Employment Cost Index -March 1997 — 1997-04-29

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) for March 1997 was 132.0 (June 1989=100), an increase of 2.9 percent from March 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The ECI measures changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. On a seasonally adjusted basis, compensation costs for civilian workers (private industry plus state and local government) increased 0.6 percent during the December 1996-March 1997 period. Three-month increases in compensation costs have ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 percent for the last four years. Wages and salaries increased 0.9 percent during the December 1996-March 1997 period. The increase for the September-December 1996 period was 0.8 percent. Benefit costs increased 0.1 percent in the December 1996-March 1997 period; the same as the quarterly increase a year earlier in the December 1995-March 1996 period. In September-December 1996, these costs increased 0.7 percent.