Table 7. WAGES AND SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries only, private
industry workers, by bargaining status, region, and area size

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" } June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996
Workers, by bargaining status
Union . 120.6 122.8 124.2 07 05 1 26 25 3.0
Biue-collar occupations 119.1 120.9 122.0 8 5 a 25 23 24
Goods-producing industries 1 119.3 121.3 122.5 8 6 1.0 2.2 24 27
‘Service-producing industries 2 122.3 124.8 126.2 6 5 1 3.0 26 3.2
Manufacturing 120.5 122.9 123.9 6 7 8 23 26 28
Blue-collar occupations 120.2 122.4 1235 6 7 a 2.2 24 27
Nonmanutacturing 120.6 122.8 124.3 7 4 12 2.8 28 34
Nonunion ... 121.8 124.8 125.9 8 12 x) 3.0 3.3 34
Biue-collar occupations 120.7 123.6 124.7 1.0 12 a 3.4 34 33
Goods-producing industries * 122.2 124.9 126.1 7 9 1.0 3.0 3.0 32
Service-producing industries 2 121.5 124.6 125.7 8 13 a 29 34 35
Manufacturing .... 123.8 126.3 127.5 c) a 1.0 36 29 3.0
Blue-collar occupations 122.6 125.4 1267 12 1.0 1.0 38 35 3.3
Nonmanufacturing 121.0 124.2 125.2 8 13 8 27 35 35
Workers, by region 3
Northeast ... 122.1 124.9 126.0 7 14 9 28 3.0 3.2
South . 120.8 124.1 125.4 7 1.4 8 29 34 3.6
Midwest 122.2 125.1 126.2 1 12 3 3.3 35 3.3
West .. 120.9 123.3 1248 5 12 25 28 3.2
Workers, by area size
Metropolitan areas 121.6 124.6 125.8 _ 8 11 1.0 3.0 3.3 35
Other areas ... 121.3 123.4 124.2 7 8 6 27 24 2.4
1 includes mining, construction, and manutacturing. towa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
2 Includes ‘transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West—Aiaska, Arizona, Califomia, Colorado, Hawaii,
trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries. Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utan, Washington, and Wyoming.
3 "The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast—Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsyivania, Rhode Island, Revised

and Vermont; South—Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South aggregate, occupation, and industry series.
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, vege, and West Virginia; Midwest—ilinis, Indiana,


Table 1. SEASONALLY ADJUSTED: Employment Cost Index for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs, by
industry and occupational group

Indexes (June
Percent changes for 3-months ended
Series 1989=100)
Mar, 1996"| Jun, 1996 | Sep. 1994 | Dec. 1994 | Mar. 1995 | June 1995 | Sep. 1995 | Dec. 1995" | Mar. 1996" | June 1996
COMPENSATION
Civilian workers + 128.2 129.2 08 07 07 08 0.6 07 08 08
State and local government ... 129.9 130.8 7 6 8 1.0 rc) 7 6 7
Private industry workers 1278 128.8 8 6 7 7 6 7 a 8
White-collar occupations 128.9 129.9 ) 6 7 7 7 7 x) 8
Blue-collar occupations 126.5 1275 9 5 5 7 6 6 6 8
Service occupations 125.5 126.3 7 x) 8 6 5 5 3 6
Goods-producing industries 1...) 128.2 129.4 7 6 a 6 6 8 4 rc)
Construction 124.5 125.2 8 0 2 5 7 7 6 6
Manufacturing 129.0 130.2 x) 6 6 8 8 8 5 9
Durables 1295 131.2 14 7 8 7 4 8 2 13
Nondurables 128.1 128.7 7 5 4 8 6 1.0 7 5
Service-producing industries? | 127.5 128.5 2 6 9 7 7 6 28 8
‘Transportation and public

utilities ... 1276 128.4 13 9 14 8 1.0 9 cc) 6
Wholesale trade .. 1277 129.0 1.0 a 14 3 13 ) 4 1.0
Retail trade .. 124.8 124.5 1.0 2 7 2 7 6 15 +2

Finance, insurance, and real
estate 3 124.5 126.3 7 3 11 1.3 7 3 1 14
Services ... 130.6 131.8 7 & 6 7 5 5 8 a
Nonmanutacturing industries ...] 127.2 128.2 8 5 a 8 8 7 28 8

. WAGES AND SALARIES
Civilian workers ... 125.1 126.2 08 07 07 0.7 07 07 1.0 0.9
State and local govemment ... 1278 128.8 8 8 8 7 7 8 8
Private industry workers 124.5 125.6 8 6 8 a 7 7 11 a
White-collar occupations 125.9 127.0 7 7 7 8 7 7 12 3
Biue-coltar occupations 2 1225 123.7 3 4 8 3 6 5 rc) 1.0
Service occupations 1222 123.1 s 1 3 6 6 5 7 7
Goods-producing industries 13 | 123.9 125.1 8 6 7 8 6 a 8 10
Construction 118.6 119.6 7 4 3 5 6 a) 2 8
Manufacturing 3 .. 125.4 126.5 38 7 9 8 8 6 a) a
Ourables 3 125.1 126.5 ac) 8 ac) 8 6 6 6 14
Nondurables 1258 126.3 a) 4 7 7 6 r) 1.0 4
Service-producing industries? | 124.8 125.8 8 6 8 a 2 7 12 8
‘Transportation and public

