Employment Cost Index-September 2003 — 2003-10-30

Total compensation costs for civilian workers rose 1.0 percent from June to September 2003, 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 increased 1.5 percent and continued to outpace the gain in wages and salaries for civilian workers in September, 0.7 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 nonfarm private and State and local government workers. Over 40 percent of the increase in compensation costs was attributable to changes in benefit costs during the September quarter. Among private industry workers, benefit costs accounted for over one-third of the gain in compensation during the June to September period.