14

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

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec, 1997
Workers by bargaining status:
Union ... 125.4 128.3 128.9 Os 11 05 26 28 28
123.4 126.0 126.7 5 1.0 6 26 26 27
Goods-producing industries 123.6 126.6 127.1 3 1.0 A 25 28 28
Service-producing industries? 127.6 130.4 131.2 6 1.2 6 27 28 28
125.2 127.8 128.6 6 1.0 6 26 27 27
125.0 127.6 128.4 6 Ww & 28 27 27
125.5 128.6 129.1 5 1.2 4 26 3.0 29
Nonunion .... 127.7 131.6 133.0 6 1.0 14 36 37 42
Blue-coliar occupations 126.3 129.7 130.6 x) 6 7 34 3.6 34
Goods-producing industries? ...... 128.0 131.2 132.0 5 8 6 |. 34 3.4 34
Service-producing industries? 127.5 131.6 133.2 7 Ww 1.2 37 3.9 45
129.6 132.6 133.5 6 7 7 35 3.0 3.0
128.8 132.0 133.0 8 6 & 37 33 33
127.0 13164 132.6 7 WwW 1 36 4.0 44
127.7 130.7, 131.6 6 7 7 33 29 34
127.0 130.6 133.0 3 2 1.8 38 37 47
127.7 132.2 133.0 6 14 - 6 33 42 42
126.5 130.2 131.2 6 1.0 8 34 35 37
127.4 131.1 132.3 & a.) a 34 35 38
126.5 130.4 132.0 1.2 12 1.2 33 43 43
3, Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing, Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: liinois, Indiana,
2 includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail + fowa, Kansas, ‘Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
‘rage; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries. Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, Califomia, Colorado, Hawaii,
The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
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 indusby series.


5

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

Indexes (June Pe
’ercent changes for 3-months ended
seties 1989=100)
. Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Mar. 1996 | June 1996 Sep. 1996 | Dec. 1996 | Mar. 1996 | June 1997 Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
COMPENSATION
Civilian workers .. 133.8 135.2 0.6 0.9 06 . 08 0.6 Os 08 1.0
State and local government ........] 134.5 135.4 6 6 6 8 5 5 5 7
Private industry workers 133.6 135.2 6 & 7 7 & 8 8 1.2
White-collar occupations 135.1 137.0 9 8 8 7 8 8 8 14
Blue-collar occupations . 131.6 132.5 6 7 4 a 3 8 7 7
Service occupations ... 132.8 133.6 5 7 6 a) 9 8 Ww 6
133.7 134.3 4 9 7 & 2 1.0 8 4
129.4 130.0 “6 5 4 2 6 a 7 5
134.6 135.4 5 3 8 7 2 3 7 6
135.0 135.9 3 1.2 & 7 a 8 7 7
133.9 134.6 7 5 1.2 7 3 1.0 8 5
133.6 135.6 & 8 a 8 8 7 z) 15
132.9 134.4 6 7 6 1.0 3 6 8 44
134.6 135.2 & 9 7 8&8 17 2 & 4
130.9 131.9 15 a Vt 13 9 6 aw 8
130.5 134.5 wt 14 3 6 24 & e) 34
136.9 138.7 & 8 7 8B 7 9 a 1.3
133.1 135.0 7 8 7 3 7 8 8 1.4
WAGES AND SALARIES.
131.3 132.8 1.0 08 07 08 09 08 09 11
‘State and local government ........)_ 1331 134.1 6 8 6 B8 6 6 a 8
Private industry workers .. 1309 132.5 1.0 9 7 8 2 a 3a 12
White-collar occupations 1326 134.4 11 a 8 8 1.0 8 41 1.4
Blue-collar ti 1283 129.1 3a 10 5 6 7 1.0 8 &
‘Service occupations .. 1300 130.9 7 7 a 1.0 a 9 18 7
‘Goods-producing industriest.4 1299 130.6 8B 1.0 8 & 6 Ww 8 5
Construction? -| 12448 125.0 a] 8 5 7 1.2 1.0 7 5
1313 132.2 9 2 a 5 5 9 8 7
131.2 131.9 6 at a 5 5 3 8 5
WS 132.8 9 5 Wa 8 4 a 8 10
‘Service-producing industries? .| 1314 133.3 ww 8 7 9 1.0 8 wW 14
Transportation and public
utilities ... 130.2 131.3 6 5 7 8 c 6 1.0 8
1331 133.5 3 9 7 7 18 oO 1.0 3
1297 130.6 21 a1 1.0 13 13 8 10 7
1264 130.6 12 18 2 oO 19 6 9 33
134.7 136.3 1.0 Ww 7 a 8 1 12 12
Nonmanufacturing industries ....} 130.6 132.3 1.0 9 6 10 9 8 WwW 13

‘See footnotes at end of table.


