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Friday, February 01, 2019
Total compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.8 percent in the Houston-The Woodlands, Texas, metropolitan area for the year ended in December 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that one year ago, Houston experienced an annual gain of 1.7 percent in compensation costs. Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of total compensation costs, rose at a 1.9-percent pace for the 12-month period ended in December 2018. Nationwide, total compensation costs were up 3.0 percent and wages and salaries rose 3.1 percent over the same period. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
Houston 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 data are available. Among these 15 largest areas, over-the-year percentage increases in total compensation costs ranged from 5.0 percent in Minneapolis to 0.6 percent in Seattle in December 2018. For wages and salaries, Minneapolis registered the largest annual gain (5.2 percent) among the 15 areas, while Houston registered the smallest (1.9 percent). (See chart 2.)
The annual increase in total compensation costs in Houston in December 2018, at 1.8 percent, compared to gains ranging from 2.9 to 2.0 percent in the four other metropolitan areas in the South (Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and Washington). Houston's 1.9-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to rates ranging from 3.1 to 2.0 percent in the four other southern localities. (See table 2.)
Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures quarterly changes in total compensation costs, including wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. In addition to the 15 local estimates provided in this release, ECI data for the nation, 4 geographical regions, and 9 geographical divisions are available. (Geographical definitions for the metropolitan areas mentioned in this release are included in the Technical Note.)
In addition to the geographic data, a comprehensive national report is available that provides data by industry, occupational group, and union status, as well as for both private, and state and local government employees. The release is available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm. Current and historical information from other Bureau programs may be accessed via our regional homepage at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest.
The Employment Cost Index for December 2018 is scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Area definitions have been updated with this release based on Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01, dated February 28, 2013. For more information on metropolitan area definitions, see www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro.html.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures 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.
Wages and salaries are defined as straight-time average hourly earnings 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, work on weekends and holidays, and shift differentials. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living adjustments are included in straight-time earnings, whereas nonproduction bonuses (such as Christmas or year-end bonuses) are excluded. Also excluded are such items as payments-in-kind, free room and board, and tips.
Based on available resources and the existing ECI sample, it was determined that estimates would be published for 15 metropolitan areas. Since the ECI sample sizes by area are directly related to area employment, the areas with the largest private industry employment as of the year 2000 were selected. For each of these areas, 12-month percent changes and associated standard errors were computed for the periods since December 2006.
The metropolitan area definitions of the 15 published localities are listed below.
Definitions of the four geographic regions of the country are noted below.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-month percent changes for period ended- | 12-month percent changes for period ended- | |||||||
March | June | Sep. | Dec. | March | June | Sep. | Dec. | |
United States | ||||||||
2014 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
2015 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
2016 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
2017 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
2018 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
South | ||||||||
2014 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
2015 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
2016 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
2017 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.7 |
2018 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
Houston-The Woodlands | ||||||||
2014 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.1 |
2015 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
2016 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.3 |
2017 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
2018 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-month percent changes for period ended- | 12-month percent changes for period ended- | |||||
Dec. 2017 | Sep. 2018 | Dec. 2018 | Dec. 2017 | Sep. 2018 | Dec. 2018 | |
United States | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
Northeast | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Boston-Worcester-Providence | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
New York-Newark | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.0 |
South | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
Dallas-Fort Worth | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
Houston-The Woodlands | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
Midwest | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
Chicago-Naperville | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.7 |
Minneapolis-St. Paul | 1.4 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 4.7 | 5.2 |
West | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach | 3.7 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.8 |
Seattle-Tacoma | 6.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
Last Modified Date: Friday, February 01, 2019