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News Release Information

24-1545-ATL
Thursday, August 01, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Changing Compensation Costs in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area — June 2024

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 4.4 percent in the Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ended June 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that one year ago, Atlanta experienced an annual gain of 4.3 percent in compensation costs. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Nationwide, compensation costs rose 3.9 percent in June 2024.


Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced at a 5.4-percent pace for the 12-month period ended June 2024. (See chart 2.) Nationwide, wages and salaries rose 4.1 percent over the same period.


Atlanta is 1 of 15 metropolitan areas in the United States and 1 of 5 areas in the South region of the country for which locality compensation cost data are available. Among these 15 largest areas, over-the-year percentage changes in compensation costs ranged from 5.6 percent in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie to 3.1 percent in Boston-Worcester-Providence in June 2024; for wages and salaries, Miami registered the largest increase (6.6 percent), and Philadelphia-Reading-Camden registered the smallest (3.2 percent). (See chart 3.)


The annual increase in compensation costs in Atlanta was 4.4 percent in June 2024, compared to advances that ranged from 5.6 percent to 3.9 percent in the four other metropolitan areas in the South (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-The Woodlands, Miami, and Washington-Baltimore-Arlington). Atlanta’s 5.4-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to rates ranging from 6.6 percent to 3.9 percent in the four other southern localities. (See table 2.)

The Employment Cost Index for September 2024 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures quarterly changes in compensation costs (wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits) free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. More information can be found in the national Employment Cost Index Technical Note. For information on survey concepts, coverage, methods, nonresponse adjustment, and imputation see the National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods.

In addition to the data presented here, ECI national data by industry, occupational group, and union status, as well as data for civilian, private, and state and local government employees, are available on the Employment Cost Index website. The national Employment Cost Index Summary is also available online. Additional information for regions, states, and local areas may be accessed via our Southeast Information Office regional homepage.

The substate area data published in this news release reflect the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01, dated February 28, 2013. See the Classification Systems Used by the National Compensation Survey for more information on available geographies.

The Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) includes Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gordon, Gwinnett, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lamar, Madison, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Upson, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry workers, United States, South Census region, and the Atlanta area, not seasonally adjusted
Area Total compensation Wages and salaries
12-month percent changes for period ended- 12-month percent changes for period ended-
Mar. Jun. Sep. Dec. Mar. Jun. Sep. Dec.

United States

2020

2.8 2.7 2.4 2.6 3.3 2.9 2.7 2.8

2021

2.8 3.1 4.1 4.4 3.0 3.5 4.6 5.0

2022

4.8 5.5 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.7 5.2 5.1

2023

4.8 4.5 4.3 4.1 5.1 4.6 4.5 4.3

2024

4.1 3.9 4.3 4.1

South

2020

2.6 2.8 2.3 2.6 3.0 3.1 2.5 2.8

2021

3.1 3.1 4.5 4.5 3.4 3.6 5.2 5.1

2022

4.6 5.8 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.9 5.0 5.1

2023

5.2 4.4 4.6 4.4 5.4 4.6 4.8 4.6

2024

4.3 3.7 4.6 3.9

Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs

2020

3.6 3.3 2.5 2.9 4.3 3.6 2.6 3.4

2021

2.3 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.9 3.4 3.0 3.1

2022

3.3 4.3 5.0 4.4 3.4 4.4 5.2 4.8

2023

5.1 4.3 4.0 3.8 5.6 4.6 4.6 4.4

2024

4.4 4.4 5.1 5.4


Table 2. Employment Cost Index for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry workers, United States, Census regions, and localities, not seasonally adjusted
Area Total compensation Wages and salaries
12-month percent changes for period ended- 12-month percent changes for period ended-
Jun. 2023 Mar. 2024 Jun. 2024 Jun. 2023 Mar. 2024 Jun. 2024

United States

4.5 4.1 3.9 4.6 4.3 4.1

Northeast

4.4 3.8 3.5 4.5 3.9 3.7

Boston-Worcester-Providence

3.8 3.2 3.1 4.2 3.5 3.3

New York-Newark

4.6 4.1 3.8 4.6 4.2 4.0

Philadelphia-Reading-Camden

5.8 2.8 3.2 6.6 3.0 3.2

South

4.4 4.3 3.7 4.6 4.6 3.9

Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs

4.3 4.4 4.4 4.6 5.1 5.4

Dallas-Fort Worth

4.1 3.5 3.9 4.3 3.8 3.9

Houston-The Woodlands

3.3 5.7 5.2 2.6 5.3 5.1

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie

5.8 6.7 5.6 5.5 7.1 6.6

Washington-Baltimore-Arlington

5.2 4.5 4.3 5.7 5.1 4.9

Midwest

4.3 3.9 3.6 4.4 4.2 3.7

Chicago-Naperville

4.1 4.3 3.7 4.2 4.4 3.5

Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor

4.3 3.4 5.4 4.1 3.6 4.6

Minneapolis-St. Paul

4.0 3.8 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.3

West

4.5 4.1 4.6 4.9 4.3 4.9

Los Angeles-Long Beach

5.0 4.4 4.3 5.3 4.5 4.5

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale

3.9 2.7 3.3 4.3 2.8 3.3

San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland

4.3 4.4 4.8 4.4 4.7 5.2

Seattle-Tacoma

1.9 3.5 4.3 5.4 3.9 4.6

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, August 01, 2024