Compensation Costs Experience Slight Rise From Last Quarter
The BLS said that December to March benefit costs rose
0.5% (down from 0.9% in the previous quarter) and wages and
salaries increased by 0.7% during the same period December
to March period.
Compensation costs for the private sector also rose 0.6%,
with compensation costs for state and local government
workers rising by 0.5% — a slowing from the previous
period’s 1.1% gain.
Wages and salaries of civilian workers rose 0.7% in the
March quarter, unchanged from the prior quarter. Private
industry workers wages and salaries increased 0.7% during
the March 2006 quarter, compared with a 0.6% gain in the
previous three-month period.
Wages and salaries in state and local government advanced
0.4% during the December to March period, moderating from
the 1% increase in the prior quarter.
Benefits costs moved up 0.5% for civilian workers in the
March quarter, slowing from the 0.9% gain in the December
2005 quarter. Private sector benefits costs rose 0.4% for
the March quarter, following a 0.7% gain in the previous
period.
Benefits costs for state and local government workers
increased 0.7% in the March quarter, moderating from the
1.5% gain in the December 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.