Comp Costs Flat in March to June Period

Data from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed a 0.7% hike during both periods.

The BLS said that benefit costs between March and June rose 0.8%, compared with the gain for wages and salaries of 0.6%. Increases in benefit costs accounted for over 35% of the hike in compensation costs for civilian workers from March to June 2005.

Among private industry workers, benefit costs contributed nearly 35% of compensation gains during the quarter; compared with nearly 60% from December 2004 to March 2005. Health insurance costs constituted about 10% of the compensation gains during the quarter.

Among state and local government workers, benefit costs comprised nearly one-half of compensation cost gains during the March to June period, virtually unchanged from the December to March quarter. Health insurance costs represented nearly one-third of the gain in compensation costs from March to June 2005, the BLS data showed.

Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.6% from March to June 2005, identical to the gain in the prior quarter. For state and local government workers, compensation costs rose 0.7% in June, compared with a gain of 1% for the quarter ended in March.

Benefit costs advanced 0.8% for civilian workers in the June 2005 quarter, moderating from the gain of 1.2% in the March quarter. Meanwhile, private sector benefit costs rose 0.8% for the June quarter, following the 1.1% gain in the previous quarter. Benefit costs for state and local government workers increased 1.2% in the June quarter, compared with a 1.5% gain in the prior quarter.

The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits for civilian workers.