BLS U S Bureau of Labor Statistics : Employment Cost Index

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EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX - DECEMBER 2016 Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in December 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.5 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.4 percent. (See chart 1 and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) Chart 1. Three-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, civilian workers, compensation

1.2

Chart 2. Twelve-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted, civilian workers, wages and salaries and benefits

6.0

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

Wages and salaries Benefits

0.0

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

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2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Civilian Workers Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.2 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016. In December 2015, compensation costs increased 2.0 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.3 percent for the current 12-month period, and increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2015. Benefit costs increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016. In December 2015, the increase was 1.7 percent. (See chart 2 and tables A, 4, 8, and

12.)

Private Industry Workers Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.2 percent over the year. In December 2015, the increase was 1.9 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.3 percent for the current 12-month period. In December 2015, the increase was 2.1 percent. The cost of benefits rose 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016, higher than the 1.3 percent increase in December 2015. (See charts 3 and 4 and tables A, 5, 9, and 12.) Chart 3. Twelve-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted, private industry, benefits and health benefits

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Health benefits

Benefits

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Chart 4. Twelve-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted, private industry, wages and salaries and benefits

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Wages and salaries

Benefits

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4 4

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2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

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2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Employer costs for health benefits increased 2.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016. (For further information, see www.bls.gov/web/eci/echealth.pdf.)

Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending in December 2016 ranged from 1.7 percent for management, professional, and related occupations to 3.2 percent for service occupations. (See table 5.)

Among industry supersectors, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current 12-month period ranged from 1.2 percent for professional and business services to 3.3 percent for leisure and hospitality. (See table 5.)

State and Local Government Workers Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased

2.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016. In December

Chart 5. Twelve-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted, state and local government, wages and salaries and benefits

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Wages and salaries

Benefits

2015, the increase was 2.5 percent.

Wages and salaries increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016, higher than the December 2015 increase of 1.8 percent. Benefit costs increased 3.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in December 2016. The prior year's increase was 3.5 percent. (See chart 5 and tables A, 7, 11, and 12.)

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4

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2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Table A. Major series of the Employment Cost Index

(Percent change)

Category	3-month, seasonally adjusted		12-month, not seasonally adjusted
	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016
CIVILIAN WORKERS1	0.6	0.5	2.0	1.9	2.3	2.3	2.2
Compensation2
Wages and salaries	0.5	0.5	2.1	2.0	2.5	2.4	2.3
Benefits	0.7	0.4	1.7	1.7	2.0	2.3	2.1
PRIVATE INDUSTRY	0.5	0.5	1.9	1.8	2.4	2.3	2.2
Compensation2
Wages and salaries	0.5	0.5	2.1	2.0	2.6	2.4	2.3
Benefits	0.5	0.4	1.3	1.2	1.7	1.8	1.8
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT	0.9	0.5	2.5	2.4	2.3	2.6	2.4
Compensation2
Wages and salaries	0.7	0.5	1.8	1.8	1.7	2.0	2.1
Benefits	1.2	0.7	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.7	3.1

1 Includes private industry and state and local government.

2 Includes wages and salaries and benefits.

The Employment Cost Index for March 2017 is scheduled for release on Friday, April 28, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request- Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: [phone].

BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an email subscription service at www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.

TECHNICAL NOTE

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. Detailed information on survey concepts, coverage, methods, nonresponse adjustment, and imputation can be found in the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 8, "National Compensation Measures," at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf.

Sample size

Data for the December 2016 reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately 28,100 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 6,800 private industry establishments and approximately 8,000 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 1,400 state and local government establishments that provided data at the initial interview.

Standard errors

To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of Employment Cost Index (ECI) series, standard errors of all current quarter estimates except seasonally adjusted series are made available shortly after publication of the news release. Standard errors provide users a measure of the precision of an estimate to ensure that it is within an acceptable range for their intended purpose. For further information see: www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ectvar.htm.

Health insurance data

Data from the ECI that provide 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health insurance in private industry are available at www.bls.gov/web/eci/echealth.pdf.

Historical listings

Historical listings that provide all ECI data are available at www.bls.gov/ect/#tables. Included among these listings is one that provides continuous occupational and industry series. This listing uses the Standard Industrial Classification Manual and Census of Population series through 2005 and the North American Industry Classification System and Standard Occupational Classification from 2006 to the present. It provides the official series from the beginning of the ECI in 1975 through the current quarter. For more information on the criteria used in defining continuous series, see the article published in the Monthly Labor Review at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/04/art2full.pdf.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data

The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, are published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" (ECEC). These releases are issued 3 months after the reference period. The ECEC release dates are available at: www.bls.gov/schedule/2017/home.htm. Historical ECEC data are available in summary documents at www.bls.gov/ect/#tables. Since the ECEC is calculated with current employment weights rather than the fixed weights used in computing the ECI, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI. For additional information on the use of fixed employment weights in computing the ECI, see www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/introducing-2012-fixed-employment-weights-for-the- employment-cost-index.htm.