December 2010 Employment Cost Index — 2011-01-28

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending December 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Both wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.4 percent. Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.0 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2010. This was higher than in December 2009, when the increase was 1.4 percent. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for the current 12-month period; in December 2009 the increase was 1.5 percent. Benefit costs accelerated to 2.9 percent, up from a 1.5 percent increase for the 12-month period ending December 2009 due primarily to increases in retirement costs. Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.1 percent over the year, higher than the 1.2 percent increase for the previous 12-month period.