(202) 691-5902 In This Release Is Embargoed — 2005-10-28

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from June to September 2005, seasonally adjusted, virtually unchanged from the 0.7 percent gain from March to June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs between June and September rose 1.3 percent and continued to outpace the gain in wages and salaries for civilian workers, 0.6 percent. 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 (nonfarm private and State and local government). Increases in benefit costs accounted for over 40 percent of the rise in compensation costs for civilian workers from June to September 2005. Among private industry workers, benefit costs contributed one-third of the compensation gains during the quarter.