United States Employment Cost Index

Last Release

Sep 30, 2024

Actual

0.8

Units In

0.9

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

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 0.8% in the third quarter of 2024, slowing from t0.9% in the previous quarter, and slightly below market expectations of a 0.9% growth. This was the weakest increase since Q2 2021, due to the moderation of wages and salaries that companies pay (0.8% vs 0.9% in Q2) and benefits (0.8% vs 1%). Compensation costs increased at a slower pace for both the private industry (0.7% vs 0.9%) and state and local government organizations (1.1% vs 1.2%). On an annual basis, compensation costs rose by 3.9% in the third quarter, compared to a 4.1% increase in the preceding quarter.