Employment Cost Index in Line with Expectations

April 26, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures changes in compensation, including wages, salaries and benefit costs, increased by 4.1% in the year ending March 2001, compared to a 4.3% gain in the previous year.
  • The number, released quarterly, shows a 1.1% increase in the first quarter of the year, in line with market expectations, reflecting both a both higher wage gains and benefit costs
  • The ECI, the broadest measure of labor costs, was higher than the 0.9% increase reported in the closing quarter of 2000, but no great cause for concern.

Broken down, the quarter’s numbers show that:

  • Wages and salaries rose 1%, compared to a 0.8% gain in the previous quarter
  • While benefit cost rose 1.3% compared to the 1% gain in the fourth quarter of 2000.

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