December 2007 Employment Cost Index — 2008-01-31

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from September to December 2007, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was the same increase as the June to September period. Both components of compensation rose about the same amount--wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent and benefits rose 0.9 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 both private industry and state and local government rose 0.8 percent from September to December 2007, the same as for the prior quarter. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 0.8 percent for the September to December 2007 period, the same as the previous quarter.