Employment Cost Index -- December 1993 — 1994-01-25

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) increased 0.6 percent before seasonal adjustment in the 3 months ended in December 1993, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The December 1993 ECI level of 120.2 (June 1989=100) was 3.5 percent higher than in December 1992. The ECI measures changes in compensation costs, including wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted On a seasonally adjusted basis, ECI compensation costs rose 0.8 percent in the September-December 1993 period, the same as in the June- September 1993 period. (See box below.) ECI wages and salaries rose 0.7 percent in the September-December 1993 period, about the same as the 0.8 percent increase for the June-September 1993 period and in line with the quarterly increases for the last 2 years.