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Employment Cost Index
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The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the hourly labor cost to employers over time. The ECI uses a fixed “basket” of labor to produce a pure cost change, free from the effects of workers moving between occupations and industries and includes both the cost of wages and salaries and the cost of benefits.
Charts
Compensation in private industry and state and local government, 12-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted
Month
Private industry
Government
Mar 2006
2.6%
3.7%
June 2006
2.8%
3.8%
Sept 2006
3.0%
4.1%
Dec 2006
3.2%
4.1%
Mar 2007
3.2%
4.6%
June 2007
3.1%
4.8%
Sept 2007
3.1%
4.3%
Dec 2007
3.0%
4.1%
Mar 2008
3.2%
3.6%
June 2008
3.0%
3.5%
Sept 2008
2.8%
3.4%
Dec 2008
2.4%
3.0%
Mar 2009
1.9%
3.1%
June 2009
1.5%
3.1%
Sept 2009
1.2%
2.3%
Dec 2009
1.2%
2.3%
Mar 2010
1.6%
2.0%
June 2010
1.9%
1.7%
Sept 2010
2.0%
1.8%
Dec 2010
2.1%
1.8%
Mar 2011
2.0%
1.8%
June 2011
2.3%
1.7%
Sept 2011
2.1%
1.5%
Dec 2011
2.2%
1.3%
Mar 2012
2.1%
1.5%
June 2012
1.8%
1.6%
Sept 2012
1.9%
1.8%
Dec 2012
1.8%
1.9%
Mar 2013
1.9%
1.9%
June 2013
1.9%
1.8%
Sept 2013
1.9%
1.7%
Dec 2013
2.0%
1.9%
Mar 2014
1.7%
1.9%
June 2014
2.0%
2.0%
Sept 2014
2.3%
2.1%
Dec 2014
2.3%
2.0%
Mar 2015
2.8%
2.1%
June 2015
1.9%
2.2%
Sept 2015
1.9%
2.3%
Dec 2015
1.9%
2.5%
Mar 2016
1.8%
2.4%
June 2016
2.4%
2.3%
Sept 2016
2.3%
2.6%
Dec 2016
2.2%
2.4%
Mar 2017
2.3%
2.6%
June 2017
2.4%
2.6%
Sept 2017
2.5%
2.4%
Dec 2017
2.6%
2.5%
Mar 2018
2.8%
2.2%
June 2018
2.9%
2.3%
Sept 2018
2.9%
2.5%
Dec 2018
3.0%
2.6%
Mar 2019
2.8%
3.0%
June 2019
2.6%
3.0%
Sept 2019
2.7%
3.1%
Dec 2019
2.7%
2.9%
Mar 2020
2.8%
2.8%
June 2020
2.7%
2.7%
Sept 2020
2.4%
2.3%
Dec 2020
2.6%
2.3%
Mar 2021
2.8%
2.0%
June 2021
3.1%
2.0%
Sept 2021
4.1%
2.3%
Dec 2021
4.4%
2.6%
Mar 2022
4.8%
3.2%
June 2022
5.5%
3.4%
Sept 2022
5.2%
4.6%
Dec 2022
5.1%
4.8%
Mar 2023
4.8%
4.9%
June 2023
4.5%
4.9%
Sept 2023
4.3%
4.8%
Dec 2023
4.1%
4.6%
Mar 2024
4.1%
4.8%
Latest Numbers
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX (ECI) 
TOTAL COMPENSATION: 3-month % change (SA)
Civilian workers
1.2% in 1st Qtr of 2024
Private industry workers
1.1% in 1st Qtr of 2024
State and local government workers
1.3% in 1st Qtr of 2024
TOTAL COMPENSATION: 12-month % change (NSA)
Civilian workers
4.2% in 1st Qtr of 2024
Private industry workers
4.1% in 1st Qtr of 2024
State and local government workers
4.8% in 1st Qtr of 2024
Historical Data
News Release
SA - Seasonally Adjusted
NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted
Videos
How the Employment Cost Index Is Used?
The Employment Cost Index, or ECI, measures changes in the cost of employees to employers over time. In the private sector, business owners and human resources professionals can use the ECI to make decisions about pay adjustments to help them stay competitive. In the public sector, the Federal Reserve and others use the ECI to gauge the health of the labor market, adjust contracts, and research the labor market. read more »
News Releases
Compensation costs up 1.2% Dec 2023 to Mar 2024 and up 4.2% over the year ending Mar 2024
read more »
04/30/2024
Compensation costs increased 1.2 percent for civilian workers, seasonally adjusted, from December 2023 to March 2024. Over the year, total compensation rose 4.2 percent, wages and salaries rose 4.4 percent, and benefit costs rose 3.7 percent.
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Charts
Next Release
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) for
June 2024
is scheduled to be released on
July 31, 2024
at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.
Publications
Spotlight on Statistics
Keeping America Moving: Characteristics of the Transportation and Warehousing Industry
National Transportation Week, created in 1962 and celebrated from May 12–18 this year, recognizes those who build and operate our Nation’s transportation systems. Observance of the week sprung from National Defense Transportation Day which dates to 1957, a year after President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act leading to the creation of the interstate highway system. read more »
The Economics Daily
Compensation costs up 4.2 percent from March 2023 to March 2024
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 4.2 percent for the 12-month period ending March 2024, compared with an increase of 4.8 percent for the year ending March 2023. Civilian workers include all private industry workers plus all state and local government workers. Total compensation costs are the sum of wages and salaries plus benefits costs. read more »
Monthly Labor Review
Seasonality in the Employment Cost Index
This article examines the effect of seasonal adjustment on Employment Cost Index quarterly estimates. read more »