Employment Cost Index-June 2003 — 2003-07-31

The Employment Cost Index for total compensation for civilian workers rose 0.9 percent from March to June 2003, following a 1.3 percent gain from December 2002 to March 2003, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs increased 1.4 percent and continued to substantially outpace the 0.6 percent gain in wages and salaries for civilian workers in June. 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 wages and salaries, accounting for over 70 percent of compensation costs, rose 2.7 percent for the year ending June 2003. Year ending wage and salary increases from June 1983 through June 2003 have ranged from 2.8 in June 1993 to 5.7 percent in June 1983.