124.5 124.9 15 8 14 a 8 8 5 3
126.4 1277 8 7 12 1.0 13 14 8 1.0
123.2 122.9 rc) 3 rc) 3 7 5 20 +2

Finance, insurance, and real
estate 3 119.8 121.9 5 4 7 17 x) 3 1.2 18
Services 1275 128.9 38 7 7 6 6 8 12 14
Nonmanutacturing industries 124.0 125.1 8 s 7 8 7 a 44 x)

See footnotes at end of table.


18

For the series based on bargaining status, region, or area size, employment data are not available from
the Census. 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 September 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 spot. 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,
so they are not necessarily a weighted average of the component occupation series.

The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on March 1995 data from the ECI, are
published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 1995." A
description of the cost levels is provided in the article “Analyzing employers’ costs for wages, salaries, and
benefits" in the October 1987 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The cost levels, which are published
annually in mid-June, are calculated with current employment weights, rather than the fixed 1990 Census
weights used in computing the ECI. -Therefore, year-to-year changes in the cost levels will usually differ from
those in the ECI.

More detailed information on the ECI is available in several sources. These include an annual bulletin,
Employment Cost Indexes and Levels, 1975-95, (Bulletin 2466); a chapter in the BLS Handbook of Methods
(Bulletin 2414), "The Employment Cost Index;" and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review.
The annual bulletin is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402, or Bureau of Labor Statistics, Publications Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145, Chicago,
Illinois 60690. Reprints of the articles plus other descriptive pieces and a complete historical listing are
available upon request. ECI historical data are also available on data diskettes.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice
phone: 202-606-7828, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) phone: 202-606-5897, TDD Message
Referral Phone Number: 1-800-326-2577.


Table 4. COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry
workers, by bargaining status, region, and area size

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996
dune 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996
Workers, by bargaining status
Union ... 125.8 128.5 129.7 0.6 0.6 0.9 23 27 34
Blue-collar occupations 124.8 126.8 128.0 6 4 9 2.0 23 26
Goods-producing industries 1 125.9 127.9 129.0 & 3 9 17 2.2 25
Service-producing industries 2 125.6 129.0 130.3 6 9 1.0 34 34 37
Manufacturing 126.6 128.8 129.8 2 5 8 1.4 2.0 25
Blue-collar occupation: 126.4 128.3 129.4 2 4 c) 14 17 24
125.0 128.0 129.2 8 7 x) 29 3.2 3.4
125.2 127.7 128.7 2 a 8 29 27 28
Blue-collar occupations 123.9 126.3 127.3 7 1.0 8 29 27 27
‘Goods-producing industries 1 125.9 128.3 129.4 6 x) x) 27 25 28
Service-producing industries 2 124.8 127.3 128.3 8 1.0 8 3.4 28 28
Manufacturing . 126.9 129.3 130.5 6 8 cc) 3.3 25 28
Blue-collar occupations 125.5 128.1 1293 8 a a 3.0 29 3.0
Nonmanutacturing .. 124.5 127.0 128.0 7 1.0 8 28 28 28
Workers, by region 3
126.6 128.9 129.7 8 a) 6 34 26 24
124.3 127.0 127.8 5 14 6 29 27 28
126.9 129.5 130.7 a a cc) 27 2.9 3.0
123.4 125.9 1273 7 7 14 24 27 3.2
125.4 128.0 129.1 7 9 9 29 28 3.0
125.3 127.2 128.0 4 6 6 23 19 2.2
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. towa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
2 Includes transparttion, communication, and public utlities; wholesale and retail . Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West—Alaska, ‘Anzona, Galifomia, Colorado, Hawaii,
trade; finance, insuranee, and real estate; and service industries. . Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming,
The regional coverage is as. follows: Northeast—Connecticut, Maine, : +
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsyivania, Rhode Island, Revised

and Vermont; South—Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia; Florida, © NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryiand, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South aggregate, occupation, and industry series.
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest—tilinois, indiana,


Table 2. COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total compensation, civilian and state and
local government workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
dune 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar, 1996"| June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996] June 1996
125.6 128.3 129.2 06 0.9 07 29 28 29
125.9 128.6 129.4 6 3 6 29 27 28
Workers, by occupational! group
White-collar occupations 126.3 129.1 130.0 6 a 7 3.0 29 29
Excluding sales ... 126.9 129.7 130.5 5 a 6 3.0 27 28
Professional specialty and technical 127.5 130.6 131.4 4 3 6 27 28 3.1
Executive, administrative, and
managerial 125.7 128.5 129.1 4 9 5 3.4 26 27
Administrative support, including
clerical 127.3 130.1 130.8 6 3 5 34 28 27
Blue-collar occupations 124.5 126.7 127.7 7 7 8 26 25 26
Service occupations 125.8 128.0 128.7 6 5 5 3.0 24 23
Workers, by industry division
‘Goods-producing 1 126.0 128.3 129.3 6 7 8 24 24 26
Manufacturing 126.9 129.3 130.4 6 8 3 28 28 28
‘Service-producing 2 . 125.5 128.2 129.1 7 2 7 3.1 29 29
Services 127.8 130.4 131.2 5 8 6 29 25 27
130.2 132.5 133.4 6 4 7 28 24 25
129.7 132.3 132.9 7 7 8 26 27 25
127.4 130.5 130.8 4 2 2 34 28 27
Public administration 126.1 129.2 129.6 6 7 3 3.2 3.0 2.8
Nonmanufacturing .... 125.2 -°| 1279 128.8 6 9 7 29 28 29
‘State and local goverment workers 126.9 129.9 130.2 4 5 2 3.4 28 26
‘Workers, by occupational group
White-collar occupations 126.6 129.6 129.9 3 4 2 3.0 27 26
Professional specialty and technical 126.3 129.4 129.5 2 2 3 29 25 25
Executive, administrative, and
managerial ... 127.4 130.7 131.0 4 6 2 3.2 3.0 28
Administrative support, including
clerical .. 126.9 130.0 130.4 5 7 3 29 29 28
Blue-collar occupations 126.3 129.0 129.5 7 8 4 29 29 25
Service occupations 128.8 131.9 132.3 2 7 3 4.0 34 27
Workers, by industry division
Services 427.4 130.0 130.3 3 3 2 3.0 26 25
Excluding schools 3 .. 127.7 130.3 130.8 1.0 7 4 3.6 34 24
Health services 129.8 132.5, 133.1 1 Zz 5 37 3.2 25
129.9 132.6 133.2 12 7 5 43 3.3 25
126.8 129.7 130.0 2 2 2 3.0 25 25
127.1 130.0 130.3 2 2 2 3.0 25 25
127.4 130.2 130.5 2 a 2 29 24 24
Colleges and universities 126.1 129.4 129.9 A 38 4 3.4 27 3.0
Public administration ... 126.1 129.2 129.6 6 7 3 3.2 3.0 28
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Formerly called hospitals and other services.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail " Revised

trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; service industries; and public administration.


Takle 1. SEASONALLY ADJUSTED: Employment Cost Index for total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs, by
industry and occupational group — Continued

Indexes (June
Percent changes for 3-months ended
Series 1989=100)
Mar. 1996'| Jun. 1996 | Sep. 1994 | Dec. 1994 | Mar. 1995 | June 1995 | Sep. 1995 | Dec. 1995"| Mar. 1996" | June 1996
BENEFIT COSTS
Civilian workers 135.7 136.6 1.0 05 03 07 06 0.6 0.0 0.7
‘State and local government .... 134.8 135.6 6 4 6 Ww A 5 7 &
Private industry workers 136.0 136.9 Ww 5 a 6 & & od 7
White-collar occupations 137.3 138.2 Wa 8 7 7 7 & a1 7
Blue-collar occupations 135.0 136.0 1.0 2 2 3 4 8 a1 7
Service occupations ... 135.5 136.2 1.0 A Al 5 2 3 5 5
Goods-producing industries 1...) 137.2 138.4 3 4 Oo 2 4 1.0 4 9
Manufacturing ... | 137.0 138.4 1.0 5 Oo 2 4 1.0 1 1.0
‘Service-producing industries 2 135.2 136.0 1.3 & 7 8 7 4 se) &
Nonmanufacturing industries ....| 135.7 136.5 1.2 5 5 7 7 4 oA 6

” 7 Ineludes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail
‘trade; finance, insurance, and reai estate; and service industries.

3 No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.
Revised


Table 3. COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry
workers, by industry and occupational group — Continued

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996

Wholesale trade .. 1248 | 1275 129.3 13 04 1.4 43 35 36
Excluding sales occupations 125.1 127.4 128.7 6 2 1.0 4.0 24 29
Retail trade . 1218 | 1245 124.8 7 15 2 22 3.0 25
General merchandise stores... 1207 | 1224 123.6 5 6 1.0 23 1.9 24
Food stores... 120.7 123.6 124.4 ot 1.0 6 a 23 34
Finance, insurance, and real estate 1218 | 1245 126.3 13 44 14 35 36 37
Excluding sales occupations 1246 | 127.5 128.5 7 14 8 3.6 34 3.1

Banking, savings and loan, and other
credit agencies 124.1 126.9 128.2 5 20 1.0 3.9 28 33
Insurance .. 1246 | 127.6 128.2 9 14 5 3.4 3.3 29
Excluding sales occupations 129.0 | 132.1 132.7 14 15 5 32 35 29
Services ... 1282 | 130.7 131.7 5 1.0 8 26 25 27
Business services 1253 | 1289 129.2 6 24 2 26 35 31
Health services 1303 | 1326 | 1335 5s 3 7 25 22 25
Hospitals 1297 | 1322 | 1328 6 7 5 2.0 26 24
Nursing homes - - - 7 5 1.0 3.0 27 31
Educational service: 1303 | 1344 | 1348 12 Ss 3 3.9 43 35
Collages and universities 1313 | 1359 | 1362 15 5 2 42 5.1 37
Nonmanutacturing industries 1246 | 1272 128.2 7 10 8 28 28 29
White-collar occupations 125.6 | 1285 1295 7 12 8 29 3.0 31
Excluding sales 127.4 130.0 | 1308 6 14 6 28 28 29
Blue-collar occupations 122.5 124.6 125.6 8 7 8 29 26 25
. Service occupations 1235 | 1253 126.0 4 5 6 23 19 2.0

1 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly trade; finance, insurance, and rel estate: and service Industries.
Earpings index, which was discontinued in January 1989. jevised

Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.

3 includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail

- Dats not available.


' United States Zi
. Department wy

of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212

Technical, historical contact: USDL: 96-297
Wayne Shelly 202/606-6199
TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN
Media contact: THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
Kathryn Hoyle 202/606-5902 8:30 A.M. (EDT), TUESDAY, JULY 30, 1996

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX -- JUNE 1996

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) increased 0.7 percent before seasonal adjustment in the 3 months
ended in June 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The June 1996
ECT level of 129.2 (June 1989=100) was 2.9 percent higher than in June 1995. The ECI measures changes in
compensation costs, including wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

On a seasonally adjusted basis, ECI compensation costs rose 0.8 percent in the March-June 1996 period,
the same as the December 1995-March 1996 period. (See table A below.) ECI wages and salaries rose 0.9
percent in the March 1996-June 1996 period, about the same as the 1.0 percent increase for the December
1995-March 1996 period. Benefit costs increased 0.7 percent for the quarter compared with no change forthe
December 1995-March 1996 quarter.

Table A. Percent changes in Employment Cost Index for civilian workers

Unadjusted
, Compensation Seasonally adjusted 3-months ended 12-months
component Sept. Dec | Mar. June Sept Dec. | Mar. Jun. ended
1994 1994 | 1995 1995 1995 1995 | 1996 1996 Jun. 1996
Compensation costs.... | 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 2.9
Wages and salaries... | 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.0 0.9 3.2
Benefit costs... 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.7 1.8

This release includes corrections to data for December 1995 and March 1996. See page 4 for an
explanation of these corrections.



12

Table 6. WAGES AND SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries only, private
‘industry workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
Private industry workers 121.5 124.4 125.6 07 Ww 1.0 29 3.2 34
Excluding sales .... 121.8 124.7 125.7 7 ww 8 3.0 3.1 3.2
White-collar occupations 122.7 125.8 127.0 8 1.2 1.0 28 34 3.5
Excluding sales 123.4 126.7 127.6 5 1.2 7 29 32 34
Professional specialty and technical 124.4 127.8 128.8 6 1.3 8&8 26 3.3 35
Executive, administrative, and
managerial 122.5 125.9 126.8 6 1.2 7 34 33 3.5
+ Sales 119.3, 122.0 124.4 24 1.3 2.0 27 44 43
Administrative support, including clerical 123.5 126.5 127.3 5 1.0 6 3.0 29 34
Blue-collar occupations ... 120.1 122.5 123.7, a a 1.0 3.1 29 3.0
Precision production, craft, and repair 119.9 122.4 123.7 & 8 Ww 29 3.0 3.2
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors 120.9 123.4 124.5 41 3 3 3.2 3.2 3.0
‘Transportation and 117.8 120.0 120.6 7 1.2 5 3.3 26 24
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers .. 121.2 124.2 125.1 3 13 7 3.3 34 3.2
Service occupations ..... 120.0 122.2 123.0 5 7 7 27 23 25
Production and nonsupervisory
occupations 1 ... 121.0 123.7 124.9 a Ww 1.0 3.0 3.2 3.2
Goods-producing industries 2 121.4 123.9 125.1 8 8 1.0 29 29 3.0
Excluding sales occupations . 120.9 123.5 124.6 8 9 a 3.0 3.0 34
White-collar occupations 123.8 126.2 127.3 7 7 a 29 26 28
122.5 125.3 126.3 6 3 8 34 29 34
119.9 122.4 123.7 a 8 wt 28 3.0 3.2
121.9 124.3 124.6 Ww 6 2 3.6 34 22
115.7 118.3 119.6 8 8 Ww 18 3.0 34
122.9 125.4 126.5 8 9 e) 3.3 29 29
124.7 127.1 128.2 6 8 a) 34 2.6 28
123.2 126.0 127.0 7 1.0 8 3.4 29 34
121.6 124.2 125.4 1.0 3 1.0 3.2 3.2 3.4
122.8 125.1 125.7 Ww 6 5 3.9 3.0 24
122.9 125.1 126.5 8&8 6 Ww 35 26 29
122.9 125.8 126.5 8&8 Ww 6 2.8 32 29
Service-producing industries 3 .. 121.6 124.7 125.8 7 1.2 a 29 3.3 35
Excluding sales occupations 122.5 125.6 126.5 6 1.1 7 29 34 33
White-collar occupations 122.3 125.6 126.8 8 1.3 1.0 29 35 3.7
Excluding sales .. 123.8 127.2 128.1 5 13 7 28 3.2 35
Blue-collar occupations .. 120.3 122.7 123.5 3 Ww 7 35 29 27
Service occupations ... 119.8 122.0 122.8 A & 7 27 23 25
‘Transportation and public utilities ... 122.0 124.6 125.0 7 7 3 41 28 25
119.8 122.9 123.2 7 ww 2 44 33 28
124.5 126.5, 127.1 5 3 5 3.7 24 24
124.6 126.1 126.5 2 a 3 43 14 15
124.4 127.0 127.7 8 as & 29 29 27
Wholesale and retail trade .... 120.6 123.9 124.8 1.0 1.3 7 27 38 3.5
Excluding sales occupations .. 120.9 124.4 124.9 6 1.0 A 26 35 3.3

‘See footnotes at end of table.


Table 5. WAGES AND SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries only, civilian
and state and local government workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 19892100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996 | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996"! June 1996
Civilian workers. .... 122.2 125.1 126.1 07 1.0 08 3.0 34 32
Excluding sales .. 122.4 125.3 126.2 6 3 7 3.0 3.0 34
Workers, by occupational group
White-collar occupations ... 123.1 126.3 127.3 6 1.0 8 28 3.2 34
Excluding sales 123.8 127.0 127.8 5 1.0 & 3.0 3.4 3.2
Professional specialty and technical .. 124.7 128.0 128.8 4 3 & 28 3.1. 3.3
Executive, administrative, and
Managerial .... 122.8 126.2 127.0 5 1.2 6 3.2 3.3 3.4
Administrative support, including
clerical .. 123.4 126.4 127.1 5 1.0 6 3.0 29 3.0
Blue-collar occupations 120.3 122.8 123.9 9 9 9 34 3.0 3.0
Service occupations .. 121.8 124.2 124.9 5 6 6 3.4 25 25
Workers, by industry division
Goods-producing 1 121.4 123.9 125.1 7 8 1.0 29 28 3.0
Manufacturing .. 122.9 125.4 126.5 8 a 9 3.3 29 29
i it 122.5 125.6 126.5 7 1.0 7 3.0 3.2 33
124.8 128.0 128.9 3 a 7 29 29 3.3
126.6 129.3 130.0 4 7 5 2.6 "25 27
126.0 128.6 129.2 4 6 5 24 25 25
125.1 128.8 129.1 A 2 2 34 3.0 3.2
122.3 124.9 125.3 3 6 3 3.2 25 25
121.9 125.0 125.9 7 Ww 7 29 3.2 33
State and local government workers ...... 124.6 127.8 128.1 2 4 2 3.2 28 28
Workers, by occupational group
124.6 127.9 128.2 2 4 2 34 28 29
125.0 128.3 128.6 2 2 2 34 28 29
124.3 127.7 128.0 2 6 2 33 29 3.0
clerical ... 122.9 125.8 126.1 3 6 2 29 27 26
Blue-collar occupations 123.8 126.6 127.0 6 7 3 341 28 2.6
Service occupations .. 125.2 128.1 128.6 5 6 A 4.0 28 27
Workers, by industry di
Services 125.1 128.6 128.9 2 3 2 3.1 3.0 3.0
Excluding 125.5 128.2 128.7 4 6 4 3.0 26 25
Health services 126.6 129.3 129.9 5 5 5 3.0 26 26
Hospitals .. 126.3 129.1 129.7 “4 5 5 35 26 27
Educational services 124.9 128.5, 128.8 a 2 2 34 3.0 31
SCHOOIS «....c.ceseee 125.1 128.7 128.9 a 2 2 32 3.0 3.0
Elementary and secondary 125.8 129.3 129.5 2 a 2 33 3.0 29
Colleges and universities 122.9 126.8 127.1 2 7 2 3.1 29 3.4
Public administration 122.3 124.9 125.3 3 6 3 3.2 25 25

1 includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.

2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utities; wholesale and retail
trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; service industries; and public administration.

3 Formerty called hospitals and other services.
Revised


Table 3. COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry

workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" June 1996
Private industry workers 125.4 127.9 129.0 07 x) 09 28 27 29
Excluding sales. 125.7 128.3 129.2 6 9 7 28 26 28
White-collar occupations .. 1262 | 129.0 130.0 7 14 8 3.0 3.0 3.0
i 127.0 129.9 130.7 6 1.0 6 3.0 29 29
128.4 131.6 132.6 5 13 8 25 34 33
125.4 128.0 128.8 4 2 8 34 25 27
122.4 124.8 126.9 18 13 17 3.0 38 37
Administrative support, including clerical | 127.3 130.1 130.8 6 a 5 31 28 27
Blue-collar occupations... 124.4 126.6 127.6 7 8 8 26 25 26
Precision ion, craft, and repair...) 124.4 1265 127.7 8 6 2 26 25 27
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors .. 124.8 127.1 128.1 Ss 2 8 21 23 26
Transportation and material moving .. 122.4 123.9 124.7 3 7 6 28 17 1.9
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers... 125.3 128.5 129.3 1.0 1.3 6 3.2 35 32
Service occupations . 124.0 125.8 1265 5 Ss 8 25 19 2.0
Production and nonsupervisory
‘occupations 1. 125.0 127.5 128.6 7 1.0 9 28 27 29
Goods-producing industries 2 125.9 128.2 129.3 5 7 rc) 24 23 27
Excluding sales occupations 125.6: | 128.0 129.0 8 8 8 25 25 27
White-collar occupations 127.6 130.0 131.0 3 8 8 27 22 27
1267 | 1294 130.2 4 3 6 28 25 28
124.9 127.1 128.3 6 6 9 22 24 27
Service occupations 127.9 129.6 130.1 5 a] 4 33 18 17
Construction ... 122.0 1243 125.3 7 7 8 18 26 27
Manufacturing ..... 126.9 129.3 130.4 8 8 x) 28 25 28
White-collar occupations . 128.0 130.5 131.6 s 8 8 3.3 24 28
Excluding sales 1266 | 1295 130.5 4 3 8 3.3 27 31
Biue-collar occupations 126.0 128.4 129.5 6 7 ) 23 25 28
Service occupations .. 128.6 130.3 131.0 5 a 5 36 18 19
Durables ... 127.7 129.7 131.2 6 5 12 3.2 24 27
Nondurables 425.4 128.3 128.9 6 1.0 5 at 29 28
Service-producing industries 3 124.9 1276 | 1286 8 1 8 3.1 3.0 3.0
Excluding sales occupations 125.8 128.4 129.2 6 ) 6 30 27 27
White-collar occupations 125.6 1285 | 1296 8 1 9 3.0 34 32
Excluding sales ...... 127.1 130.0 | 130.9 6 1.0 7 3.0 28 3.0
Blue-collar occupations 123.1 125.2 126.0 8 1.0 8 34 25 24
Service occupations 123.6 125.3 | 126.1 5 4 6 24 19 2.0
‘Transportation and public utilities 126.7 1279 | 1284 8 1.0 4 44 3.4 3.0
‘Transportation 123.0 126.9 127.7 6 14 6 45 38 38
Public utilite 126.8 128.9 129.1 8 3 2 34 22 18
‘Communications .. 126.6 128.0 1275 2 2 -4 37 13 7
Electric, gas, and sanitary services 127.0 130.1 131.1 8 14 8 31 33 32
Wholesale and retail trade .... 122.8 125.5 126.4 ) 1.0 7 28 34 29
Excluding sales occupations 123.1 125.9 126.4 6 7 4 28 29 27

See footnotes at end of table,


4

CORRECTIONS IN THE EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX

This news release contains corrected data for the December 1995 and March 1996 reference periods. BLS
regrets any problems the errors may have caused the public and has taken steps to prevent a recurrence.

The corrected data are little changed from the originally published figures for wages and salaries in the broader
categories of workers, such as civilian, private industry, and state and local government. Corrections were,
however, greater for the benefits series in both periods. (See table B.)

The errors had a more significant impact on some of the detailed breakouts of workers, such as by occupation,
industry, and union-nonunion status.. This was true for all three measures -- total compensation, wages and
salaries, and benefits. Tables showing all of the corrected data for December 1995 and March 1996 are
available from BLS by calling 202-606-6199 or by accessing them from the Internet at
http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome/corrdata.htm.

Table B. Employment Cost Index, corrected data for December 1995 and March 1996 and difference from
original estimates, not seasonally adjusted

3-month percent change 12-month percent change
Dec. 95 Mar. 96 Dec. 95 Mar. 96
Corrected Difference | Corrected Difference | Corrected Difference | Corrected Difference
Civilian workers °
Compensation 0.5 -0.1 0.9 0.0 2.7 0.2 2.8 -0.2
Wages and salaries 0.6 0.0 10 0.0 2.9 0.0 3.1 0.1
Benefits 0.2 ° 05 0.5 0.1 2.3 -0.5 1.8 0.4
Private industry
Compensation 0.4 -0.2 0.9 -0.1 2.6 0.2 2.7 0.3
Wages and salaries 0.6 0.0 11 -0.1 2.8 0.0 3.2 -0.1
Benefits 0.2 -0.5 0.5 0.1 2.2 -0.5 1.6 -0.4
State and local goverment
Compensation 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.1 2.9 0.1 2.8 0.0
Wages and salaries 0.6 0.0 0.4 0.0 3.2 0.0 2.8 0.0
Benefits 0.2 -0.4 0.6 0.2 2.6 -0.4 2.7 -0.3



Table 8. BENEFITS (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for benefits only, civilian, state and local, and
private industry workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for

Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996

June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996

Civilian workers .. 134.5 136.2 136.9 05 05 05 27 18 1.8
State and local government workers 132.2 134.7 135.1 8 & 3 29 27 22
Private industry workers . 138.1 136.6 137.4 4 5 8 26 1.6 17
Workers, by occupational group
White-collar occupations 136.0 137.7 138.4 6 7 5 33 18 18
Blue-collar occupations 133.6 135.2 136.1 2 A 7 1.6 1.4 1.9
Service occupations .. 135.6 | 135.7 136.3 4 “2 4 1.9 5 5s

Workers, by industry division

Goods-producing industries 1 135.9 137.7 138.6 0 4 7 15 1.3 2.0

Service-producing industries 2 134.1 135.5 136.2 7 6 5 3.4 17 1.6

Manufacturing 135.2 137.5 138.5 1 6 7 17 16 24

Nonmanutacturing 134.7 136.0 136.7 6 5 5 3.0 1.6 15
Workers, by bargaining status

Union workers ... 135.5. | 139.1 140.0 5 8 6 2.0 3.2 3.3

Nonunion workers 134.8 135.8 136.5 4 5 5 2.8 12 13
1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. ° Revised

2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utllies; wholesale and retail © NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the
trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries. ‘aggregate, occupation, and industry series.


17

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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 overtime, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses such as lump-sum
payments provided in lieu of wage increases); insurance benefits (life, health, sickness and accident, and long-
term disability); retirement and savings benefits (defined benefit and defined contribution); legally required
benefits (social security, Federal and State unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and other legally
required benefits such as State temporary disability); and other benefits (severance pay and supplemental
unemployment plans).

The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the total private economy and the public
sector--excluding farms, households, and the Federal government. The private industry series and the State and
local government series provide data for the two sectors separately.

Each quarter, straight-time average hourly wage and salary rates and benefit cost data (cents-per-hour-
‘worked) are collected from a probability sample of nearly 21,000 occupations within about 4,100 sample
establishments in private industry and nearly 6,000 occupations within about 900 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 sample establishments are classified in industry categories based on the 1987 Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Within an establishment, specific job categories are selected to represent broader occupational
definitions. From June 1986 through December 1994, the jobs were classified according to definitions used in
the 1980 Census. Prior to June 1986, they were classified according to the 1970 Census. Differences between
the two classification systems are slight, as indicated in the article "Introducing new weights for the
Employment Cost Index," in the June 1985 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning with March 1995,
the jobs are classified according to the 1990 Census, which differs little from the 1980 Census.

Fixed employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most aggregate indexes--civilian,
private, and State and local governments. These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and
occupation series indexes. Beginning in March 1995, 1990 employment counts primarily from the Bureau's
Occupational Employment Survey were used. A description of the reweighting is included in an article
“Introducing 1990 Weights for the Employment Cost Index,” that was published in the June 1995 issue of
Compensation and Working Conditions and that is available upon request. From June 1986 through December
1994, employment counts from the 1980 Census were used as weights. Prior to June 1986, employment counts
from the 1970 Census were used.



Chart A. Changes in wages and salaries and Chart B. Changes in benefits, seasonally
benefit costs, private industry _ adjusted and not seasonally adjusted, private

Wages & salaries Benefits industry .
_ a : Seasonally adjusted Not seasonally adjusted

12-month percent change : Lu

ial 3-month percent change
6

/ |

5.

0 enteninenesl J) eee teddies ete be -
50 8 84 86 8 90 92 94 96 89 82 8 86 88 90 92 94 96

Chart C. Changes in benefits Chart D. Changes in benefits,
by industry sector, private industry

Goods-producing Service-producing

12-month percent change
14
2

10

80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Compensation Levels and Trends July 1996 ocltinfo@bls.gov 202.606.6199


Over the year changes, unadjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) increased 2.9 percent for the year
ended in June 1996, the same as for the year ended in June 1995. Compensation costs for private industry
workers rose 2.9 percent, while state and local government rose 2.6 percent.

For private industry workers, wages and salaries increased 3.4 percent, up from 2.9 percent for the June
1994-June 1995 period. This was the largest 12-month increase since March 1992. Benefit costs increased 1.7
percent, compared with a 2.6 percent increase for the June 1994-June 1995 period. This moderation in benefit-
cost increases reflected lower costs for health benefits, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation.

For the year ended in June 1996, compensation costs in service-producing industries increased 3.0
percent compared with 2.7 percent for goods-producing industries. Wages and salaries increased 3.5 percent in
service-producing industries, compared with 3.0 percent in goods-producing industries. In contrast, benefit
increases were larger for goods-producing industries, 2.0 percent, than for service-producing industries, 1.6
percent.

Compensation costs for white-collar workers increased 3.0 percent compared with 2.6 percent for blue-
collar workers and 2.0 percent for service occupations. Among the major occupational groups, sales
occupations had the largest increase, at 3.7 percent, while machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors had the
lowest increase, at 1.9 percent.

Compensation cost gains over the year ended in June 1996 were higher for union workers (3.1 percent)
than for nonunion workers (2.8 percent). This pattern held for the service-producing industries (3.7 percent for
union and 2.8 percent for nonunion), but not for goods-producing industries (2.5 percent for union and 2.8
percent for nonunion).

ECI data for September 1996 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, October 29, 1996, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).

BLS Data Now Available on the World Wide Web

ECT data, as well as other data produced by BLS, are now available on the World Wide Web. To access ECI
data use the address: http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm. To access the BLS Home Page use:
http://stats.bls.gov. There is no charge from BLS for using this service; however, there may be a charge from
your Internet service provider. To access data using GOPHER or Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address:
stats.bls.gov.

For technical assistance in using the BLS Intemet site, send e-mail to: labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov. For ECI
data requests, send e-mail to: ocltinfo@bls.gov.



Table 6. WAGES AND SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries only, private
industry workers, by industry and occupational group — Continued

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar, 1996"| June 1996

Wholesale trade .... 122.7 126.1 128.0 15 0.5 15 3.7 43 43
Excluding sales occupations . i229 | 1263 1276 ‘6 5 1.0 35 34 38
Retail trade 119.6 122.8 123.1 8 1.8 2 22 35 29
General merchandise stores 118.6 121.0 121.7 6 7 & 1.9 2.6 26
Food stores 1176 | 1205 121.2 “2 12 6 -2 23 34
Finance, insurance, and real estate 117.0 119.8 121.9 17 12 18 34 42 42
Excluding sales occupations . 120.2 | 1234 124.5 8 17 2 3.6 3.4 36

Banking, savings and loan, and other
credit agencies .. 119.7 1227 | 1242 4 22 12 44 29 38
120.8 123.6 124.1 8 V1 4 3.4 3.2 27
125.2 128.0 128.6 1 13 s 3.4 34 27
124.4 | 127.6 | 1287 4 13 3 26 3.0 35
1229 126.9 1277 7 24 6 29 3.9 3.9
126.7 129.3 | 130.1 4 7 6 26 25 27
125.9 128.5 129.1 4 6 5 24 25 25
- - - 8 8 6 34 a1 28
125.9 130.1 130.4 2 5 2 3.0 36 36
Collages and universitie 125.9 130.6 130.9 3 4 2 3.0 ai 40
Nonmanutacturing industries 120.9 123.9 125.1 8 14 1.0 27 33 35
White-collar occupations .. 122.1 125.4 126.6 8 1.3 1.0 27 3.6 37
Excluding sales 123.5 126.9 1278 s 1.2 7 27 33 35
Biue-collar occupations 118.5 120.9 122.0 2 9 x) 3.0 29 3.0
Service occupations .. 119.8 | 122.0 122.7 5 7 6 27 23 24

1 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly

Eamings index, which was discontinued in January 198:

2 ‘Includes mining, construction, and manutectaing. |
3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail

— Data not available.

trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries.
¥ Revised


Table 9. AEROSPACE (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for workers in aerospace manufacturing, by

industry and occupation
Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes tor
Series 3 months ended 42 months ended
June 1995 | Mar. 1996"| June 1996
June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996 | June 1995 | Mar. 1996" | June 1996
COMPENSATION
Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 131.0 136.9 138.2 0.3 23 0.9 34 48 55
White-collar occupations 127.2 132.4 133.9 4 26 11 27 45 53
Blue-collar occupations 136.1 143.3 144.1 3 2.0 6 3.5 56 59
WAGES AND SALARIES
Aircraft manutacturing (SIC 3721) .. 126.5 129.0 130.3 06 0.7 1.0 26 26 3.0
White-collar occupations 121.6 124.1 125.9 $8 7 15 24 26 35
Blue-collar occupations 133.6 136.1 136.4 7 7 2 3.2 26 24
BENEFIT COSTS
Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) . 140.8 154.2 155.4 0.1 55 08 44 94 10.4
Whité-collar occupations 140.2 152.0 152.9 a 67 6 44 85 9.1
Blue-collar occupations 140.9 156.7 158.4 5 3.9 14 3.9 10.7 12.4

+ Revised
NOTE: SIC refers to the 1987 Standard industrial Classification System code as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.