10

Table 4. COMPENSATION (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry

workers, by bargaining status and area size

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 } Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Workers by bargaining status:
130.8 133.2 133.5 05 11 0.2 24 24 24
128.9 131.2 131.6 5 1.0 3 24 23 21
129.8 132.3 132.5 5 8 2 1.8 24 24
131.7 134.0 134.5 5 1.2 4 3.0 23 21
130.6 133.0 133.3 6 1.0 2 2.0 25 24
130.1 132.6 133.0 5 3 3 18 24 22
130.4 132.9 133.2 4 Ww 2 26 23 24
130.4 133.9 135.3 5 8 1.0 34 32 38
128.9 131.8 132.6 a 5 6 3.0 34 29
131.3 134.0 134.7 7 6 5 3.2 28 26
129.9 133.7 135.3 5 a) 1.2 341 35 42
132.5 135.1 135.9 6 5 6 33 26 2.6
131.4 134.2 134.8 8 5 4 35 3.0 26
129.6 133.4 134.9 5 9 Ww 34 35 41
131.1 134.0 135.0 A 7 7 26 26 3.0
129.7 132.5 134.6 7 8 16 3.3 29 38
132.1 136.2 136.9 6 Wd 5 3.0 37 36
128.9 132.5 133.4 5 & 7 34 33 35
130.6 133.9 135.1 5 8&8 9 3.0 3.0 3.4
130.2 133.8 135.3 1.2 14 11 29 4.0 3.9

7 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail
industries.

jortheast: Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode tend,
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,
jowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, Califomia, 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.


7

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
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec, 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
130.9 134.1 135.2 05 1.0 Os 29 3.0 33
131.2 134.2 135.3 5 9 8 29 28 34
131.9 135.2 136.5 5 1.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 35
132.4 135.6 136.9 4 1.0 1.0 3.0 28 34
133.1 135.8 136.7 4 a) 7 29 24 27
131.5 135.3 197.3 3 1.0 15 3.2 32 44
clerical .... 192.6 135.8 136.9 5 9 8 28 29 3.2
Blue-coliar occupations 129.1 131.8 132.4 6 7 5 26 27 26
Service occupations ... 131.0 134.6 135.6 1.0 14 7 28 38 35
Workers by industry division :
130.9 133.6 134.1 6 7 A 27 27 24
132.1 134.6 135.3 6 & 5 3.0 25 24
130.9 134.2 135.5 5 1.0 1.0 3.0 31 35
133.2 136.5 137.6 5 12 8 29 3.0 33
134.4 136.7 137.9 2 7 2 1.8 19 26
133.8 135.6 136.7, a 7 8 1.8 1S 22
133.9 136.5 137.0 5 17 4 28 25 23
131.8 134.1 135.1 8 8 7 27 26 25
130.5 133.8 135.1 5 1.0 1.0 29 3.4 35
State and loca! government workers ..... 132.7 135.0 135.7 6 1.3 5 26 24 23
Workers by occupational group
White-collar occupations .... 192.5 “134.8 135.5 5 14 5 26 23 23
Professional specialty and technical 132.3 134.6 135.1 5 1.6 4 27 23 24
Executive, administrative, and
MAMAQeTiAl .ncseesveneerneeevnceereseenseeee 132.9 195.6 196.4 7 9 & 23 27 26
Administrative support, including
clerical 133.0 135.3 136.1 x) 13 6 3.0 27 23
131.2 133.3 134.2 7 8&8 7 25 23 23
134.5 137.0 137.8 7 1.0 6 27 25 25
133.1 195.4 136.0 5 1.6 4 27 23 22
132.0 134.4 135.3 a 14 7 20 19 25
134.1 136.0 137.2 a 8 a 19 15 23
134.3 136.3 137.6 a 8 1.0 20 16 25
133.0 135.4 135.9 Ss Ww 4 28 23 22
133.4 135.7 136.2 6 16 4 28 23 21
133.1 135.5 135.8 4 17 2 23 22 20
134.0 196.3 137.2 1 16 7 41 29 24
131.8 134.1 135.1 8&8 8 7 27 26 25

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 Formerly called hospitals and other services.
4 This series may be discontinued with the September 1996 news release.


