
An official website of the United States government
Employer costs for total compensation in private industry rose 4.3 percent from September 2022 to September 2023. That compares with an increase of 5.2 percent from September 2021 to September 2022. Wages and salaries increased 4.5 percent and the cost of benefits increased 3.9 percent for the year ending in September 2023.
Month | Total compensation, current dollars | Total compensation, constant dollars | Wages and salaries, current dollars | Wages and salaries, constant dollars | Benefits, current dollars | Benefits, constant dollars |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 2013 |
1.9 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 |
Dec 2013 |
2.0 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
Mar 2014 |
1.7 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
Jun 2014 |
2.0 | 0.0 | 1.9 | -0.1 | 2.4 | 0.3 |
Sep 2014 |
2.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.7 |
Dec 2014 |
2.3 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
Mar 2015 |
2.8 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
Jun 2015 |
1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
Sep 2015 |
1.9 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
Dec 2015 |
1.9 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 |
Mar 2016 |
1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
Jun 2016 |
2.4 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
Sep 2016 |
2.3 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
Dec 2016 |
2.2 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 | -0.4 |
Mar 2017 |
2.3 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 1.9 | -0.5 |
Jun 2017 |
2.4 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.5 |
Sep 2017 |
2.5 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 0.2 |
Dec 2017 |
2.6 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.3 |
Mar 2018 |
2.8 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 0.2 |
Jun 2018 |
2.9 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 0.0 |
Sep 2018 |
2.9 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.1 |
Dec 2018 |
3.0 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.6 |
Mar 2019 |
2.8 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.4 |
Jun 2019 |
2.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
Sep 2019 |
2.7 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 |
Dec 2019 |
2.7 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | -0.3 |
Mar 2020 |
2.8 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.2 |
Jun 2020 |
2.7 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
Sep 2020 |
2.4 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.6 |
Dec 2020 |
2.6 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.8 |
Mar 2021 |
2.8 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 2.5 | -0.2 |
Jun 2021 |
3.1 | -2.2 | 3.5 | -1.8 | 2.0 | -3.1 |
Sep 2021 |
4.1 | -1.3 | 4.6 | -0.7 | 2.6 | -2.6 |
Dec 2021 |
4.4 | -2.5 | 5.0 | -1.9 | 2.9 | -3.8 |
Mar 2022 |
4.8 | -3.5 | 5.0 | -3.3 | 4.1 | -4.0 |
Jun 2022 |
5.5 | -3.3 | 5.7 | -3.1 | 5.3 | -3.5 |
Sep 2022 |
5.2 | -2.8 | 5.2 | -2.7 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
Dec 2022 |
5.1 | -1.2 | 5.1 | -1.2 | 4.8 | -1.5 |
Mar 2023 |
4.8 | -0.2 | 5.1 | 0.1 | 4.3 | -0.6 |
Jun 2023 |
4.5 | 1.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 0.9 |
Sep 2023 |
4.3 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 0.2 |
Note: Data are not seasonally adjusted. |
In constant dollars, after adjusting for consumer price inflation, total compensation costs rose 0.6 percent in the private sector from September 2022 to September 2023. Inflation-adjusted wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent and benefit costs were up 0.2 percent over the year.
These data are from the Employment Cost Index program and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see “Employment Cost Index — September 2023.” We also have more charts on the Employment Cost Index.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Inflation-adjusted compensation costs in private industry up 0.6 percent over the year at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/inflation-adjusted-compensation-costs-in-private-industry-up-0-6-percent-over-the-year.htm (visited March 15, 2025).