EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-SEPTEMBER 2000
The Employment Cost Index (not seasonally adjusted) for September 2000
was 149.5 (June 1989=100), an increase of 4.3 percent from September 1999,
the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures changes in compensation costs,
which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 3-month increase in compensation
costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry plus State and local
government) was 0.9 percent during the June-September 2000 period,
following a gain of 1.0 percent in March-June 2000. Wages and salaries
increased 0.8 percent during the June-September period, following a 1.0
percent increase in the previous 3-month period. Benefit costs rose 1.0
percent during the September quarter, following a 1.1 percent increase in
the June quarter.
Table A. 3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, seasonally
adjusted
Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
Compensation Component 1998 1999 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.9
Wages and salaries 0.7 0.5 1.2 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.8
Benefit costs 0.6 0.3 1.0 0.8 1.2 2.0 1.1 1.0
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.6 0.4 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.5 1.1 1.0
Wages and salaries 0.7 0.4 1.2 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.9
Benefit costs 0.6 0.3 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.3 1.2 1.1
State and local government
Compensation costs 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6
Wages and salaries 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8
Benefit costs 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 1.2 1.0 0.5 0.1
The 3-month increase in compensation costs for private industry
workers was 1.0 percent during the June-September 2000 period. The gain
in wages and salaries was 0.9 percent in the quarter ended in September;
in the June quarter, it was 1.0 percent. Benefit costs showed a 3-month
rise of 1.1 percent during the September quarter, compared with a 1.2
percent gain during the June quarter. (See tables A and 1.)
Compensation costs for State and local government workers increased
0.6 percent during the June-September 2000 period; in the June period, it
was 0.8 percent. Wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent in the quarter ended
in September, the same increase as the previous quarter. Benefit costs
changed 0.1 percent in the September quarter; this was down from the gain
of 0.5 percent in the June quarter.
Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted
Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted)
increased 4.3 percent for the 12 months ended in September 2000. This
compares with over-the-year increases of 3.1 percent in September 1999 and
3.7 percent in September 1998. Compensation costs in private industry
rose 4.6 percent in the year ended September 2000, compared with increases
of 3.1 percent in September 1999 and 3.8 percent in September 1998. In
State and local government, compensation costs increased 3.3 percent for
the year ended September 2000; over-the-year increases were 2.9 percent in
September 1999 and 3.0 percent in September 1998. (See tables B, 2, and
3.)
Nonfarm private industry
In private industry, wages and salaries rose 4.1 percent for the year
ended September 2000, after increasing 3.2 percent in the year ended
September 1999. (See tables B and 6.) Benefit costs for private industry
workers increased 6.0 percent for the year ended in September 2000, a
significant increase from 2.8 percent in September 1999. (See chart A and
tables B and 8.)
In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were
4.8 percent for white-collar occupations, 4.4 percent for blue-collar
occupations, and 4.0 percent for service occupations. Among the
occupational groups, increases in compensation costs ranged from 4.0
percent for service workers to 5.0 percent for administrative support,
including clerical occupations. (See table 3.)
Table B. 12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, not seasonally
adjusted
Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
Compensation Component 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 2.7 2.8 3.0 3.7 3.1 4.3
Wages and salaries 2.8 3.2 3.5 4.0 3.3 4.0
Benefit costs 2.2 1.8 1.9 2.6 2.7 5.3
Private industry
Compensation costs 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.8 3.1 4.6
Wages and salaries 2.8 3.3 3.6 4.3 3.2 4.1
Benefit costs 2.1 1.8 2.0 2.6 2.8 6.0
State and local government
Compensation costs 3.0 2.5 2.4 3.0 2.9 3.3
Wages and salaries 3.1 2.8 2.7 3.0 3.3 3.5
Benefit costs 2.5 1.9 1.5 2.8 2.0 2.8
For the year ended September 2000, the compensation cost increase was
4.8 percent for goods-producing industries, significantly higher than the
2.9 percent increase for the year ended September 1999. The over-the-year
increase in compensation costs for service-producing industries was 4.5
percent, compared with an increase of 3.2 percent for the year ended
September 1999. Among service-producing industry divisions, September
1999-to-September 2000 increases ranged from 3.0 percent in transportation
to 7.1 percent in insurance. (See table 3.)
Compensation costs for nonunion workers rose 4.7 percent over-the-
year, compared with 4.2 percent for union workers. In service-producing
industries, nonunion compensation increased 4.7 percent, compared with a
3.0 percent increase for union workers. In contrast, in goods-producing
industries, the increase for union workers was 5.5 percent, compared with
a 4.7 percent gain for nonunion workers. Compensation in blue-collar
occupations rose 4.7 percent for union workers and 4.1 percent for
nonunion workers. (See table 4.)
State and local government
In State and local government, the September 2000 over-the-year
increase in wages and salaries was 3.5 percent, compared with a 3.3
percent increase recorded for September 1999. The 12-month increase in
benefit costs for September 2000 was 2.8 percent; in September 1999, the
increase was 2.0 percent. (See tables 5 and 8.)
__________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:
The ECI for December 2000 is scheduled to be released Thursday,
January 25, 2001, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
The June 2000 ECI introduced an expanded definition of nonproduction
bonuses designed to improve the ECI's representation of the compensation
packages offered to employees. In addition to the traditional types of
nonproduction bonuses such as attendance bonuses and lump sum payments,
the ECI now includes hiring and referral bonuses. A fact sheet has been
prepared with additional information on this change and its effect on the
ECI. This information can be obtained directly from the BLS Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm), by e-mail request (ocltinfo@bls.gov),
or by telephone (202)-691-6199.
As part of its ongoing research program, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics recently published the results of a pilot survey on the
incidence of stock option plans across all industries and occupations.
The next phase of this research will examine the feasibility of collecting
cost data on stock options. The results of the pilot survey and a fact
sheet with additional information on the stock option research program can
be obtained directly from the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/comhome.htm) or upon request.
ECI data are available on the ECI home page
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). To access data using Anonymous FTP,
use the Internet address (ftp://ftp.bls.gov).
For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail
to (labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov). For ECI data requests, send e-mail to
(ocltinfo@bls.gov).
