(202) 691-5902 In This Release Is Embargoed — 2006-10-31

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.0 percent from June to September 2006, seasonally adjusted, virtually unchanged from the 0.9 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 1.1 percent, compared with the gain of 0.8 percent from the previous quarter. Wages and salaries increased 0.9 percent during the quarter, unchanged from the gain of the previous 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 (nonfarm private industry and state and local government). Increases in benefit costs accounted for one-third of the rise in compensation costs for civilian workers from June to September 2006. Among private industry workers, benefit costs attributed about one-fourth of the compensation gains during the quarter.