Employment Cost Index-December 2002 — 2003-01-30

The Employment Cost Index for total compensation rose 0.7 percent from September to December, following a 0.8 percent gain from June to September, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs continued to outpace the gains in wages and salaries for civilian workers in December, increasing 1.3 percent compared with a modest rise of 0.4 percent for wages and salaries. 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. Employer costs for benefits account for nearly 30 percent of compensation costs and include such items as health and other insurance, retirement plans, paid leave, and legally-required benefits like Social Security. The 1.3 percent increase in benefit costs this quarter was in line with quarterly increases over the past four years.