The ECI news release is now available through an e-mail subscription
service. See the subscription link on (http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm)
or (http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm).
News releases and other information are available from the BLS fax-on-
demand service. To request a document fax, call (202) 691-6325. To
request a catalog of available documents, select option 2 at the initial
voice prompt. To request data found in this news release, enter the
following codes:
Text 4110
Tables 1-4 4115
Tables 5-7 4120
Table 8 4125
Explanatory notes 4190
__________________________________________________________________________
Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), wages and salaries, and benefit costs by industry
and occupational group
(Seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June Percent changes for 3-months ended-
1989=100)
Jun. Sep. Dec. Mar. Jun. Sep. Dec. Mar. Jun. Sep.
2000 2000 1998 1999 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000
TOTAL COMPENSATION
Civilian workers....................... 147.9 149.2 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.9
State and local government............ 146.5 147.4 .6 .6 .9 .8 1.1 .8 .8 .6
Private industry...................... 148.2 149.7 .6 .4 1.1 .9 1.0 1.5 1.1 1.0
Industry
Goods producing(2).................. 146.6 148.0 .5 .8 .6 .9 1.1 1.6 1.2 1.0
Construction(3)................... 142.9 144.8 1.1 .9 .7 .7 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.3
Manufacturing..................... 147.4 148.7 .4 .7 .7 .9 1.1 1.6 1.0 .9
Durables........................ 148.3 149.4 .4 .6 .7 .9 1.1 1.9 1.2 .7
Nondurables..................... 146.0 147.6 .5 .7 .7 .9 1.0 1.2 .9 1.1
Service producing(4)................ 149.0 150.5 .7 .3 1.3 .9 1.0 1.4 1.1 1.0
Transportation and public
utilities........................ 145.8 147.3 .7 .1 1.0 .5 .5 1.0 1.4 1.0
Wholesale trade(3)................ 151.7 152.1 1.5 -.1 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.0 1.1 .3
Retail trade...................... 144.6 145.8 .2 .8 1.4 .5 1.1 1.6 .8 .8
Finance, insurance, and real
estate(3)(5)..................... 153.1 155.2 1.1 -.7 3.0 1.2 .5 2.5 .7 1.4
Services.......................... 151.3 152.8 .6 .6 .8 .9 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.0
Nonmanufacturing.................... 148.4 149.8 .7 .4 1.1 .8 1.0 1.5 1.1 .9
Occupational group
White collar........................ 151.2 152.5 .7 .3 1.3 .9 1.0 1.6 1.3 .9
Blue collar......................... 144.0 145.4 .7 .7 .8 .9 .9 1.5 .9 1.0
Service............................. 145.0 146.2 .6 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .8 1.1 .8
WAGES AND SALARIES
Civilian workers....................... 145.5 146.7 .7 .5 1.2 .9 .9 1.1 1.0 .8
State and local government............ 145.5 146.7 .8 .7 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8
Private industry...................... 145.4 146.7 .7 .4 1.2 .9 .9 1.2 1.0 .9
Industry
Goods producing(2)(5)............... 143.0 144.3 .7 .8 .7 .9 .9 1.1 1.2 .9
Construction(3)................... 137.8 139.1 1.1 1.1 .5 .8 .9 1.8 1.1 .9
Manufacturing(5).................. 144.4 145.7 .6 .8 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.0 .9
Durables(5)..................... 144.7 146.1 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.2 1.0
Nondurables..................... 143.9 145.1 .6 .7 .7 .8 .9 1.1 1.0 .8
Service producing(4)................ 146.5 147.8 .7 .3 1.4 .9 .9 1.2 1.0 .9
Transportation and public
utilities........................ 140.2 141.2 .7 .1 1.3 .3 .4 .4 1.3 .7
Wholesale trade(3)................ 149.5 149.5 1.4 -.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 .9 1.3 .0
Retail trade...................... 143.3 144.5 .1 1.0 1.2 .4 .9 1.7 .7 .8
Finance, insurance, and real
estate(3)(5)..................... 149.5 151.7 1.2 -1.9 3.8 1.5 .5 2.4 .5 1.5
Services.......................... 149.2 150.6 .6 .9 .8 .8 1.0 1.0 1.3 .9
Nonmanufacturing.................... 145.6 146.8 .8 .3 1.4 .8 .9 1.2 1.2 .8
WAGES AND SALARIES-Continued
Occupational group
White collar........................ 148.3 149.6 0.7 0.4 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.1 0.9
Blue collar(5)...................... 140.5 141.9 .6 .8 1.0 .9 .7 1.0 1.0 1.0
Service............................. 142.5 143.5 .7 1.0 .8 .1 1.2 1.0 1.1 .7
BENEFIT COSTS
Civilian workers....................... 154.0 155.5 .6 .3 1.0 .8 1.2 2.0 1.1 1.0
State and local government............ 148.8 148.9 .6 .5 .6 .4 1.2 1.0 .5 .1
Private industry...................... 155.3 157.0 .6 .3 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.3 1.2 1.1
Industry
Goods producing(2).................. 154.1 155.7 .2 .7 .6 .8 1.4 2.7 1.2 1.0
Manufacturing..................... 153.8 155.0 .0 .6 .6 1.0 1.4 3.0 1.0 .8
Service producing(4)................ 156.0 157.8 .8 .1 1.3 .9 1.1 2.0 1.4 1.2
Nonmanufacturing.................... 156.1 158.0 .7 .3 1.2 .9 .9 2.2 1.4 1.2
Occupational group
White collar........................ 158.5 160.4 .5 .3 1.0 1.1 1.0 2.5 1.4 1.2
Blue collar......................... 151.5 153.0 .4 .7 .7 .8 1.0 2.9 .8 1.0
Service............................. 152.6 154.3 .2 .8 .9 .5 1.2 .4 1.3 1.1
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Average standard errors (SE) for the unadjusted series upon which this series is based exceeded 0.3
percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month changes for the five years ending December 1996. To
assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs for estimates in this news release (excluding
seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site (http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All
series will continue to be published until further notice.
4 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance,
insurance, and real estate; and service industries.
