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Handbook of Methods Employment Cost Index Presentation

Employment Cost Index: Presentation

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) produces indexes measuring change over time in labor costs. These include cost indexes for private and public sector workers, union and nonunion workers, compensation excluding incentive-paid workers, and nominal and real compensation changes. Indexes are classified by industry (North American Industry Classification System), occupation (Standard Occupational Classification system), and area (census regions, census divisions, and Metropolitan Statistical Areas/Combined Statistical Areas).

Publications

Released in January, April, July, and October, the primary publication is the ECI news release, which contains summary text, data tables, and a technical note. The summary text describes recent index movements and trends. The tables provide index values, 3-month percent changes, and 12-month percent changes. Lastly, the technical note describes the classification systems and methods used to calculate the ECI. In addition to the news release, interactive charts are available. Links to the database query tool, which is a database that contains the complete set of available data, can be found on the homepage as well.

Additional outputs that are updated with the news release include the historical tables. Historical tables are available as spreadsheets for seasonal, nonseasonal, and continuous indexes. Continuous indexes were deemed continuous between prior classification systems (SIC and OCS) and current classification systems (NAICS and SOC), with information dating back to 1975.

Accessing data

A comprehensive set of recent ECI data is available on the BLS website.

Employment Cost Index homepage 

News Release (Latest) (Archived)

Tables and spreadsheets

Standard errors

Seasonal factors

Interactive charts

Public database tools

Users and uses

Data from the ECI are used for a variety of reasons by the private sector including to aid in collective bargaining negotiations, evaluate changes in costs for benefit packages, analyze contract settlements, assist in wage and salary administration, and adjust wages in long-term contracts. The public sector also uses the ECI to formulate and assess public policy, aid collective bargaining negotiations, evaluate benefit package costs, analyze contract settlements, index Medicare payments, and formulate monetary policy. Some examples of ECI users and uses include:

• Active-duty military pay adjustments. In 1999, with a widening gap between military and private industry pay, Congress enacted legislation that tied annual military pay increases to the annual increase in the ECI plus 0.5 percent. For more information on military pay determination, see Military Compensation.
• Federal pay adjustments. The ECI is used to determine white-collar pay adjustments under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA). 
• Adjustments to Medicare reimbursements. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, uses estimates from the ECI to determine allowable increases in reimbursements to hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, and home maintenance organizations under Medicare's Prospective Payment Systems (PPS). See “The Employment Cost Index and the Impact on Medicare Reimbursements” factsheet for additional information.
• Escalator clauses in government contracts. Governments use the ECI series in labor contracts. For example, the Virginia Department of Transportation uses the professional, scientific, and technical services private industry wage series to adjust billable rates. See “Escalation Rates for Professional Services Contracts, July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.” 
• Adjustments to labor costs. ECI series are used to make adjustments to labor costs. For example, Connecticut recently used the ECI to escalate minimum wage.  

Correction and revision policies

The not seasonally adjusted ECI series are final upon publication. At the beginning of each calendar year, seasonal adjustment factors are calculated for use during the coming year and revisions of historical seasonally adjusted data are made for the most recent 5 years. The seasonal factors for the directly adjusted series for the coming year are published with each March publication. For more information on the calculation of seasonally adjusted estimates, see the calculation section.

If an error is discovered in any published data product for the ECI, the publication is corrected and republished as soon as possible. Any corrections will be clearly noted on the publication, the public homepage, and the BLS errata page.

Special data requests

Requests for special tabulations are evaluated and processed according to resource availability and complexity of the request. The ECI does not produce estimates for individual states, as the National Compensation Survey (NCS) is not designed to produce state level estimates. All special tabulations are reviewed for reliability and confidentiality prior to release, which may limit the estimates provided. If the special tabulation data are cited, the user should indicate that these are unpublished estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Employment Cost Index, and provide the associated reference period.

For special tabulation of data, use the NCS inquiry request form, enter “special data request” in the subject line, and indicate the scope of the request. Users should provide a detailed explanation of the scope that includes ownership (civilian, private, and state and local government), industry, occupation, worker and establishment characteristics, and time period. This detailed explanation will expedite the evaluation.

Availability of microdata

ECI microdata are available on a limited basis to researchers who want to conduct valid statistical analyses. Researchers are encouraged to apply for access as early as possible and to discuss the project with appropriate BLS contacts prior to submitting an application. For more information, see the BLS Restricted Data Access homepage.