(202) 691-5902 In This Release Is Embargoed — 2005-01-28

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from September to December 2004, seasonally adjusted, moderating from the 0.9 percent gain from June to September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs rose 1.4 percent, while wage and salary costs increased 0.4 percent, the smallest quarterly increase in wage and salaries in 2004. 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. Rises in benefit costs accounted for more than 60 percent of the increase in compensation costs for civilian workers from September to December 2004. Among private industry workers, benefit costs contributed nearly two-thirds of compensation gains during the quarter, with defined benefit retirement costs accounting for nearly one-third of the gain in compensation costs.