5 No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.
Table 2. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for civilian and State and local government workers by
industry and occupational group
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Industry and occupational group 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Civilian workers............................. 143.3 148.0 149.5 1.1 1.0 1.0 3.1 4.4 4.3
Excluding sales occupations.............. 143.2 147.7 149.4 1.1 1.0 1.2 3.2 4.2 4.3
Industry
Goods producing(2)......................... 141.2 146.6 148.0 .9 1.2 1.0 2.9 4.7 4.8
Manufacturing............................ 142.1 147.5 148.7 .9 1.0 .8 2.8 4.7 4.6
Service producing(3)....................... 144.0 148.4 150.1 1.1 .9 1.1 3.2 4.2 4.2
Services................................. 145.1 149.3 151.2 1.3 .9 1.3 3.1 4.3 4.2
Health services........................ 142.7 147.5 149.0 .9 1.1 1.0 2.6 4.3 4.4
Hospitals............................ 143.4 147.7 149.5 .8 1.0 1.2 2.9 3.9 4.3
Educational services................... 144.6 146.8 149.7 2.0 .2 2.0 3.1 3.6 3.5
Public administration(4)................. 142.4 146.1 146.9 .6 .3 .5 2.5 3.3 3.2
Nonmanufacturing........................... 143.4 148.0 149.6 1.1 1.0 1.1 3.2 4.3 4.3
Occupational group
White collar............................... 145.0 149.9 151.5 1.2 1.0 1.1 3.1 4.6 4.5
Excluding sales........................ 145.1 149.8 151.5 1.2 1.0 1.1 3.2 4.5 4.4
Professional specialty and technical..... 143.9 148.3 150.0 1.2 1.1 1.1 2.8 4.3 4.2
Executive, administrative, and managerial 147.3 151.9 153.7 1.3 .9 1.2 4.0 4.5 4.3
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 144.7 150.1 151.8 .9 1.0 1.1 3.1 4.7 4.9
Blue collar................................ 139.5 144.1 145.6 .9 1.0 1.0 3.1 4.2 4.4
Service.................................... 143.1 147.1 148.5 .5 .8 1.0 2.7 3.3 3.8
State and local government................... 143.1 145.9 147.8 1.5 .3 1.3 2.9 3.5 3.3
Industry
Services................................. 143.2 145.5 148.0 1.9 .2 1.7 3.0 3.6 3.4
Excluding schools(5)................. 142.6 145.8 147.6 1.6 .4 1.2 2.8 3.9 3.5
Health services........................ 144.2 147.9 150.0 1.5 0.4 1.4 2.8 4.2 4.0
Hospitals............................ 144.8 148.4 150.7 1.5 .3 1.5 2.9 4.0 4.1
Educational services................... 143.1 145.2 147.9 2.0 .1 1.9 3.1 3.5 3.4
Schools.............................. 143.5 145.5 148.2 2.1 .1 1.9 3.2 3.5 3.3
Elementary and secondary........... 142.9 144.7 147.3 2.1 .1 1.8 3.0 3.4 3.1
Colleges and universities.......... 144.8 147.6 150.5 1.9 .1 2.0 3.4 3.9 3.9
Public administration(4)................. 142.4 146.1 146.9 .6 .3 .5 2.5 3.3 3.2
Occupational group
White collar............................... 142.6 145.3 147.3 1.7 .3 1.4 3.0 3.6 3.3
Professional specialty and technical..... 142.0 144.5 146.6 1.9 .3 1.5 3.1 3.7 3.2
Executive, administrative, and managerial 144.5 147.2 149.2 1.2 .1 1.4 2.9 3.1 3.3
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 143.0 146.5 148.3 1.2 .4 1.2 2.5 3.7 3.7
Blue collar................................ 140.9 144.2 145.9 1.0 .3 1.2 3.0 3.4 3.5
Service.................................... 146.7 149.7 151.5 1.0 .1 1.2 2.6 3.0 3.3
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; service industries; and public administration.
4 Includes executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities of State and local
governments, SICs 91 through 96.
5 Average standard errors (SE) for the series exceed 0.3 percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month
changes for the five years ending December 1996. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs
for estimates in this news release (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All series will continue to be published until further notice.
Table 3. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for private industry workers, by industry and occupational
group
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Industry and occupational group 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Private industry workers..................... 143.3 148.5 149.9 0.9 1.2 0.9 3.1 4.6 4.6
Excluding sales occupations.............. 143.2 148.2 149.8 .9 1.2 1.1 3.2 4.4 4.6
Industry
Goods producing(2)......................... 141.1 146.6 147.9 .9 1.2 .9 2.9 4.8 4.8
Excluding sales........................ 140.5 145.9 147.2 .9 1.2 .9 2.9 4.7 4.8
White collar............................. 143.9 150.1 151.3 .8 1.4 .8 3.0 5.2 5.1
Excluding sales........................ 142.5 148.4 149.6 .8 1.3 .8 3.0 5.0 5.0
Blue collar.............................. 139.4 144.4 145.8 .8 1.1 1.0 2.9 4.4 4.6
Construction(3).......................... 137.9 143.2 145.1 .7 1.7 1.3 3.4 4.6 5.2
Manufacturing............................ 142.1 147.5 148.7 .9 1.0 .8 2.8 4.7 4.6
White collar........................... 144.3 150.2 151.4 .9 1.3 .8 3.0 5.0 4.9
Excluding sales...................... 142.5 148.2 149.3 .8 1.4 .7 3.0 4.9 4.8
Blue collar............................ 140.5 145.6 146.7 .8 .8 .8 2.7 4.4 4.4
Durables............................... 142.3 148.3 149.4 .9 1.2 .7 2.7 5.2 5.0
Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721).... 143.7 154.3 156.0 .9 2.1 1.1 3.2 8.4 8.6
White collar....................... 139.8 150.7 151.8 .2 2.8 .7 1.7 8.0 8.6
Blue collar........................ 149.0 158.5 161.4 2.3 .4 1.8 5.8 8.8 8.3
Nondurables............................ 141.5 146.0 147.5 .8 .8 1.0 2.8 4.0 4.2
Service producing(4)....................... 144.1 149.1 150.6 .9 1.2 1.0 3.2 4.4 4.5
Excluding sales........................ 144.6 149.4 151.1 .9 1.2 1.1 3.3 4.3 4.5
White collar............................. 145.8 151.0 152.6 1.0 1.1 1.1 3.3 4.6 4.7
Excluding sales........................ 147.0 152.1 153.9 1.0 1.2 1.2 3.4 4.5 4.7
Blue collar.............................. 139.1 143.1 144.5 .9 .9 1.0 3.6 3.8 3.9
Service.................................. 140.8 145.1 146.3 .2 1.0 .8 2.8 3.3 3.9
Transportation and public utilities...... 141.8 145.7 147.4 .6 1.3 1.2 2.4 3.4 3.9
Transportation(3)...................... 138.7 141.8 142.8 .4 1.0 .7 1.5 2.7 3.0
Public utilities....................... 145.7 150.9 153.5 .8 1.5 1.7 3.6 4.4 5.4
Communications....................... 146.1 150.9 153.9 0.8 1.7 2.0 4.0 4.1 5.3
Electric, gas, and sanitary services. 145.1 151.0 152.9 .6 1.4 1.3 2.9 4.7 5.4
Wholesale and retail trade............... 142.2 147.3 148.3 .8 1.2 .7 3.3 4.4 4.3
Excluding sales...................... 142.8 148.1 149.6 .6 1.2 1.0 3.4 4.4 4.8
Wholesale trade(3)..................... 146.3 151.8 152.1 1.2 1.2 .2 3.9 5.0 4.0
Excluding sales...................... 145.8 151.1 152.7 1.3 1.0 1.1 4.1 4.9 4.7
Retail trade........................... 140.0 144.8 146.2 .6 1.1 1.0 3.0 4.1 4.4
General merchandise stores(3)........ 137.2 141.0 142.2 1.2 .9 .9 3.0 4.0 3.6
Food stores(3)....................... 137.0 142.5 143.4 1.0 1.7 .6 2.5 5.0 4.7
Finance, insurance, and real estate(3)... 147.6 153.1 155.2 1.2 .7 1.4 4.7 5.0 5.1
Excluding sales...................... 151.0 155.5 157.4 1.5 .8 1.2 5.4 4.5 4.2
Banking, savings and loan, and other
credit agencies(3).................... 159.3 164.2 165.8 2.5 .9 1.0 7.3 5.7 4.1
Insurance(3)........................... 144.5 151.3 154.8 .3 .9 2.3 1.8 5.1 7.1
Excluding sales...................... 146.2 150.5 152.2 .6 .7 1.1 3.2 3.5 4.1
Services................................. 146.1 151.2 152.9 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.0 4.6 4.7
Business services(3)................... 150.7 156.3 157.5 1.3 1.4 .8 5.0 5.1 4.5
Health services........................ 142.6 147.5 149.0 .8 1.2 1.0 2.6 4.3 4.5
Hospitals............................ 143.0 147.5 149.2 .6 1.2 1.2 2.8 3.8 4.3
Nursing homes........................ - - - .9 1.5 1.7 3.7 4.8 5.7
Educational services................... 152.2 154.9 158.8 2.4 .6 2.5 3.5 4.2 4.3
Colleges and universities............ 152.6 155.5 158.6 2.0 .6 2.0 3.2 3.9 3.9
Industry-Continued
Nonmanufacturing industries................ 143.4 148.4 150.0 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.2 4.5 4.6
White collar............................. 145.6 151.0 152.6 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.2 4.8 4.8
Excluding sales........................ 146.8 152.0 153.8 1.0 1.2 1.2 3.4 4.6 4.8
Blue collar.............................. 138.0 142.3 143.9 .9 1.2 1.1 3.4 4.0 4.3
Service.................................. 140.7 145.1 146.3 .2 1.1 .8 2.8 3.3 4.0
Occupational group
White collar............................... 145.6 151.1 152.6 1.0 1.2 1.0 3.2 4.9 4.8
Excluding sales........................ 146.0 151.3 152.9 1.0 1.3 1.1 3.3 4.7 4.7
Professional specialty and technical..... 145.2 150.7 152.2 .8 1.5 1.0 2.5 4.6 4.8
Executive, administrative, and managerial 147.7 152.7 154.4 1.3 1.1 1.1 4.1 4.7 4.5
Sales(3)................................. 144.1 150.3 151.2 1.1 .9 .6 2.6 5.4 4.9
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 145.0 150.6 152.3 .9 1.1 1.1 3.1 4.8 5.0
Blue collar................................ 139.4 144.1 145.5 .9 1.1 1.0 3.1 4.3 4.4
Precision production, craft, and repair.. 139.6 144.1 145.8 .9 1.3 1.2 3.1 4.1 4.4
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors.............................. 139.9 145.0 146.0 1.1 .7 .7 3.1 4.8 4.4
Transportation and material moving....... 134.4 138.6 139.9 .6 .8 .9 2.8 3.7 4.1
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
and laborers............................ 143.2 148.1 149.4 .6 1.2 .9 3.4 4.1 4.3
Service.................................... 141.0 145.4 146.6 .3 1.0 .8 2.7 3.4 4.0
Production and nonsupervisory
occupations(5)............................ 141.9 146.9 148.4 .8 1.1 1.0 2.8 4.3 4.6
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Average standard errors (SE) for the series exceed 0.3 percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month
changes for the five years ending December 1996. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs
for estimates in this news release (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All series will continue to be published until further notice.
4 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; and service industries.
5 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly Earnings Index, which was discontinued
in January 1989.
NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for private industry workers, by bargaining status, region,
and area
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Bargaining status, region, and area 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Bargaining status
Union........................................ 140.2 144.4 146.1 0.9 1.0 1.2 2.5 3.9 4.2
Blue-collar occupations.................. 137.8 142.5 144.3 .8 1.0 1.3 2.4 4.2 4.7
Goods-producing industries(2).............. 139.2 144.8 146.8 .7 1.0 1.4 2.7 4.8 5.5
Service-producing industries(3)............ 141.0 143.9 145.2 .9 1.0 .9 2.2 3.0 3.0
Manufacturing.............................. 139.1 145.4 147.1 .7 .6 1.2 2.3 5.3 5.8
Blue-collar occupations.................. 138.5 144.8 146.5 .7 .6 1.2 2.2 5.3 5.8
Nonmanufacturing........................... 140.3 143.4 145.0 .8 1.2 1.1 2.5 3.0 3.3
Nonunion..................................... 143.8 149.1 150.6 .9 1.2 1.0 3.2 4.6 4.7
Blue-collar occupations.................. 140.3 144.9 146.1 .9 1.0 .8 3.5 4.2 4.1
Goods-producing industries(2).............. 141.8 147.2 148.4 .9 1.2 .8 3.0 4.8 4.7
Service-producing industries(3)............ 144.4 149.6 151.2 1.0 1.1 1.1 3.4 4.6 4.7
Manufacturing.............................. 143.0 148.2 149.2 .9 1.2 .7 3.0 4.6 4.3
Blue-collar occupations.................. 141.6 145.8 146.7 1.0 1.0 .6 3.1 4.0 3.6
Nonmanufacturing........................... 143.8 149.1 150.7 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.4 4.7 4.8
Region(4)
Northeast.................................... 143.2 147.6 149.3 1.2 .9 1.2 3.2 4.3 4.3
South........................................ 141.8 146.7 147.6 .8 1.2 .6 3.1 4.3 4.1
Midwest...................................... 145.0 150.7 152.2 1.0 1.2 1.0 2.9 4.9 5.0
West......................................... 143.3 148.8 150.8 .8 1.2 1.3 3.5 4.7 5.2
Area
Metropolitan................................. 143.3 148.6 150.1 .9 1.2 1.0 3.0 4.6 4.7
Other........................................ 143.1 147.7 148.8 .9 1.2 .7 3.5 4.2 4.0
1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; and service industries.
4 The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and
industry series.
Table 5. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for civilian and State and local government workers, by
industry and occupational group
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Industry and occupational group 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Civilian workers............................. 141.3 145.4 147.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 3.3 4.0 4.0
Excluding sales occupations.............. 141.1 145.0 146.7 1.1 .9 1.2 3.3 3.9 4.0
Industry
Goods producing(1)......................... 138.6 143.0 144.3 .9 1.2 .9 3.1 4.1 4.1
Manufacturing............................ 140.2 144.4 145.7 .9 1.0 .9 3.1 3.9 3.9
Service producing(2)....................... 142.3 146.3 148.0 1.1 .9 1.2 3.3 4.0 4.0
Services................................. 144.1 147.9 149.9 1.3 .9 1.4 3.2 3.9 4.0
Health services........................ 140.9 145.3 146.7 .9 1.0 1.0 2.4 4.0 4.1
Hospitals............................ 140.1 143.8 145.6 .9 .8 1.3 2.7 3.6 3.9
Educational services................... 143.7 145.6 148.9 2.2 .2 2.3 3.3 3.6 3.6
Public administration(3)................. 139.5 142.9 144.6 1.2 .3 1.2 3.5 3.7 3.7
Nonmanufacturing........................... 141.5 145.5 147.2 1.1 .9 1.2 3.3 4.0 4.0
Occupational group
White collar............................... 143.3 147.6 149.2 1.2 1.0 1.1 3.2 4.2 4.1
Excluding sales........................ 143.5 147.6 149.3 1.2 1.0 1.2 3.4 4.1 4.0
Professional specialty and technical..... 142.6 146.4 148.3 1.1 1.0 1.3 3.0 3.8 4.0
Executive, administrative, and managerial 145.9 149.9 151.6 1.5 .9 1.1 3.8 4.2 3.9
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 142.3 146.9 148.5 1.0 1.0 1.1 3.5 4.3 4.4
Blue collar................................ 137.0 140.6 142.0 .9 1.0 1.0 3.3 3.5 3.6
Service.................................... 140.1 144.0 145.7 .5 .7 1.2 2.9 3.3 4.0
State and local government................... 142.2 144.7 147.2 1.9 .3 1.7 3.3 3.7 3.5
Industry
Services................................. 142.9 144.9 147.9 2.1 .2 2.1 3.3 3.6 3.5
Excluding schools(4)................. 142.1 144.8 146.7 1.8 .3 1.3 3.1 3.7 3.2
Health services........................ 142.8 145.7 147.7 1.7 0.3 1.4 3.0 3.8 3.4
Hospitals............................ 142.8 145.6 147.7 1.6 .2 1.4 3.0 3.6 3.4
Educational services................... 142.9 144.8 148.0 2.2 .2 2.2 3.3 3.6 3.6
Schools.............................. 143.1 144.9 148.1 2.2 .1 2.2 3.3 3.5 3.5
Elementary and secondary........... 143.1 144.6 147.9 2.3 .1 2.3 3.2 3.4 3.4
Colleges and universities.......... 142.6 145.6 148.3 2.0 .5 1.9 3.6 4.1 4.0
Public administration(3)................. 139.5 142.9 144.6 1.2 .3 1.2 3.5 3.7 3.7
Occupational group
White collar............................... 142.1 144.5 147.1 2.0 .3 1.8 3.3 3.7 3.5
Professional specialty and technical..... 142.5 144.7 147.4 2.2 .3 1.9 3.3 3.8 3.4
Executive, administrative, and managerial 142.7 145.1 147.3 1.6 .1 1.5 3.4 3.3 3.2
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 139.6 143.0 145.0 1.5 .4 1.4 3.1 4.0 3.9
Blue collar................................ 139.4 142.1 143.9 1.3 .4 1.3 3.2 3.3 3.2
Service.................................... 144.1 146.6 149.6 1.4 .1 2.0 3.5 3.2 3.8
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; service industries; and public administration.
3 Includes executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities of State and local
governments, SICs 91 through 96.
4 Average standard errors (SE) for the series exceed 0.3 percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month
changes for the five years ending December 1996. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs
for estimates in this news release (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All series will continue to be published until further notice.
