(202) 691-5902 In This Release Is Embargoed — 2005-04-29

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from December 2004 to March 2005, seasonally adjusted, virtually unchanged from the 0.8 percent gain from September to December 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs rose 1.2 percent, outpacing the gain for wages and salaries of 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). Rises in benefit costs accounted for nearly 60 percent of the increase in compensation costs for civilian workers from December 2004 to March 2005. Among private industry workers, benefit costs contributed approximately 60 percent of compensation gains during the quarter, with health insurance costs and nonproduction bonuses accounting for nearly one- third of the gain in compensation costs.