(202) 691-5902 In This Release Is Embargoed — 2007-01-31

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from September to December 2006, seasonally adjusted, moderating from the 1.0 percent gain from June to September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent between September and December, compared with the 0.9 percent gain of the previous quarter. Benefit costs during the quarter rose 1.1 percent, 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 September to December 2006. Among private industry workers, benefit costs attributed about three-tenths of the compensation gains during the quarter.