March 2008 Employment Cost Index — 2008-04-30

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from December 2007 to March 2008, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase for the September to December 2007 period was 0.8 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent and benefits rose 0.6 percent. In the previous quarter, both wages and salaries and benefits increased 0.8 percent. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local government workers). Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.8 percent from December 2007 to March 2008; for the prior quarter the increase was 0.9 percent. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 0.8 percent for the December 2007 to March 2008 period, the same as in the previous quarter.