Table 6. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by industry and occupational
group
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Industry and occupational group 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Private industry workers..................... 141.0 145.4 146.8 0.9 1.0 1.0 3.2 4.1 4.1
Excluding sales occupations.............. 140.8 145.1 146.5 .9 1.1 1.0 3.3 3.9 4.0
Industry
Goods producing(1)......................... 138.5 143.0 144.3 .9 1.2 .9 3.1 4.2 4.2
Excluding sales........................ 137.8 142.1 143.4 .9 1.1 .9 3.1 4.0 4.1
White collar............................. 141.7 146.8 147.9 .9 1.2 .7 3.1 4.5 4.4
Excluding sales........................ 140.1 144.9 146.0 .9 1.2 .8 3.2 4.4 4.2
Blue collar.............................. 136.6 140.5 142.0 .9 1.1 1.1 3.3 3.8 4.0
Construction(2).......................... 133.0 138.0 139.4 .8 1.5 1.0 3.5 4.6 4.8
Manufacturing............................ 140.2 144.4 145.7 .9 1.0 .9 3.1 3.9 3.9
White collar........................... 142.7 147.7 148.7 .9 1.3 .7 3.2 4.5 4.2
Excluding sales...................... 140.8 145.6 146.6 .9 1.3 .7 3.3 4.3 4.1
Blue collar............................ 138.4 142.0 143.4 .9 .9 1.0 3.1 3.5 3.6
Durables............................... 140.4 144.7 146.1 .9 1.2 1.0 3.3 4.0 4.1
Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721).... 142.7 148.6 150.0 .8 1.6 .9 4.0 5.0 5.1
White collar....................... 138.3 145.2 146.0 .2 2.2 .6 3.3 5.2 5.6
Blue collar........................ 148.9 152.1 155.1 2.3 .2 2.0 5.6 4.5 4.2
Nondurables............................ 139.7 143.9 145.0 .7 .8 .8 2.7 3.7 3.8
Service producing(3)....................... 142.1 146.5 147.9 .9 1.0 1.0 3.3 4.0 4.1
Excluding sales........................ 142.6 146.9 148.3 .8 1.1 1.0 3.4 3.9 4.0
White collar............................. 143.8 148.5 150.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 3.3 4.4 4.3
Excluding sales........................ 145.1 149.6 151.2 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.5 4.1 4.2
Blue collar.............................. 137.0 140.3 141.6 .8 .9 .9 3.5 3.2 3.4
Service.................................. 138.0 142.5 143.5 .1 1.0 .7 2.8 3.4 4.0
Transportation and public utilities...... 137.5 140.0 141.3 .5 1.1 .9 2.4 2.3 2.8
Transportation(2)...................... 134.4 136.2 137.4 .5 1.0 .9 1.5 1.9 2.2
Public utilities....................... 141.5 144.9 146.4 .6 1.2 1.0 3.7 3.1 3.5
Communications....................... 141.9 145.0 146.7 0.6 1.1 1.2 3.8 2.8 3.4
Electric, gas, and sanitary services. 140.9 144.7 145.9 .6 1.2 .8 3.4 3.4 3.5
Wholesale and retail trade............... 140.7 145.5 146.4 .8 1.2 .6 3.0 4.2 4.1
Excluding sales...................... 141.8 146.8 148.2 .5 1.1 1.0 3.1 4.0 4.5
Wholesale trade(2)..................... 144.3 149.4 149.6 1.4 1.4 .1 3.6 5.0 3.7
Excluding sales...................... 144.8 149.7 151.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 3.7 4.7 4.5
Retail trade........................... 138.9 143.5 144.8 .4 1.0 .9 2.7 3.8 4.2
General merchandise stores(2)........ 135.6 138.5 139.7 1.0 .5 .9 2.6 3.1 3.0
Food stores(2)....................... 133.9 139.5 140.2 .8 2.0 .5 1.7 5.0 4.7
Finance, insurance, and real estate(2)... 144.5 149.5 151.7 1.5 .5 1.5 4.6 5.0 5.0
Excluding sales...................... 147.5 151.5 153.3 1.9 .9 1.2 5.6 4.6 3.9
Banking, savings and loan, and other
credit agencies(2).................... 159.2 163.3 165.0 3.0 .8 1.0 8.3 5.7 3.6
Insurance(2)........................... 140.2 146.6 150.7 .3 .8 2.8 1.1 4.9 7.5
Excluding sales...................... 140.9 144.1 145.7 .7 .6 1.1 3.1 3.0 3.4
Services................................. 144.5 149.1 150.6 .9 1.2 1.0 3.2 4.1 4.2
Business services(2)................... 148.5 154.1 155.3 1.5 1.4 .8 4.7 5.3 4.6
Health services........................ 140.6 145.3 146.6 .7 1.3 .9 2.3 4.1 4.3
Hospitals............................ 139.3 143.3 144.9 .7 1.1 1.1 2.6 3.6 4.0
Nursing homes........................ - - - .9 1.5 1.7 3.8 4.9 5.7
Educational services................... 147.5 149.6 153.4 2.3 .5 2.5 3.3 3.7 4.0
Colleges and universities............ 147.2 149.4 152.5 1.9 .3 2.1 3.1 3.5 3.6
Industry-Continued
Nonmanufacturing industries................ 141.0 145.5 146.9 0.9 1.1 1.0 3.3 4.2 4.2
White collar............................. 143.5 148.2 149.6 1.1 1.2 .9 3.3 4.4 4.3
Excluding sales........................ 144.6 149.1 150.7 1.0 1.2 1.1 3.4 4.1 4.2
Blue collar.............................. 135.1 138.9 140.3 .8 1.1 1.0 3.5 3.7 3.8
Service.................................. 137.9 142.4 143.4 .1 1.1 .7 2.8 3.4 4.0
Occupational group
White collar............................... 143.5 148.3 149.7 1.0 1.2 .9 3.2 4.4 4.3
Excluding sales........................ 143.9 148.5 149.9 1.0 1.2 .9 3.5 4.2 4.2
Professional specialty and technical..... 142.6 147.3 148.6 .6 1.5 .9 2.8 3.9 4.2
Executive, administrative, and managerial 146.4 150.7 152.3 1.5 1.0 1.1 3.9 4.4 4.0
Sales(2)................................. 142.1 147.9 149.0 1.1 .8 .7 2.4 5.3 4.9
Administrative support, including
clerical................................ 142.7 147.5 149.1 .9 1.0 1.1 3.5 4.3 4.5
Blue collar................................ 136.8 140.5 141.9 .9 1.0 1.0 3.3 3.6 3.7
Precision production, craft, and repair.. 136.7 140.6 142.0 .8 1.2 1.0 3.3 3.7 3.9
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors.............................. 138.3 141.6 142.9 1.2 .6 .9 3.4 3.6 3.3
Transportation and material moving....... 131.9 135.2 136.5 .7 .8 1.0 3.4 3.2 3.5
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
and laborers............................ 139.4 143.6 145.0 .8 1.3 1.0 3.2 3.8 4.0
Service.................................... 138.0 142.5 143.5 .1 1.1 .7 2.7 3.4 4.0
Production and nonsupervisory
occupations(4)............................ 139.3 143.7 145.0 .8 1.1 .9 3.0 4.0 4.1
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Average standard errors (SE) for the series exceed 0.3 percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month
changes for the five years ending December 1996. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs
for estimates in this news release (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All series will continue to be published until further notice.
