Employment costs advanced 0.7 percent from September to December

January 31, 2003

Compensation costs for private sector workers advanced 0.7 percent from September 2002 to December 2002 (seasonally adjusted), after rising 0.6 percent in the prior quarter.

3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, private industry workers, seasonally adjusted, March 2001-December 2002
[Chart data—TXT]

Wages and salaries in the private sector inched up 0.4 percent for the second consecutive quarter, after larger gains earlier in the year.

Benefit costs for private industry workers were up 1.2 percent for the December quarter, compared with a 1.0-percent advance in the June-September period.

These data are from the BLS Compensation Cost Trends program. Compensation costs (also known as employment costs) include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. Learn more in "Employment Cost Index—December 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-32.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Employment costs advanced 0.7 percent from September to December on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2003/jan/wk4/art05.htm (visited May 18, 2013).

OF INTEREST

Spotlight on Statistics: Productivity

This edition of Spotlight on Statistics examines labor productivity trends from 2000 through 2010 for selected industries and sectors within the nonfarm business sector of the U.S. economy.  Read more »