United States Employment Cost Index

Last Release

Dec 31, 2024

Actual

0.9

Units In

0.8

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

Apr 30, 2025

Time to Release

2 Months 26 Days 3 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
2 Sep 1982	0.2 Jun 2015	0.85 %	1982-2024	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Employment Cost Index measures the growth of employee compensation (wages and benefits). The ECI is based on a survey of employer payrolls in the final month of each quarter. The index tracks movement in the cost of labor, including wages, fringe benefits and bonuses for employees at all levels of a company.

Latest Updates

Compensation costs for civilian workers in the United States rose by 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, up from a 0.8% increase in the prior quarter, aligning with market forecasts. Wages and salaries grew by 0.9%, a slight acceleration from 0.8% in Q3, while benefits remained at 0.8%. Compensation costs grew at a faster pace in the private sector (0.8% vs 0.7%), while they slowed for state and local government organizations (0.9% vs 1.1%). On an annual basis, compensation costs rose by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, compared to a 3.9% increase in the preceding quarter.