3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; and service industries.
4 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly Earnings Index, which was discontinued
in January 1989.
NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
Table 7. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by bargaining status, region, and
area
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Bargaining status, region, and area 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Bargaining status
Union........................................ 135.7 138.5 140.0 0.7 0.9 1.1 2.5 2.8 3.2
Blue-collar occupations.................. 133.6 136.5 138.2 .8 1.0 1.2 2.8 3.0 3.4
Goods-producing industries(1).............. 134.9 138.4 140.2 .8 .9 1.3 3.0 3.4 3.9
Service-producing industries(2)............ 136.8 138.9 140.1 .7 .9 .9 2.0 2.3 2.4
Manufacturing.............................. 135.8 139.7 141.4 .8 .6 1.2 2.7 3.7 4.1
Blue-collar occupations.................. 135.1 138.7 140.4 .7 .7 1.2 2.8 3.4 3.9
Nonmanufacturing........................... 135.6 137.8 139.2 .7 1.0 1.0 2.4 2.4 2.7
Nonunion..................................... 142.0 146.7 148.1 .9 1.1 1.0 3.3 4.3 4.3
Blue-collar occupations.................. 138.7 142.9 144.1 .9 1.1 .8 3.5 3.9 3.9
Goods-producing industries(1).............. 140.0 144.7 145.8 .9 1.3 .8 3.2 4.3 4.1
Service-producing industries(2)............ 142.6 147.3 148.7 .9 1.0 1.0 3.4 4.2 4.3
Manufacturing.............................. 141.7 146.1 147.2 .9 1.2 .8 3.2 4.0 3.9
Blue-collar occupations.................. 140.5 144.2 145.4 .9 1.0 .8 3.2 3.6 3.5
Nonmanufacturing........................... 141.8 146.6 148.0 .9 1.1 1.0 3.4 4.3 4.4
Region(3)
Northeast.................................... 139.9 143.7 145.3 1.2 1.0 1.1 3.3 4.0 3.9
South........................................ 140.2 144.6 145.3 .6 1.1 .5 2.7 3.7 3.6
Midwest...................................... 142.4 147.1 148.6 1.0 1.2 1.0 3.6 4.3 4.4
West......................................... 141.3 146.3 148.2 .8 1.1 1.3 3.4 4.4 4.9
Area
Metropolitan................................. 141.2 145.7 147.1 .9 1.1 1.0 3.1 4.1 4.2
Other........................................ 139.8 143.7 144.7 1.0 1.1 .7 3.8 3.8 3.5
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; and service industries.
3 The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, occupation, and
industry series.
Table 8. Employment Cost Index for benefits for civilian, State and local government, and private industry workers
by industry, occupational group, and bargaining status
(Not seasonally adjusted data)
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for-
Industry, occupational group, and 3 months ended- 12 months ended-
bargaining status Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000
Sep. Jun. Sep. Sep. Jun. Sep.
1999 2000 2000 1999 2000 2000
Civilian workers............................. 147.9 154.3 155.8 0.9 1.1 1.0 2.7 5.3 5.3
State and local government.................. 145.0 148.5 149.0 .7 .2 .3 2.0 3.1 2.8
Private industry............................ 148.6 155.7 157.5 .9 1.2 1.2 2.8 5.7 6.0
Industry
Goods producing(1)........................ 146.3 154.2 155.7 .8 1.2 1.0 2.3 6.2 6.4
Service producing(2)...................... 149.4 156.0 157.9 1.0 1.3 1.2 3.1 5.5 5.7
Manufacturing............................. 145.7 153.9 154.9 .8 1.1 .6 2.2 6.5 6.3
Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721)....... 145.6 166.6 168.7 .9 2.9 1.3 1.3 15.5 15.9
White collar(3)....................... 142.9 163.6 165.4 .1 4.3 1.1 -1.8 14.6 15.7
Blue collar........................... 149.5 170.5 173.3 2.2 .8 1.6 6.3 16.5 15.9
Nonmanufacturing.......................... 149.4 156.1 158.1 .9 1.4 1.3 3.0 5.5 5.8
Occupational group
White collar.............................. 151.0 158.5 160.4 1.1 1.4 1.2 3.0 6.1 6.2
Blue collar............................... 144.8 151.6 153.1 .8 1.1 1.0 2.7 5.6 5.7
Service(3)................................ 148.4 152.7 154.4 .5 1.3 1.1 2.6 3.5 4.0
Bargaining status
Union..................................... 148.3 155.5 157.4 1.0 1.2 1.2 2.3 5.9 6.1
Nonunion.................................. 148.5 155.5 157.3 1.0 1.2 1.2 3.0 5.7 5.9
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and
real estate; and service industries.
3 Average standard errors (SE) for the series exceed 0.3 percent for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent for 12-month
changes for the five years ending December 1996. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the series, SEs
for estimates in this news release (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm). All series will continue to be published until further notice.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a measure of the change in the cost
of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations
and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages and
salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. The wage and salary
series and the benefit cost series provide the change for the two
components of compensation.
Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate
or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings
divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates
are total earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay for
overtime and for work on weekends and holidays, shift differentials, and
nonproduction bonuses such as lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage
increases. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments,
and cost-of-living adjustments are included in straight-time wage and
salary rates.
Benefits covered by the ECI are: Paid leave--vacations, holidays,
sick leave, and other leave; supplemental pay--premium pay for work in
addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and
holidays), shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as lump-
sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases and referral bonuses);
insurance benefits--life, health, short-term disability, and long-term
disability; retirement and savings benefits--defined benefit and defined
contribution plans; legally required benefits--social security, Federal
and State unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation; and other
benefits--severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans.
The June 2000 ECI introduced an expanded definition of nonproduction
bonuses designed to improve the ECI's representation of the compensation
packages offered to employees. In addition to the traditional types of
nonproduction bonuses such as attendance bonuses and lump sum payments, the
ECI now includes hiring and referral bonuses. Hiring bonuses are payments
made by the employer to induce an individual to accept employment; referral
bonuses are payments made by the employer for recommending an applicant who
is hired by the establishment. A fact sheet has been prepared with
additional information on this change and its effect on the ECI. This
information can be obtained directly from the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm) or upon request.
The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the
total private nonfarm economy excluding households and the public sector
excluding the Federal government. The private industry series and the
State and local government series provide data for the two sectors
separately.
Data for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of
approximately 28,700 occupational observations within about 6,800 sample
establishments in private industry and approximately 3,900 occupations
within about 800 sample establishments in State and local governments.
Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey
months of March, June, September, and December.
The sampled establishments are classified by industry categories based
on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), as defined by the
U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Details on the sample design are
included in the bulletin, Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin
2532).
Within an establishment, specific job categories are selected to
represent broader occupational groups. Since March 1995, the jobs have
been classified according to the 1990 Census; from June 1986 through
December 1994, the 1980 Census; and prior to June 1986, the 1970 Census.
Differences in the classification systems are described in the articles,
"Introducing New Weights for the Employment Cost Index," in the June 1985
issue of the Monthly Labor Review and "Introducing 1990 Weights for the
Employment Cost Index" published in the June 1995 issue of Compensation and
Working Conditions.
Fixed employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most
aggregate series - civilian, private, and State and local government.
These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and
occupation series indexes. Since March 1995, 1990 employment counts,
primarily from the Bureau's Occupational Employment Statistics survey,
have been used. A description of the reweighting is included in an
article, "Introducing 1990 Weights for the Employment Cost Index"
published in the June 1995 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions
(available upon request).
For the series based on bargaining status, region, and area size,
employment data are not available. The employment weights are reallocated
within these series each quarter based on the current ECI sample. The
indexes for these series, consequently, are not strictly comparable to
those for the aggregate, industry, and occupation series. A fuller
explanation of the calculation of index numbers appears in an article,
"Estimation Procedures for the Employment Cost Index," in the May 1982
issue of the Monthly Labor Review.
Beginning with the March 1990 ECI release, indexes were rebased to
June 1989=100. A description of the rebasing is included in the article
"Employment Cost Index Rebased to June 1989," in the April 1990 issue of
the Monthly Labor Review.
Beginning with the December 1990 ECI release, seasonally adjusted data
are available for selected ECI series. Seasonal adjustment removes the
effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year.
These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. ECI
series are seasonally adjusted using either direct or composite seasonally
adjusted estimates. Industry and occupational series, such as
construction and service occupations, are adjusted directly. More
aggregate series, such as civilian or private industry workers, use
composite estimates. The composite estimates could be obtained by
aggregating either the industry or the occupational components, and the
results may differ depending on which method is used. The aggregate
seasonally adjusted ECI series are estimated by aggregating the component
seasonally adjusted industry series. The seasonal adjustment factors are
recalculated once a year. The March release contains data reflecting the
newly updated seasonal adjustment factors. The historical data for the
last five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors.
The new seasonal factors for 2000 and the historical listing containing
revised seasonally adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm) or upon request. The factors are also
published in the summer issue of Compensation and Working Conditions.
The ECI sample is rotated over approximately five years; this makes it
more representative and reduces respondent burden. The sample is replaced
on a cross-area, cross-industry basis and is being integrated with the
Bureau's National Compensation Survey (NCS). Integrated samples result in
an increase in the number of private industry establishments and
occupations in the survey. The NCS-ECI private sample will be completely
integrated in 2001.
The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on March
data from the ECI, are published in a separate news release titled
"Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 2000," and in an annual
bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-99, (Bulletin
2526). A description of the cost levels data (ECEC) is provided in the
article "Analyzing Employers' Costs for Wages, Salaries, and Benefits" in
the October 1987 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. This article, along
with other ECEC research articles, also appears in the annual bulletin.
The cost levels are calculated with current employment weights, rather
than the fixed 1990 weights used in computing the ECI. Therefore, year-to-
year changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI.
Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors.
Sampling errors are differences that occur between the results computed
from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in
the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected
using the same sample design may differ from each other. A measure of the
variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can
be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular
sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples. The
chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs
from a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The
chances are about 90 out of 100 that this difference would be less than
1.6 times the standard error. The statements of comparisons appearing in
this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better,
unless otherwise indicated. This means that for differences cited, the
estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the
difference.
Because standard errors vary from quarter to quarter, the ECI uses a
five-year moving average of standard errors to evaluate published series.
Currently, in the higher level aggregate series, the standard errors for 3-
month changes are generally 0.1 percent or less; for 12-month changes,
standard errors are generally 0.25 percent or less. Currently, in the
lower level series, standard errors are generally 0.3 percent or less for
3-month changes and 0.6 percent or less for 12-month changes. Series
found to have a higher average standard error for the five years ending
December 1996 are footnoted in the tables.
BLS is evaluating ECI publication standards as part of its overall
quality improvement plan. The first phase of this evaluation, a review of
the statistical reliability of the ECI series, is complete. To improve
the quality of the ECI estimates, the sample size is being increased and
other initiatives, such as revising collection procedures, are being
explored. All series will continue to be published, although, as
indicated above, standard errors for some series are large. The five-year
moving average of standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally
adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
(http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm) shortly after publication of the news
release.
When comparing data by bargaining status, it is important to note that
differences may be due to factors other than bargaining status, such as
occupational and industry mix. For example, union occupations tend to be
concentrated in blue-collar occupations within manufacturing industries.
Thus, differences between blue-collar and white-collar pay or differences
in manufacturing versus nonmanufacturing industries could explain such
differences.
|
