Wages And Salaries — 1997-07-29

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) for June 1997 was 132.8 (June 1989=100), an increase of 2.8 percent from June 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor�s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The ECI measures changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. On a seasonally adjusted basis, compensation costs for civilian workers (private industry plus state and local government) increased 0.8 percent during the March-June 1997 period. Three-month increases in compensation costs have ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 percent for the last 4 � years. Wages and salaries also increased 0.8 percent during the March-June 1997 period. The increase for the December 1996-March 1997 period was 0.9 percent. Benefit costs increased 0.6 percent in the March-June 1997 period, about the same as the quarterly increases from March-December 1996. In December 1996-March 1997, these costs increased 0.1 percent. Table A.