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Tuesday, May 03, 2022
Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 7.8 percent in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ended March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that one year ago, Seattle experienced an annual gain of 2.5 percent in compensation costs. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced at a 4.5-percent pace for the 12-month period ended March 2022. (See chart 2.) Nationwide, compensation costs increased 4.8 percent and wages and salaries rose 5.0 percent over the same period.
Seattle is 1 of 15 metropolitan areas in the United States and 1 of 4 areas in the West region of the country for which locality compensation cost data are available. Among these 15 largest areas, over-the-year percentage changes in the compensation costs ranged from 7.8 percent in Seattle to 3.3 percent in Atlanta in March 2022; for wages and salaries, Phoenix registered the largest increase (6.4 percent) and Atlanta registered the smallest (3.4 percent). (See chart 3.)
The annual increase in compensation costs in Seattle was 7.8 percent in March 2022, compared to changes that ranged from 5.5 to 3.6 percent in the three other metropolitan areas in the West (Los Angeles, San Jose, and Phoenix). Seattle’s 4.5-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to rates ranging from 6.4 percent to 3.8 percent in the three other western localities. (See table 2.)
Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures quarterly changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. In addition to the 15 locality 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 data presented here, national data by industry, occupational group, and union status, as well as data for civilian, private, and state and local government employees, are available at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm. The national news release summary is available at www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.toc.htm. Additional information for regions, states, and local areas may be accessed via our regional homepage at www.bls.gov/regions/west/.
The Employment Cost Index for June 2022 is scheduled to be released on July 29, 2022.
For information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on the ECI, see www.bls.gov/covid19/home.htm and www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm#ECI.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. For information on survey concepts, coverage, methods, nonresponse adjustment, and imputation see National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm.
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 or those not directly tied to production (such as end-of-year and profit-sharing bonuses) are excluded. Also excluded are such items as payments-in-kind, free room and board, and tips.
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- | |||||||
Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. | Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. | |
United States | ||||||||
2018 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
2019 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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 | 5.0 | ||||||
West | ||||||||
2018 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
2019 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
2020 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
2021 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
2022 | 5.1 | 5.3 | ||||||
Seattle-Tacoma | ||||||||
2018 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
2019 | -0.2 | -0.4 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
2020 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
2021 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 3.8 |
2022 | 7.8 | 4.5 |
Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-month percent changes for period ended- | 12-month percent changes for period ended- | |||||
Mar. 2021 | Dec. 2021 | Mar. 2022 | Mar. 2021 | Dec. 2021 | Mar. 2022 | |
United States | 2.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Northeast | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 |
Boston-Worcester-Providence | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 6.1 |
New York-Newark | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 4.2 |
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.7 |
South | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
Dallas-Fort Worth | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
Houston-The Woodlands | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.2 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie | 3.4 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 4.6 |
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
Midwest | 2.3 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 2.2 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
Chicago-Naperville | 3.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor | 3.1 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 5.1 |
Minneapolis-St. Paul | 2.1 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
West | 2.7 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 5.3 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.6 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | 3.6 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 |
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
Seattle-Tacoma | 2.5 | 6.3 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 03, 2022