3.0 Production, transportation, and material moving(4).................... 98.5 100.0 100.4 .3 .3 .4 2.5 1.8 1.9 Service occupations...................... 98.6 100.0 100.6 .6 .4 .6 2.3 2.0 2.0 Trade, transportation, and utilities(4).. 97.9 100.0 100.4 .6 .5 .4 2.2 2.8 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Wholesale trade........................ 97.5 100.0 100.2 1.5 1.0 .2 2.5 4.1 2.8 Excluding sales occupations........ 99.3 100.0 100.9 1.5 .4 .9 2.5 2.2 1.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 101.1 - - 1.1 - - - Retail trade........................... 98.0 100.0 100.5 0.6 0.4 .5 2.3 2.7 2.6 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Transportation and warehousing......... 98.2 100.0 100.1 -.5 .1 .1 1.4 1.3 1.9 Utilities.............................. 98.4 100.0 100.8 1.0 .5 .8 3.1 2.7 2.4 Information(4)........................... 98.4 100.0 101.0 .8 .7 1.0 1.4 2.5 2.6 Financial activities..................... 98.7 100.0 101.3 .9 .6 1.3 3.6 2.2 2.6 Excluding sales occupations........ 99.4 100.0 101.9 .9 .5 1.9 2.9 1.5 2.5 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 101.2 - - 1.2 - - - Finance and insurance(4)............... 99.1 100.0 101.6 -.1 .3 1.6 2.1 .8 2.5 Credit intermediation and related activities.......................... 99.8 100.0 101.5 -.4 .4 1.5 1.9 -.2 1.7 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 101.3 - - 1.3 - - - Insurance carriers and related activities.......................... 98.4 100.0 101.0 .7 .3 1.0 4.0 2.4 2.6 Excluding sales occupations........ 98.8 100.0 101.1 .9 .2 1.1 3.6 2.1 2.3 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - Real estate and rental and leasing(4).. 96.8 100.0 99.8 6.7 1.7 -.2 10.9 10.3 3.1 Excluding incentive paid occupations(1)(2)................. - - 100.9 - - 0.9 - - - Professional and business services(4).... 99.5 100.0 101.0 0.5 0.3 1.0 3.0 1.0 1.5 Professional, scientific, and technical services(4)........................... 100.0 100.0 101.3 .7 .4 1.3 3.3 .7 1.3 Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services(4) 99.4 100.0 100.5 .4 .0 .5 3.2 1.0 1.1 Education and health services(4)......... 97.9 100.0 100.7 .9 .7 .7 3.3 3.1 2.9 Education services..................... 97.4 100.0 100.7 .6 .3 .7 3.6 3.3 3.4 Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools(4).......................... 97.3 100.0 100.9 .5 .5 .9 3.0 3.3 3.7 Health care and social assistance(9)... 97.9 100.0 100.7 .8 .8 .7 3.2 3.0 2.9 Hospitals............................ 97.4 100.0 100.9 .9 .9 .9 3.5 3.6 3.6 Nursing and residential care facilities.......................... 97.7 100.0 100.7 .7 .9 .7 2.3 3.1 3.1 Leisure and hospitality(4)............... 98.3 100.0 100.6 .7 .5 .6 1.2 2.5 2.3 Accommodation and food services(4)..... 97.9 100.0 100.5 .4 .7 .5 1.6 2.6 2.7 Other services, except public administration(4)....................... 97.8 100.0 101.3 .7 .2 1.3 2.8 3.0 3.6 1 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 4 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 5 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 6 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 7 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 8 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 9 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 10. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by bargaining status, region, and area Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Bargaining status, census region and division, and metropolitan area status 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Bargaining status Union.................................... 97.9 100.0 100.3 0.3 0.5 0.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 Blue-collar occupations(1)........... 97.8 100.0 100.2 .1 .6 .2 2.1 2.4 2.5 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 97.5 100.0 100.5 .4 .8 .5 2.2 3.0 3.1 Manufacturing........................ 97.6 100.0 100.6 .5 1.0 .6 2.2 3.0 3.1 Blue-collar occupations(1)......... 97.6 100.0 100.6 .5 1.0 .6 2.2 3.0 3.1 Service-providing industries(3)........ 98.2 100.0 100.1 .2 .3 .1 2.6 2.0 1.9 Nonunion................................. 98.3 100.0 100.8 .7 .5 .8 2.6 2.5 2.5 Blue-collar occupations(1)........... 98.3 100.0 100.8 .6 .5 .8 2.4 2.4 2.5 Goods-producing industries(2).......... 98.0 100.0 100.7 .7 .4 .7 2.5 2.8 2.8 Manufacturing........................ 98.4 100.0 100.7 .9 .2 .7 2.7 2.6 2.3 Blue-collar occupations(1)......... 98.6 100.0 100.8 .9 .3 .8 2.6 2.4 2.2 Service-providing industries(3)........ 98.4 100.0 100.8 .7 .5 .8 2.7 2.4 2.4 Census region and division(4) Northeast................................ 97.8 100.0 100.8 .6 .8 .8 2.6 2.9 3.1 New England(5)......................... - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Middle Atlantic(5)..................... - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - South.................................... 98.9 100.0 101.0 .9 .3 1.0 3.2 2.0 2.1 South Atlantic(5)...................... - - 101.3 - - 1.3 - - - East South Central(5).................. - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - West South Central(5).................. - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - Midwest.................................. 97.8 100.0 100.4 .7 .6 .4 2.3 3.0 2.7 East North Central(5).................. - - 100.3 - - .3 - - - West North Central(5).................. - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - West..................................... 98.4 100.0 100.7 .4 .4 .7 2.1 2.0 2.3 Mountain(5)............................ - - 100.6 - - .6 - - - Pacific(5)............................. - - 100.8 - - .8 - - - Metropolitan area status Metropolitan areas(6).................... - - 100.7 - - .7 - - - Nonmetropolitan areas(6)................. - - 100.9 - - .9 - - - 1 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. 4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 5 New series. Data are available beginning with December 2005. 6 Data are available beginning with December 2005. NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical note" for further information.) Dashes indicate data not available. Table 11. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for State and local government workers, by occupational group and industry Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group and industry 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 State and local government workers All workers................................ 97.6 100.0 100.3 0.6 0.9 0.3 2.3 3.1 2.8 Occupational group White-collar occupations(1).............. 97.6 100.0 100.3 .6 1.0 .3 2.3 3.1 2.8 Management, professional, and related(2)............................ 97.5 100.0 100.2 .5 1.0 .2 2.3 3.1 2.8 Professional and related............. 97.4 100.0 100.2 .5 1.1 .2 2.2 3.2 2.9 Sales and office(2).................... 98.1 100.0 100.6 .5 .6 .6 2.2 2.5 2.5 Office and administrative support.... 98.0 100.0 100.7 .5 .7 .7 2.2 2.6 2.8 Blue-collar occupations(3)............... 97.9 100.0 100.7 .8 .5 .7 2.6 3.0 2.9 Service occupations...................... 97.3 100.0 100.3 .5 .7 .3 2.1 3.3 3.1 Industry Education and health services(2)....... 97.4 100.0 100.2 .4 1.0 .2 2.2 3.1 2.9 Education services................... 97.3 100.0 100.1 .4 1.1 .1 2.1 3.2 2.9 Schools(4)......................... 97.3 100.0 100.1 .4 1.1 .1 2.1 3.2 2.9 Elementary and secondary schools. 97.1 100.0 100.0 .2 1.1 .0 2.1 3.2 3.0 Health care and social assistance(5). 98.1 100.0 101.0 .8 .6 1.0 2.5 2.8 3.0 Hospitals.......................... 98.3 100.0 100.9 .6 .6 .9 2.8 2.4 2.6 Public administration.................. 97.9 100.0 100.5 .9 .7 .5 2.4 3.1 2.7 1 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 2 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 3 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 4 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not shown separately. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. Table 12. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by ownership, occupational group, industry, and bargaining status Indexes (Dec. 2005 = Percent changes for- 100) Occupational group, industry, and bargaining status 3-months ended- 12-months ended- Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar. Dec. Mar. 2005 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 Civilian workers All workers(1)............................. 97.6 100.0 100.9 2.0 0.5 0.9 5.9 4.5 3.4 Private industry workers All workers................................ 98.1 100.0 101.0 2.0 .3 1.0 5.5 4.0 3.0 Occupational group White-collar occupations(2).............. 98.0 100.0 101.1 2.5 .4 1.1 6.1 4.6 3.2 Management, professional, and related(3)............................ 98.2 100.0 101.3 2.9 .2 1.3 6.5 4.8 3.2 Sales and office(3).................... 97.6 100.0 100.8 1.9 .7 .8 5.4 4.4 3.3 Blue-collar occupations(4)............... 98.4 100.0 100.5 1.2 .1 .5 4.9 2.9 2.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance(3)(5)..................... 98.0 100.0 101.1 1.7 .2 1.1 5.5 3.7 3.2 Production, transportation, and material moving(3).................... 98.7 100.0 100.1 1.0 .0 .1 4.4 2.4 1.4 Service occupations...................... 98.3 100.0 101.5 1.3 .5 1.5 3.9 3.1 3.3 Industry Goods-producing industries(6)............ 98.3 100.0 99.6 2.1 -.4 -.4 6.3 3.8 1.3 Manufacturing.......................... 98.3 100.0 99.0 2.4 .0 -1.0 5.9 4.2 .7 Aircraft manufacturing............... 97.1 100.0 79.1 36.6 2.7 -20.9 38.7 40.6 -18.5 White-collar occupations(2)...... 98.8 100.0 80.6 38.4 .6 -19.4 39.0 40.1 -18.4 Blue-collar occupations(4)....... 94.6 100.0 77.1 33.8 5.7 -22.9 38.5 41.4 -18.5 Service-providing industries(7).......... 98.1 100.0 101.5 2.1 .6 1.5 5.3 4.1 3.5 Bargaining status Union.................................... 98.0 100.0 100.8 1.2 .2 .8 5.6 3.3 2.9 Nonunion................................. 98.2 100.0 101.0 2.3 .4 1.0 5.6 4.2 2.9 State and local government workers All workers................................ 95.5 100.0 100.7 1.5 1.0 .7 6.7 6.3 5.4 1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes the following occupational groups: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support. 3 New series. Historical data are available beginning with March 2001. 4 Includes the following occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving. 5 Includes farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, not shown separately. 6 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 7 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except public administration. NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available. TECHNICAL NOTE The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a measure of the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. The wage and salary series and the benefit cost series provide the changes for the two components of compensation. Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates are total earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends and holidays, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses such as lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living adjustments are included in straight-time wage and salary rates. Benefits covered by the ECI are: Paid leave-vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave; supplemental pay-premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays), shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as referral bonuses and attendance bonuses); insurance benefits-life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and savings benefits-defined benefit and defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits-Social Security, Medicare, and federal and state unemployment insurance. The collection of severance pay and supplemental unemployment insurance benefits was discontinued and new industry and occupational definitions were introduced with the release of the March 2006 estimates. For more information on the impact of changes on the definition of compensation measures used in the ECI, the comparability of old with new series, and an assessment of the statistical reliability of specific ECI series, see the article "Employment Cost Index publication plans" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Additional series on "excluding incentive paid occupations" were introduced with the release of the March 2006 estimates. These series allow users to better understand underlying trends in compensation by removing quarter-to-quarter variability that is related to the way workers are paid. For more information, see the article, "The Role of Incentive Pay in the Volatility of the Employment Cost Index" in the Summer 2001 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions. The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the total private nonfarm economy excluding private households, and the public sector excluding the federal government. The private industry series and the state and local government series provide data for the two sectors separately. Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification system (NAICS), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Within a sample establishment, specific job categories are selected and classified into about 800 occupational classifications according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are combined to represent one of ten intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or one of five higher-level aggregations such as management, professional, and related occupations. For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. To be included in the ECI, employees in occupations must receive cash payments from the establishment for services performed and the establishment must pay the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes on that individual’s wages. Major exclusions from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their own pay (for example, proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), volunteers, unpaid workers, family members being paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, and U.S. citizens working overseas. Data for the March 2006 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 50,000 occupational observations within about 11,300 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 3,500 occupations within about 800 sample establishments in state and local governments. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. When respondents do not provide all the data needed, a procedure for assigning missing values is used in the ECI. An article in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review, "Accounting for missing data in the Employment Cost Index" describes the methodological changes in the imputation procedure that were implemented with the publication of the March 2006 index. Fixed employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most aggregate series-civilian, private, and state and local government. These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and occupational series indexes. Beginning with March 2006 estimates, 2002 fixed employment weights from the Bureau’s Occupational Statistics were introduced. From March 1995 to December 2005, 1990 employment counts were used. For more information on these topics, see the article, "Introducing 2002 weights in the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. For the series based on bargaining status, census region and division, metropolitan area status, and for series excluding incentive paid occupations, fixed employment data are not available. The employment weights are reallocated within these series each quarter based on the current ECI sample. The 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 an article, "Estimation Procedures for the Employment Cost Index" in the May 1982 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning with the release of the March 2006 data, indexes were rebased to December 2005 = 100 from June 1989 = 100. The percentage changes shown in the current- and constant-dollar historical tables were calculated from the rebased indexes. Thus, changes may differ from those originally published because of rounding. More information on rebasing is included in the article, "Changes affecting the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The ECI sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation’s 326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in 1994 and the remaining portions of the 50 states. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs). Nonmetropolitan areas are counties that do not fit the metropolitan area definition. Seasonally adjusted data are available for selected ECI series beginning with the December 1990 ECI release. Seasonal adjustment removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year. These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. An explanation of how the ECI applies the standard BLS practice in developing seasonally adjusted series, the changes made to accommodate the conversion to NAICS and SOC, and improvements in the seasonal adjustment methodology introduced in March 2006 is available in an article, "Seasonal adjustments in the Employment Cost Index" in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once a year. The March release contains data reflecting the newly updated seasonal adjustment factors. The historical data for the last five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2006 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. The ECI private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis. Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample design may differ from one other. A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error. The statements of comparisons appearing in this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better, unless otherwise indicated. This means that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference. The ECI uses standard errors to evaluate published series. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of series, the standard errors for all 3-month estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm shortly after the publication of the news release. Standard errors for 12-month estimates will become available in March 2007 after the transition to the new industry and occupational series is completed. When determining data to be used in contract negotiations, it is important to note that differences by bargaining status may be due to factors other than union status, such as occupational and industry mix. An important consideration when choosing a series for escalation is the sampling error. For more information, see the web site: http://www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm. More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include a chapter, "National Compensation Measures," (http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf) from the BLS Handbook of Methods, and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working Conditions. The articles and other descriptive pieces are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm, by calling (202) 691-6199, or sending e-mail to ncsinfo@bls.gov. Historical ECI data, using industry categories based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System and classifying jobs into occupational classifications according to the Census of Population, are available dating from the first publication of each series to December 2005. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005 = 100 as the base period. These historical data series from the ECI are available upon request or at the BLS Web sites http://www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistry.txt, or ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistrynaics.txt. In addition, constant-dollar ECI series derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) are available. The constant-dollar series are calculated by converting the CPI-U to the same base as the ECI. The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period. The CPI-U U.S. City Average All Items is used to compute all series except for the regional estimates, which use corresponding CPI regional data. Historical data, using industry categories based on the SIC and classifying occupations according to the Census of Population, are available dating from the first publication of each series to December 2005. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 NAICS and the 2000 SOC beginning in March 2001, and using the December 2005 = 100 base period. These data are available at the BLS Web sites at http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconstnaics.pdf, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconst.txt, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconstnaics.txt, or upon request. Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health insurance in private industry, are also available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/echealth.pdf beginning with June 1982. The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, are published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation." The release is available by e-mail request at ncsinfo@bls.gov, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, or by telephone at (202) 691-6199. Also available are historical data in a summary document from March 1986 through March 2002 on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. Data on a quarterly basis beginning with June 2002 also are available. The cost levels are calculated with current employment weights rather than the fixed weights used in computing the ECI. Therefore, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI.