New s

U n ited S tates

Depa rtmen t

o f Labo r

B u reau o f Labor Statistics Wash ington, D.C. 2021 2

Technical Contact: USDL: 03-200

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Internet address: UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EDT),

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2003

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX— MARCH 2003

The Employment Cost Index for total compensation rose 1.3 percent from December 2002 to March 

2003, following a 0.7 percent gain from September to December 2002, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs increased 2.2 percent and 

continued to substantially outpace the 1.0 percent gain in wages and salaries for civilian workers in March. The 

Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly 

changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits, for 

nonfarm private and State and local government workers.

Employer costs for benefits account for nearly 30 percent of compensation costs and include such items 

as health and other insurance, retirement plans, paid leave, and legally-required benefits like Social Security. 

For the year ended March 2003, benefit costs increased 6.1 percent, greater than the 4.9 percent gain for the 

year ended March 2002. Much of the increase in benefit costs stemmed from the continuing rise in the costs for 

health insurance and the recent upturn in retirement costs, particularly for defined benefit pension plans.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for private sector workers rose sharply, 1.4 percent from December 2002 to March

2003, after advancing 0.7 percent in the prior quarter. For State and local government workers, the increase in 

compensation costs was 0.9 percent from December to March, compared with the gain of 1.0 percent for the 

quarter ended in December. Gains in private sector compensation costs were led by large increases in durable 

manufacturing; finance, insurance, and real estate; and wholesale trade. Private sector compensation gains were 

dampened by retail trade, transportation and public utilities, and construction. (See tables A and 1.)

Benefit costs accelerated during the quarter, increasing 2.2 percent for civilian workers (nonfarm private 

industry and State and local government) in the March 2003 quarter following a gain of 1.3 percent in the 

December 2002 quarter. In the private sector, benefit costs shot up 2.4 percent for the March quarter, 

significantly higher than all quarterly gains since March 2000. By contrast, the increase for State and local 

governments was 1.5 percent in the March 2003 quarter, following a 1.7 percent increase in December 2002.

NOTE

This release incorporates new seasonal adjustment factors. See page 4 for details.
2

Gains in wages and salaries were 1.0 percent for civilian workers during the March quarter, following a 

0.5 percent rise in the December quarter. Private sector wages advanced 1.0 percent for the quarter after 

posting moderate gains during the prior two quarters. Wage gains in the finance, insurance, and real estate and 

wholesale trade industries led the increase. Wage and salary increases were slowed by smaller gains in 

nondurable manufacturing industries, transportation and public utilities, services industries, and among service 

workers. Wages and salaries in State and local government advanced 0.7 percent during the December 2002 to 

March 2003 period, identical to the gain in the September-December 2002 quarter.

Table A. 3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted

June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar.

Compensation Component 2001 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003

 Civilian workers

Compensation costs 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.7 1.3

 Wages and salaries 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.5 1.0

 Benefit costs 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.2 1.3 2.2

 Private industry

Compensation costs 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.7 1.4

 Wages and salaries 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.5 1.0

 Benefit costs 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.2 2.4

 State and local government

Compensation costs 1.2 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.9

 Wages and salaries 1.0 1.0 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7

 Benefit costs 1.4 1.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 2.2 1.7 1.5

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Annual compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) increased 3.9 percent for the 

year ended March 2003, identical to the over-the-year increase for March 2002. Compensation costs in private 

industry rose 3.8 percent in the year ended March 2003, compared with increases of 3.9 percent for March 

2002, and 4.2 percent for March 2001. In State and local government, compensation costs increased 4.2

percent for the year ended March 2003; over-the-year gains were 3.9 percent in March 2002 and 3.3 percent in 

March 2001. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

Although over-the-year compensation gains remained relatively constant for the years ending March 2002 

and March 2003, the components of compensation showed significant differences. While increases in wages 

and salaries turned down, benefit costs rose sharply during the year. For civilian workers, wages and salaries

inched up 2.9 percent in the year ended March 2003, compared with a gain of 6.1 percent for benefits. Both 

private industry and State and local government followed similar patterns. (See tables B, 5, 6, and 8.)

Table B. 12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted

Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.

Compensation Component 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

 Civilian workers

Compensation costs 3.3 3.0 4.3 4.1 3.9 3.9

 Wages and salaries 3.7 3.3 4.0 3.8 3.5 2.9

 Benefit costs 2.2 2.3 5.0 4.7 4.9 6.1

 Private industry

Compensation costs 3.5 3.0 4.6 4.2 3.9 3.8

 Wages and salaries 4.0 3.3 4.2 3.8 3.5 3.0

 Benefit costs 2.3 2.2 5.5 5.0 4.8 6.1

 State and local government

Compensation costs 2.5 2.9 3.6 3.3 3.9 4.2

 Wages and salaries 2.8 2.9 3.8 3.5 3.4 3.1

 Benefit costs 1.7 2.8 3.2 2.8 5.0 6.6
3

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended March 2003, compensation costs in private industry increased 4.4 percent for goodsproducing industries, higher than the 3.6 percent advance for the year ended March 2002. Compensation costs 

for manufacturing led the gain, advancing 4.7 percent in March 2003 after increasing 3.5 percent in March 

2002. Compensation costs for construction rose 3.2 percent compared with a 4.0 percent rise in 2002. (See 

table 3.)

The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-producing industries was 3.6 percent, compared

with a 4.0 percent gain for the year ended March 2002. Among service-producing industries, the 12-month 

increase for finance, insurance, and real estate was 7.0 percent for the year ended in March 2003, led by 

increases in banking, savings and loan, and other credit agencies. Conversely, compensation costs inched up 

1.3 percent in business services in the year ended March 2003, following a 3.6 percent increase for 2002.

Over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.8 percent for white-collar occupations, 4.0 percent for 

blue-collar occupations, and 3.4 percent for service occupations for the year ended March 2003. Among 

white-collar occupational groups, compensation gains ranged from 3.1 percent for professional specialty and 

technical workers to 4.7 percent for executive, administrative, and managerial workers. Among blue-collar 

workers, compensation cost increases ranged from 3.0 percent for transportation and material moving workers 

to 4.1 percent for precision production, craft, and repair workers and machine operators, assemblers, and 

inspectors. (See table 3.)

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 4.7 percent over the year ending March 2003, greater 

than the 3.6 percent increase for nonunion workers. Compensation costs among blue-collar union workers rose 

4.9 percent, higher than the modest gain of 3.3 percent for blue-collar nonunion workers. In goods-producing 

industries, the 5.2 percent increase for union workers was greater than the 4.1 percent advance for nonunion 

workers. (See tables C and 4.)

Wages and salaries for union workers rose 3.3 percent for the 12 months ended in March 2003. This 

compares with an over-the-year increase of 2.9 percent for nonunion workers. Benefit costs for union workers 

rose sharply, 7.3 percent, greater than the increase of 5.8 percent for nonunion workers in 2003. (See tables C, 

7, and 8.)

Table C. 12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted

Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.

Compensation Component 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

 Union workers

Compensation costs 2.3 3.0 3.6 3.4 4.7 4.7

 Wages and salaries 2.9 3.1 2.7 3.6 4.4 3.3

 Benefit costs 1.4 2.6 5.4 3.1 5.0 7.3

 Nonunion workers

Compensation costs 3.7 3.0 4.7 4.3 3.8 3.6

 Wages and salaries 4.2 3.3 4.4 3.9 3.4 2.9

 Benefit costs 2.6 2.2 5.5 5.5 4.8 5.8

Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs ranged from 2.8 percent in the 

South to 4.9 percent in the Midwest for the year ended in March 2003. Compensation costs rose 3.5 percent in 

the Northeast and 4.3 percent in the West. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In State and local government, the March 2003 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was 3.1

percent, compared with a gain of 3.4 percent for March 2002. Among occupational groups, wages of service 

workers rose 2.8 percent for the year ended March 2003, compared with gains of 3.0 percent for blue-collar 
4

workers and 3.2 percent for white-collar workers. Benefit costs jumped 6.6 percent for March 2003,

significantly higher than the March 2002 gain of 5.0 percent. (See tables B, 5, and 8.)

________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTES:

This release incorporates annual revisions in seasonally adjusted Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for 

total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs. Seasonally adjusted data for 1998-2002 were revised 

to reflect updated seasonal factors. The new seasonal factors and historical listing containing revised seasonally 

adjusted indexes are available on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, by e-mail request 

ocltinfo@bls.gov, or by telephone (202) 691-6199.

The ECI for June 2003 is scheduled to be released Thursday, July 31, 2003, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent changes in employer costs for health 

insurance in private industry from March 1982 to March 2003, will be available shortly after publication of this 

news release on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm or upon request.

The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, were published on 

March 18, 2003, in a news release titled “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation–December 2002.” 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation was changed from an annual to a quarterly publication beginning 

with June 2002 data. Future publications will be issued approximately three months after the survey months of 

March, June, September, and December. 

ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.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 webmaster@bls.gov. For ECI data 

requests, send e-mail to ocltinfo@bls.gov.

The ECI news release is available through an e-mail subscription service. See the subscription link on 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or http://www.bls.gov/bls/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

________________________________________________________________________________________
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Chart A. Changes in wages and salaries and in benefit costs, private industry, 1980-2003

12-month percent change

Wages and salaries

Benefits

Chart B. Changes in benefits, goods- and service-producing industries, private industry, 1980-2003

12-month percent change

Chart C. Changes in benefits, by bargaining status, private industry, 1980-2003

12-month percent change

Goodsproducing

Serviceproducing

Employment Cost Index

Nonunion

Union
6 

Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, wages and salaries, and benefit costs by industry and

occupational group 

(Seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June

1989=100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Jun.

2001

Sep.

2001

Dec.

2001

Mar.

2002

Jun.

2002

Sep.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Civilian workers .............................................. 162.4 164.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.7 1.3

State and local government .......................... 161.1 162.6 1.2 1.1 .7 .8 .9 1.3 1.0 .9

Private industry ............................................. 162.7 164.9 .9 1.0 1.1 .9 1.1 .6 .7 1.4

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 160.6 163.1 1.0 .8 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 1.0 1.6

Construction ......................................... 157.9 159.2 1.2 1.1 .9 .7 .6 .8 1.0 .8

Manufacturing ....................................... 160.8 163.7 .9 .6 1.0 1.0 1.0 .8 1.1 1.8

Durables ........................................... 160.8 164.3 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .6 1.1 2.2

Nondurables ..................................... 160.9 162.6 1.0 .4 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.1

Service producing3 ................................... 163.7 165.7 .9 1.0 1.1 .9 1.1 .6 .6 1.2

Transportation and public utilities ......... 162.0 163.2 1.2 .7 1.6 1.0 1.0 1.1 .9 .7

Wholesale trade .................................... 167.0 169.8 1.3 .8 .7 1.6 2.2 .1 .7 1.7

Retail trade ........................................... 156.5 156.4 .6 .9 2.1 -.3 1.3 .4 .4 -.1

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 168.5 176.7 1.0 .9 .2 2.4 1.3 .4 .3 4.9

Services ................................................ 165.7 167.1 .8 1.3 .9 .9 .7 .6 .6 .8

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 162.9 164.8 1.0 1.1 1.2 .8 1.1 .6 .6 1.2

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 165.6 168.0 1.0 .9 1.2 .8 1.1 .6 .7 1.4

Blue collar ................................................. 157.6 159.7 .6 1.2 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9 1.3

Service ...................................................... 159.6 161.5 .9 .9 1.4 1.0 .7 1.0 .6 1.2

WAGES AND SALARIES

Civilian workers .............................................. 157.8 159.3 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 .6 .5 1.0

State and local government .......................... 158.2 159.3 1.0 1.0 .6 .8 .8 .8 .7 .7

Private industry ............................................. 157.7 159.3 .9 .8 .9 .9 .9 .4 .5 1.0

Industry

Goods producing2,4 .................................. 155.0 156.3 1.1 .6 .7 .8 .9 .5 .7 .8

Construction ......................................... 150.3 150.7 1.1 1.0 .9 .5 .6 .7 .9 .3

Manufacturing4 ..................................... 156.5 158.0 1.0 .5 .7 .9 .9 .6 .7 1.0

Durables4 ......................................... 157.3 158.8 1.0 .7 .7 .9 .9 .5 .8 1.0

Nondurables ..................................... 155.6 156.4 1.1 .3 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .5

Service producing3 ................................... 158.9 160.6 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .5 .4 1.1

Transportation and public utilities4 ....... 154.1 154.8 1.4 .7 1.7 .9 1.1 .9 .5 .5

Wholesale trade .................................... 161.3 163.9 1.1 .3 .5 1.7 1.7 .1 .4 1.6

Retail trade ........................................... 153.3 152.9 .5 .8 1.7 -.4 1.1 .3 .3 -.3

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 162.6 171.1 .5 .8 .1 2.8 1.1 .2 .1 5.2

Services ................................................ 161.9 162.8 .8 1.2 .9 .8 .6 .6 .4 .6

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 157.8 159.4 .8 .9 1.1 .8 .8 .5 .4 1.0

See footnotes at end of table.
7 

Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, wages and salaries, and benefit costs by industry and

occupational group — Continued

(Seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June

1989=100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Jun.

2001

Sep.

2001

Dec.

2001

Mar.

2002

Jun.

2002

Sep.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

WAGES AND SALARIES–Continued

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 160.7 162.6 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.5 1.2

Blue collar4 ............................................... 152.4 153.6 .9 1.1 .5 .9 .9 .5 .5 .8

Service4 .................................................... 154.5 155.5 .8 .8 1.3 .9 .5 .7 .4 .6

BENEFIT COSTS

Civilian workers .............................................. 173.4 177.2 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.2 1.3 2.2

State and local government .......................... 167.9 170.4 1.4 1.6 .9 1.0 1.1 2.2 1.7 1.5

Private industry ............................................. 174.7 178.9 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.2 2.4

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 171.6 177.4 .9 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 3.4

Manufacturing ....................................... 169.5 176.3 .6 .8 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.4 4.0

Service producing3 ................................... 176.5 179.7 1.2 1.5 1.3 .9 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.8

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 176.9 180.2 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.0 1.3 1.0 1.1 1.9

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 179.2 183.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 .8 1.4 .9 1.1 2.3

Blue collar ................................................. 168.2 172.4 .4 1.4 .8 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 2.5

Service ...................................................... 175.1 179.9 1.2 1.2 1.8 1.4 1.1 1.7 1.0 2.7

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 No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.
8 

Table 2. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1 for civilian and State and local government workers by

industry and occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Civilian workers ............................................ 158.4 162.2 164.5 1.0 0.6 1.4 3.9 3.4 3.9

Excluding sales occupations .................. 158.4 162.2 164.6 1.0 .6 1.5 3.9 3.4 3.9

Industry

Goods producing2 ...................................... 156.3 160.2 163.1 1.2 .9 1.8 3.7 3.8 4.4

Manufacturing ......................................... 156.6 160.5 164.0 1.3 .9 2.2 3.5 3.8 4.7

Service producing3 ..................................... 159.1 162.8 165.0 1.0 .4 1.4 4.0 3.3 3.7

Services .................................................. 160.2 163.9 165.3 .8 .4 .9 3.8 3.1 3.2

Health services ................................... 160.5 164.5 166.4 1.4 .9 1.2 5.2 3.9 3.7

Hospitals ......................................... 162.3 167.6 169.9 1.4 1.1 1.4 5.9 4.8 4.7

Educational services ........................... 157.1 162.8 163.6 .3 .7 .5 3.6 4.0 4.1

Public administration4 ............................. 156.5 161.7 163.4 .8 .9 1.1 3.9 4.2 4.4

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 158.7 162.4 164.5 1.0 .4 1.3 4.0 3.3 3.7

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 160.5 164.3 166.7 1.0 .5 1.5 4.0 3.4 3.9

Excluding sales ................................... 160.9 164.6 167.2 1.1 .5 1.6 4.0 3.4 3.9

Professional specialty and technical ....... 158.5 162.4 164.1 .6 .6 1.0 3.5 3.1 3.5

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 163.7 166.7 171.1 1.6 .2 2.6 4.5 3.4 4.5

Administrative support, including clerical 162.0 166.1 168.3 1.3 .7 1.3 4.3 3.8 3.9

Blue collar ................................................... 153.7 157.5 159.8 1.1 .7 1.5 3.7 3.6 4.0

Service ........................................................ 158.4 162.2 164.1 1.0 .6 1.2 4.2 3.4 3.6

State and local government ......................... 156.1 161.5 162.6 .6 .9 .7 3.9 4.1 4.2

Industry

Services .................................................. 155.5 160.9 161.8 .4 .8 .6 3.7 3.9 4.1

Excluding schools ........................... 157.9 162.8 164.0 1.2 1.1 .7 5.2 4.3 3.9

Health services ................................... 160.4 165.5 166.4 1.1 1.2 .5 5.5 4.4 3.7

Hospitals ......................................... 160.7 166.2 167.0 1.0 1.3 .5 5.6 4.5 3.9

Educational services ........................... 154.8 160.3 161.1 .2 .7 .5 3.5 3.8 4.1

Schools ........................................... 155.1 160.7 161.4 .2 .7 .4 3.5 3.8 4.1

Elementary and secondary ......... 153.4 158.8 159.4 .2 .7 .4 3.3 3.7 3.9

Colleges and universities ............ 160.0 165.8 167.0 .3 .7 .7 4.1 3.9 4.4

Public administration4 ............................. 156.5 161.7 163.4 .8 .9 1.1 3.9 4.2 4.4

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 155.2 160.7 161.7 .5 .9 .6 3.8 4.1 4.2

Professional specialty and technical ....... 153.6 159.4 160.2 .3 .8 .5 3.5 4.0 4.3

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 159.5 163.8 165.3 1.2 .9 .9 4.7 3.9 3.6

Administrative support, including clerical 156.9 162.4 163.8 .8 .9 .9 4.1 4.4 4.4

Blue collar ................................................... 154.0 159.8 161.3 .5 .9 .9 3.6 4.3 4.7

Service ........................................................ 161.5 166.3 168.0 .6 .7 1.0 4.0 3.6 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; service

industries; and public administration. 4 Includes executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory

activities of State and local governments, SICs 91 through 96.
9 

Table 3. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1 for private industry workers, by industry and

occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Private industry workers .............................. 158.9 162.3 165.0 1.1 0.4 1.7 3.9 3.2 3.8

Excluding sales occupations .................. 159.0 162.4 165.1 1.1 .5 1.7 3.9 3.3 3.8

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 156.2 160.1 163.0 1.2 .9 1.8 3.6 3.7 4.4

Excluding sales ................................... 155.5 159.2 162.4 1.2 .8 2.0 3.6 3.6 4.4

White collar ............................................. 160.1 164.3 167.8 1.3 .9 2.1 3.6 3.9 4.8

Excluding sales ................................... 158.4 162.3 166.3 1.2 .7 2.5 3.5 3.7 5.0

Blue collar ............................................... 153.6 157.3 159.9 1.1 .9 1.7 3.6 3.6 4.1

Construction ........................................... 154.1 157.9 159.1 .7 1.0 .8 4.0 3.2 3.2

Manufacturing ......................................... 156.6 160.5 164.0 1.3 .9 2.2 3.5 3.8 4.7

White collar ......................................... 159.1 163.3 167.1 1.4 .7 2.3 3.2 4.1 5.0

Excluding sales ............................... 156.7 160.7 165.1 1.3 .7 2.7 3.0 3.9 5.4

Blue collar ........................................... 154.6 158.3 161.6 1.2 1.0 2.1 3.7 3.7 4.5

Durables ............................................. 156.9 160.6 164.4 1.0 1.1 2.4 3.4 3.4 4.8

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 167.5 172.3 183.2 2.5 2.1 6.3 4.8 5.4 9.4

White collar ................................. 163.3 165.3 177.9 2.7 1.0 7.6 3.8 4.0 8.9

Blue collar ................................... 172.6 182.3 189.8 2.1 3.9 4.1 6.6 7.8 10.0

Nondurables ....................................... 156.0 160.3 163.1 1.8 .7 1.7 3.7 4.6 4.6

Service producing3 .................................. 159.9 163.1 165.6 1.1 .2 1.5 4.0 3.1 3.6

Excluding sales ................................... 160.9 164.0 166.6 1.2 .3 1.6 4.1 3.1 3.5

White collar ............................................. 162.1 165.1 167.9 1.1 .2 1.7 4.0 3.0 3.6

Excluding sales ................................... 164.1 167.0 169.9 1.2 .3 1.7 4.2 3.0 3.5

Blue collar ............................................... 153.2 156.9 158.7 1.2 .2 1.1 3.7 3.6 3.6

Service .................................................... 155.9 159.3 161.1 1.1 .5 1.1 4.2 3.3 3.3

Transportation and public utilities ........... 157.3 161.7 163.2 1.2 .6 .9 4.5 4.0 3.8

Transportation .................................... 152.5 156.1 157.8 .9 .5 1.1 4.9 3.3 3.5

Public utilities ...................................... 163.9 169.2 170.5 1.5 .6 .8 4.2 4.8 4.0

Communications ............................. 166.0 170.1 171.3 1.6 .7 .7 4.9 4.1 3.2

Electric, gas, and sanitary services 161.3 168.1 169.5 1.4 .5 .8 3.4 5.7 5.1

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 156.5 159.7 161.3 .6 .1 1.0 3.6 2.7 3.1

Excluding sales ............................... 157.5 160.4 161.8 .3 .1 .9 3.2 2.1 2.7

Wholesale trade .................................. 161.9 166.7 169.5 1.5 .5 1.7 4.4 4.5 4.7

Excluding sales ............................... 162.3 167.2 168.4 1.1 .7 .7 3.4 4.1 3.8

Retail trade ......................................... 153.5 155.8 156.6 .2 -.1 .5 3.2 1.7 2.0

General merchandise stores .......... 152.4 155.1 156.4 1.0 -.6 .8 3.5 2.8 2.6

Food stores ..................................... 152.9 156.3 157.5 .8 .0 .8 4.7 3.0 3.0

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 165.2 168.5 176.7 2.4 .3 4.9 4.6 4.5 7.0

Excluding sales ............................... 169.8 173.1 182.0 2.9 .6 5.1 5.3 4.9 7.2

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 182.1 185.3 204.3 4.5 .4 10.3 6.6 6.3 12.2

Insurance ............................................ 164.0 167.9 172.1 1.7 .5 2.5 4.1 4.1 4.9

Excluding sales ............................... 163.0 165.7 169.6 2.3 .4 2.4 4.8 4.0 4.0

Services .................................................. 162.6 165.4 167.1 1.0 .3 1.0 3.9 2.7 2.8

Business services ............................... 166.3 167.5 168.5 .1 .2 .6 3.6 .8 1.3

Health services ................................... 160.6 164.4 166.5 1.4 .7 1.3 5.2 3.8 3.7

Hospitals ......................................... 162.8 168.1 170.8 1.6 1.1 1.6 6.1 4.9 4.9

Nursing homes ............................... – – – 1.4 .8 1.2 4.7 4.0 3.9

Educational services ........................... 168.5 175.2 176.3 .5 1.0 .6 3.8 4.5 4.6

Colleges and universities ................ 168.1 173.7 174.5 .4 1.0 .5 3.6 3.7 3.8

See footnotes at end of table.
10 

Table 3. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1 for private industry workers, by industry and

occupational group — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 159.3 162.5 164.9 1.1 0.3 1.5 4.0 3.1 3.5

White collar ............................................. 162.2 165.3 168.0 1.1 .3 1.6 4.1 3.0 3.6

Excluding sales ................................... 164.2 167.1 170.0 1.2 .3 1.7 4.3 3.0 3.5

Blue collar ............................................... 152.2 155.9 157.5 1.1 .3 1.0 3.6 3.5 3.5

Service .................................................... 155.9 159.2 161.1 1.2 .5 1.2 4.3 3.3 3.3

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 161.9 165.2 168.1 1.1 .4 1.8 4.0 3.2 3.8

Excluding sales ................................... 162.8 165.9 169.1 1.2 .4 1.9 4.0 3.1 3.9

Professional specialty and technical ....... 161.5 164.4 166.5 .7 .5 1.3 3.3 2.6 3.1

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 164.4 167.2 172.1 1.6 .1 2.9 4.5 3.3 4.7

Sales ....................................................... 157.7 161.9 163.5 .6 .2 1.0 3.5 3.3 3.7

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 162.8 166.7 169.0 1.2 .7 1.4 4.3 3.7 3.8

Blue collar ................................................. 153.6 157.3 159.7 1.1 .6 1.5 3.6 3.6 4.0

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 153.7 157.8 160.0 .8 .6 1.4 3.4 3.5 4.1

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 153.6 156.7 159.9 1.4 .8 2.0 3.6 3.4 4.1

Transportation and material moving ....... 148.7 151.8 153.2 1.6 .5 .9 4.3 3.8 3.0

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 158.7 162.9 164.9 1.4 .9 1.2 4.3 4.1 3.9

Service ....................................................... 156.4 159.8 161.7 1.0 .5 1.2 4.3 3.2 3.4

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations4 ........................................... 157.1 160.5 162.6 1.0 .5 1.3 3.8 3.2 3.5

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 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.
11 

Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1 for private industry workers, by bargaining status,

region, and area 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Bargaining status, region, and area

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 154.8 159.5 162.1 1.1 0.9 1.6 4.7 4.2 4.7

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 151.7 156.6 159.2 1.1 .9 1.7 4.0 4.4 4.9

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 153.4 157.8 161.4 1.1 1.0 2.3 3.7 4.0 5.2

Service-producing industries3 .................. 156.0 161.1 162.6 1.2 .8 .9 5.7 4.5 4.2

Manufacturing ........................................... 153.4 157.9 162.3 1.3 1.3 2.8 3.7 4.3 5.8

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 152.5 157.0 161.1 1.1 1.3 2.6 3.5 4.0 5.6

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 155.0 159.9 161.4 1.0 .7 .9 5.2 4.2 4.1

Nonunion ..................................................... 159.6 162.8 165.4 1.1 .4 1.6 3.8 3.2 3.6

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 154.7 157.7 159.8 1.2 .5 1.3 3.5 3.1 3.3

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 157.2 160.8 163.6 1.2 .8 1.7 3.7 3.5 4.1

Service-producing industries3 .................. 160.3 163.3 165.9 1.1 .2 1.6 3.8 3.0 3.5

Manufacturing ........................................... 157.6 161.3 164.5 1.4 .7 2.0 3.4 3.7 4.4

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 155.6 158.8 161.5 1.4 .8 1.7 3.8 3.5 3.8

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 159.9 162.9 165.4 1.1 .3 1.5 3.9 3.0 3.4

Region4

Northeast ...................................................... 158.3 161.3 163.8 1.3 .5 1.5 4.4 3.2 3.5

South ............................................................ 156.2 159.0 160.6 1.0 .1 1.0 3.4 2.8 2.8

Midwest ........................................................ 161.1 164.6 169.0 1.6 .7 2.7 4.1 3.8 4.9

West ............................................................. 160.4 165.0 167.3 .6 .7 1.4 4.0 3.5 4.3

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 159.1 162.5 165.2 1.1 .4 1.7 3.9 3.2 3.8

Other ............................................................. 157.5 160.8 163.5 1.2 .5 1.7 3.6 3.3 3.8

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.
12 

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)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Civilian workers ............................................ 154.8 157.8 159.3 0.9 0.4 1.0 3.5 2.9 2.9

Excluding sales occupations .................. 154.8 157.8 159.4 .9 .4 1.0 3.6 2.9 3.0

Industry

Goods producing1 ...................................... 151.8 155.1 156.3 .9 .8 .8 3.3 3.1 3.0

Manufacturing ......................................... 153.1 156.5 158.0 .9 .7 1.0 3.1 3.2 3.2

Service producing2 ..................................... 155.9 158.8 160.5 .9 .3 1.1 3.6 2.8 3.0

Services .................................................. 158.1 161.1 161.9 .6 .2 .5 3.6 2.5 2.4

Health services ................................... 157.3 160.9 162.0 1.2 .8 .7 5.0 3.5 3.0

Hospitals ......................................... 157.2 162.2 163.5 1.1 1.2 .8 5.6 4.3 4.0

Educational services ........................... 155.3 160.1 160.4 .1 .5 .2 3.2 3.2 3.3

Public administration3 ............................. 152.5 155.8 157.2 .6 .6 .9 3.3 2.8 3.1

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 155.0 158.0 159.6 .8 .3 1.0 3.5 2.7 3.0

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 157.0 160.1 161.9 .9 .3 1.1 3.5 2.9 3.1

Excluding sales ................................... 157.6 160.7 162.5 1.0 .4 1.1 3.6 2.9 3.1

Professional specialty and technical ....... 155.6 158.6 159.3 .3 .4 .4 3.0 2.3 2.4

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 160.7 163.8 167.9 1.6 .2 2.5 4.4 3.6 4.5

Administrative support, including clerical 157.3 160.6 161.8 1.0 .6 .7 3.8 3.1 2.9

Blue collar ................................................... 149.7 152.6 153.8 .8 .5 .8 3.5 2.8 2.7

Service ........................................................ 154.2 156.9 158.0 .8 .4 .7 3.8 2.5 2.5

State and local government ......................... 154.4 158.6 159.2 .5 .6 .4 3.4 3.2 3.1

Industry

Services .................................................. 154.6 159.2 159.5 .3 .5 .2 3.4 3.2 3.2

Excluding schools ........................... 156.7 160.3 161.4 1.2 .8 .7 5.1 3.5 3.0

Health services ................................... 157.8 162.2 162.9 1.3 1.1 .4 5.3 4.1 3.2

Hospitals ......................................... 157.7 162.5 163.1 1.3 1.2 .4 5.5 4.4 3.4

Educational services ........................... 154.2 158.9 159.1 .1 .5 .1 3.1 3.2 3.2

Schools ........................................... 154.3 159.0 159.2 .1 .4 .1 3.1 3.2 3.2

Elementary and secondary ......... 153.4 158.1 158.2 .2 .4 .1 3.0 3.3 3.1

Colleges and universities ............ 156.8 161.6 162.1 .1 .6 .3 3.6 3.1 3.4

Public administration3 ............................. 152.5 155.8 157.2 .6 .6 .9 3.3 2.8 3.1

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 153.9 158.4 158.9 .4 .6 .3 3.3 3.3 3.2

Professional specialty and technical ....... 153.6 158.4 158.8 .1 .6 .3 3.0 3.3 3.4

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 156.6 160.1 160.9 1.0 .7 .5 4.3 3.2 2.7

Administrative support, including clerical 151.9 156.0 156.9 .7 .6 .6 3.3 3.4 3.3

Blue collar ................................................... 151.6 155.1 156.2 .5 .4 .7 3.8 2.9 3.0

Service ........................................................ 158.3 161.2 162.7 .6 .4 .9 3.6 2.4 2.8

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.
13 

Table 6. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by industry and

occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Private industry workers .............................. 154.7 157.5 159.3 0.9 0.3 1.1 3.5 2.7 3.0

Excluding sales occupations .................. 154.9 157.5 159.4 1.0 .3 1.2 3.6 2.7 2.9

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................... 151.7 155.0 156.3 .8 .7 .8 3.2 3.0 3.0

Excluding sales ................................... 150.9 154.0 155.4 .8 .7 .9 3.1 2.9 3.0

White collar ............................................. 155.0 158.6 160.0 .9 .7 .9 3.0 3.3 3.2

Excluding sales ................................... 152.9 156.3 158.0 .8 .6 1.1 2.7 3.0 3.3

Blue collar ............................................... 149.6 152.6 153.8 .8 .7 .8 3.4 2.8 2.8

Construction ........................................... 147.0 150.2 150.6 .5 .8 .3 3.4 2.7 2.4

Manufacturing ......................................... 153.1 156.5 158.0 .9 .7 1.0 3.1 3.2 3.2

White collar ......................................... 154.9 158.6 160.1 1.0 .6 .9 2.5 3.5 3.4

Excluding sales ............................... 152.3 155.9 157.7 .9 .6 1.2 2.1 3.2 3.5

Blue collar ........................................... 151.7 154.7 156.3 .9 .8 1.0 3.6 2.9 3.0

Durables ............................................. 153.9 157.3 158.8 .9 .8 1.0 3.3 3.1 3.2

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 161.4 163.1 166.0 2.0 .4 1.8 4.6 3.0 2.9

White collar ................................. 155.9 156.2 160.4 2.4 .2 2.7 4.1 2.6 2.9

Blue collar ................................... 169.0 173.2 173.6 1.0 .6 .2 5.4 3.5 2.7

Nondurables ....................................... 151.9 155.2 156.6 1.1 .5 .9 3.0 3.3 3.1

Service producing2 .................................. 156.1 158.6 160.6 1.0 .1 1.3 3.7 2.7 2.9

Excluding sales ................................... 157.2 159.6 161.7 1.1 .2 1.3 3.9 2.6 2.9

White collar ............................................. 158.2 160.7 163.0 1.1 .1 1.4 3.7 2.7 3.0

Excluding sales ................................... 160.4 162.8 165.3 1.1 .2 1.5 4.0 2.6 3.1

Blue collar ............................................... 149.4 152.0 153.2 .9 .1 .8 3.5 2.6 2.5

Service .................................................... 151.6 154.1 155.1 .9 .4 .6 3.8 2.6 2.3

Transportation and public utilities ........... 150.5 154.1 154.8 .9 .5 .5 4.7 3.3 2.9

Transportation .................................... 147.4 150.1 150.5 1.2 .3 .3 5.4 3.0 2.1

Public utilities ...................................... 154.3 159.3 160.4 .5 .7 .7 3.8 3.7 4.0

Communications ............................. 155.3 160.7 161.9 .1 .7 .7 4.1 3.5 4.2

Electric, gas, and sanitary services 153.0 157.4 158.6 .9 .6 .8 3.3 3.8 3.7

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 153.0 155.5 156.7 .6 .0 .8 3.1 2.2 2.4

Excluding sales ............................... 154.8 157.0 157.9 .1 -.1 .6 2.7 1.6 2.0

Wholesale trade .................................. 157.2 161.0 163.4 1.6 .4 1.5 3.7 4.0 3.9

Excluding sales ............................... 159.4 163.7 163.9 .9 .7 .1 2.9 3.7 2.8

Retail trade ......................................... 150.9 152.7 153.1 .1 -.1 .3 2.7 1.3 1.5

General merchandise stores .......... 147.9 149.2 149.8 1.0 -.6 .4 2.9 1.8 1.3

Food stores ..................................... 148.0 150.3 151.0 .9 .1 .5 3.3 2.5 2.0

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 160.3 162.6 171.1 2.8 .1 5.2 4.2 4.2 6.7

Excluding sales ............................... 164.5 167.3 176.7 3.4 .7 5.6 5.0 5.2 7.4

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 181.2 183.9 206.4 5.5 .7 12.2 7.0 7.1 13.9

Insurance ............................................ 157.1 159.1 161.6 1.4 -.3 1.6 3.1 2.6 2.9

Excluding sales ............................... 154.3 155.9 157.9 2.1 .0 1.3 4.0 3.1 2.3

Services .................................................. 159.5 161.7 162.8 .8 .1 .7 3.7 2.2 2.1

Business services ............................... 164.0 164.8 165.6 .2 .1 .5 3.7 .7 1.0

Health services ................................... 157.3 160.7 161.9 1.2 .8 .7 5.0 3.4 2.9

Hospitals ......................................... 157.1 162.1 163.6 1.1 1.2 .9 5.8 4.3 4.1

Nursing homes ............................... – – – 1.4 .9 .8 4.7 4.1 3.5

Educational services ........................... 161.2 166.5 167.1 .4 .8 .4 3.7 3.7 3.7

Colleges and universities ................ 159.9 164.3 164.4 .2 .7 .1 3.8 2.9 2.8

See footnotes at end of table.
14 

Table 6. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by industry and

occupational group — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 155.0 157.5 159.4 1.0 0.2 1.2 3.7 2.6 2.8

White collar ............................................. 158.0 160.5 162.8 1.0 .2 1.4 3.7 2.6 3.0

Excluding sales ................................... 160.1 162.5 164.9 1.1 .2 1.5 4.0 2.7 3.0

Blue collar ............................................... 147.5 150.2 151.1 .8 .3 .6 3.3 2.6 2.4

Service .................................................... 151.4 154.0 155.0 .9 .4 .6 3.7 2.6 2.4

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 157.7 160.4 162.6 1.0 .3 1.4 3.5 2.8 3.1

Excluding sales ................................... 158.6 161.3 163.6 1.1 .3 1.4 3.7 2.8 3.2

Professional specialty and technical ....... 156.7 158.5 159.5 .5 .2 .6 3.0 1.7 1.8

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 161.3 164.5 169.1 1.7 .1 2.8 4.3 3.7 4.8

Sales ....................................................... 153.6 156.8 158.1 .7 -.1 .8 2.9 2.8 2.9

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 158.2 161.3 162.6 1.1 .6 .8 3.9 3.1 2.8

Blue collar ................................................. 149.6 152.4 153.6 .9 .5 .8 3.5 2.8 2.7

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 149.2 152.3 153.4 .5 .3 .7 3.2 2.6 2.8

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 150.5 153.2 154.7 1.0 .8 1.0 3.4 2.8 2.8

Transportation and material moving ....... 144.8 146.9 147.8 1.4 .4 .6 3.8 2.9 2.1

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 154.2 157.2 158.4 1.2 .8 .8 4.2 3.1 2.7

Service ....................................................... 152.0 154.5 155.5 .9 .4 .6 3.8 2.6 2.3

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations3 ........................................... 152.7 155.2 156.4 .8 .3 .8 3.4 2.4 2.4

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 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.
15 

Table 7. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by bargaining status,

region, and area 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Bargaining status, region, and area

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 148.4 152.5 153.3 0.7 0.8 0.5 4.4 3.5 3.3

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 145.6 149.6 150.5 .6 .8 .6 3.8 3.4 3.4

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 147.2 151.2 152.4 .6 .8 .8 3.4 3.3 3.5

Service-producing industries2 .................. 150.0 154.1 154.6 .7 .8 .3 5.5 3.5 3.1

Manufacturing ........................................... 149.0 153.1 154.6 .7 1.0 1.0 3.5 3.4 3.8

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 147.8 151.8 153.3 .5 1.0 1.0 3.4 3.3 3.7

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 148.1 152.1 152.5 .7 .7 .3 5.0 3.4 3.0

Nonunion ..................................................... 155.9 158.5 160.4 1.0 .3 1.2 3.4 2.7 2.9

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 151.9 154.2 155.5 .9 .3 .8 3.3 2.5 2.4

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 153.5 156.6 157.8 .9 .7 .8 3.2 3.0 2.8

Service-producing industries2 .................. 156.7 159.0 161.2 1.0 .1 1.4 3.5 2.5 2.9

Manufacturing ........................................... 154.7 157.8 159.3 1.0 .6 1.0 3.1 3.1 3.0

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 154.3 156.8 158.3 1.1 .7 1.0 3.8 2.8 2.6

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 155.9 158.3 160.4 1.0 .1 1.3 3.5 2.5 2.9

Region3

Northeast ...................................................... 153.5 155.7 157.3 1.2 .4 1.0 4.2 2.6 2.5

South ............................................................ 152.5 154.6 155.3 .9 -.1 .5 2.8 2.2 1.8

Midwest ........................................................ 157.1 160.2 164.1 1.6 .6 2.4 4.1 3.6 4.5

West ............................................................. 156.4 160.1 161.3 .3 .5 .7 3.4 2.6 3.1

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 155.1 157.9 159.6 .9 .3 1.1 3.5 2.7 2.9

Other ............................................................. 151.7 154.8 156.8 .8 .7 1.3 2.9 2.9 3.4

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.
16 

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)

Industry, occupational group, and

bargaining status

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Mar.

2002

Dec.

2002

Mar.

2003

Civilian workers .......................................... 167.5 173.3 177.8 1.5 0.9 2.6 4.9 5.0 6.1

State and local government ........................ 159.9 168.2 170.5 .9 1.4 1.4 5.0 6.2 6.6

Private industry ........................................... 169.3 174.6 179.6 1.6 .9 2.9 4.8 4.7 6.1

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................. 165.8 171.0 178.0 2.0 1.3 4.1 4.6 5.2 7.4

Service producing2 ................................. 170.7 175.9 179.9 1.4 .6 2.3 5.0 4.5 5.4

Manufacturing ......................................... 163.7 168.9 176.9 2.1 1.3 4.7 4.2 5.3 8.1

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) ...... 180.7 192.4 220.4 3.6 5.4 14.6 5.4 10.3 22.0

White collar ..................................... 180.7 187.0 219.7 3.3 2.6 17.5 3.3 6.9 21.6

Blue collar ....................................... 179.5 199.3 220.1 4.1 9.6 10.4 8.8 15.6 22.6

Nonmanufacturing .................................. 171.1 176.3 180.3 1.4 .6 2.3 5.0 4.4 5.4

Occupational group

White collar ............................................. 173.5 178.5 183.6 1.3 .7 2.9 5.0 4.3 5.8

Blue collar ............................................... 162.2 167.8 172.7 1.9 1.0 2.9 4.2 5.4 6.5

Service .................................................... 168.9 174.9 180.2 1.7 .9 3.0 5.9 5.4 6.7

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................... 166.5 172.7 178.7 1.9 1.1 3.5 5.0 5.7 7.3

Nonunion ................................................ 169.7 174.7 179.5 1.5 .7 2.7 4.8 4.5 5.8

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. 
17

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 referral bonuses and lump-sum 

payments provided in lieu of wage increases); insurance benefits--life, health, short-term disability, and longterm disability; retirement and savings benefits--defined benefit and defined contribution plans; legally required 

benefits--social security, medicare, Federal and State unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation; and 

other benefits--severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans.

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 27,850 occupational 

observations within about 6,850 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 3,700 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 and classified into about 500 occupational classifications according to the 

1990 Census of Population. Individual occupations are combined into broader occupational groups. 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. For more information on these topics, see 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” in the June 1995 issue of Compensation and 

Working Conditions.

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. For more information on the methodology 

used to seasonally adjust ECI series, see the bulletin, Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin 2532). The 

seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once a year. The March release contains data reflecting the
18

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 2002 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the 

past five years are available on the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) or upon request. 

The ECI sample is rotated over approximately five years, which makes the sample more representative 

and reduces respondent burden. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis.

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 one 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. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of series, the five-year 

moving average of standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available on 

the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) shortly after publication of the news release.

When determining data to be used in contract negotiations, it is important to note that differences by 

bargaining status may be due to factors other than union 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. An important consideration when choosing a 

series for escalation is the number of workers covered. Series with smaller numbers of workers may have 

larger sampling errors or be dominated by a smaller number of employers. For more information, see the web 

site: (http://www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm.)

More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include an historical 

bulletin--Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin 2532), a chapter, “National Compensation Measures,” 

in the BLS Handbook of Methods (Bulletin 2490), and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review

and Compensation and Working Conditions. The 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, (312) 353-1880. Reprints of the articles and other descriptive 

pieces are available upon request by calling (202) 691-6199 or sending e-mail to (ocltinfo@bls.gov). Current

and historical data are available at the web site: (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm).

The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data from the ECI, were recently 

published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation–December 2002." 

Historical data and related articles are included in the bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 

1986-99, (Bulletin 2526). An annual historical summary from March 1986 through March 2002 is also 

available on the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) or upon request. Data are now available 

on a quarterly basis beginning with June 2002 data. The March 2003 data are expected to be published in June

2003. 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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service Number: 1-800-877-8339.