6

Table 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
Seri 1989=100) .
‘Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Mar. 1996 | June 1996 | Sep. 1996 | Dec. 1996 | Mar. 1996 | June 1997 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
BENEFIT COSTS
Civilian workers .... 139.9 141.2 Ot 06 06 07 ot 0.6 0.4 09
‘State and local govemment 137.9 138.6 7 A 4 7 5 A 2 5
Private industry workers: 140.4 141.9 oO 7 5 7 O 7 5 1
141.9 1. a 7 8 5 3 6 4 14
138.9 5 O 7 2 7 “A 7 7 2
141.6 141.8 aI 3 a & e) 8&8 15 A
Goods-producing industries? 144.7 142.0 “2 8 4 9 6 g 7 2
Manufacturing 141.7 142.1 =A 2 & 8&8 6 1.0 & 3
‘Service-producing industries? ..} 139.6 141.8 a 6 7 & 4 6 4 16
Nonmanufacturing industries ....| 140.0 141.9 a 5 5 a A 4 A 14

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
2 ‘This series may be discontinued with the September 1998 news release.
3 includes transportation, communication, and public utlities; wholesale and retail

‘rade; finance, insurance, and reat estate; and service industries.
4 ‘No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.


9

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
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
131.7 133.7 135.1 1.0 “09 1.0 25 25 26
131.1 131.8 134.0 15 1.0 17 22 24 22
132.4 136.0 136.4 3 8 3 29 3.0 3.0
128.6 132.4 132.9 a a 4 35 3.8 3.3
129.0 133.0 134.0 & 8 & 32 3.9 3.9
Wholesale trade? 130.9 134.6 135.1 8 & A 3.4 36 3.2
Excluding sales? .... 130.9 134.5, 135.4 7 6 7 3.0 35 3.4
127.4 131.1 131.7 1.0 11 5 38 3.9 3.4
126.3 128.6 130.0 1.4 7 Ww 3.8 3.2 29
128.4 129.8 129.4 wt 1.2 3 49 22 8
126.0 130.5, 134.5 6 a 31 24 3.0 67
129.2 133.5 137.6 4 8&8 34 28 29 65
128.0 133.1 140.6 18 Ww 5.6 29 24 9.8
129.6 133.1 134.8 2 8 1.3 29 29 4.0
133.5, 137.4 138.6 a 6 9 25 3.0 38
133.4 137.0 138.5 5 1.0 41 31 32 3.8
131.8 136.3 138.6 12 16 Ww 44 47 5.2
134.5 137.0 138.1 2 8 8 17 241 27
133.7 135.4 136.5, 2 7 8 1.8 15 21
- = 3 6 8B 26 27 26
- 138.0 141 6 142.6 4 20 7 3.2 3.0 3.3
Colleges and 'universit 139.1 142.5 143.7 4 1.9 8 29 28 3.3
Nonmanufacturing industries .. 129.8 133.3 134.7 5 2 Bl 34 33 38
White-collar occupations 131.1 134.9 136.5, 5 1.0 1.2 3.2 34 41
Excluding sales .... 132.5 136.2 137.9 3 8 1.2 3.0 3.4 41
Blue-collar occupations. 126.7 129.4 130.1 & & 5 24 28 27
Service occupations .. 128.6 132.7 133.8 1.3 17 8 34 45 40
2 This series may be discontinued withthe September 1998 news release. 4 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail

2 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries.
Eamings Index, which was discontinued in January 1989. ~ Data not available.
Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.


‘News

United States

Department
of Labor

g

‘Bureau of Labor Statistics

Washington, D.C. 20212

Technical contact: (202)606-6199 _ocitinfo@bls.gov
Media contact: — (202)606-5902 hoyle _k@bls.gov

Internet: _http://stats.bIs.gov/ecthome.htm

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX — DECEMBER 1997

USDL: 98-24

TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS
EMBARGOED UNTIL 8:30 AM EST, TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1998

The Employment Cost Index (ECT) for December 1997 was 135.2 (June 1989=1 00), an increase of 3.3
percent from December 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
ECI measures changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee

benefits.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

On a seasonally adjusted basis, compensation costs for civilian workers (private industry plus state and
local governments) rose 1.0 percent during the September-December 1997 period; for each of the two previous
quarters, the increase was 0.8 percent. Wages and salaries increased 1.1 percent during the September-
December 1997 period. The increase was 0.9 percent in the June-September 1997 period. Benefit costs
increased 0.9 percent in the September-December period; in the June-September quarter, the increase was 0.4

percent.

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

Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec.
Compensation Component _96 96 96 96 97 97 97 97
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 06 #09 06 O08 06 O08 O08 10
- .  -Wages.and salaries - 10 08 07 O8 09° 08 0.9 11
Benefit costs 0.1 06 #06 07 O1 06 #04 09
Private industry
Compensation costs 06 #09 07 07 06 O08 O8 12
Wages and salaries 10 09 O07 08 09 09 09 1.2
Benefit costs 00 #07 #05 07 00 07 05 11
State and local government
Compensation costs 06 #06 06 08 05 O05 O05 07
Wages and salaries 06 #08 06 O08 06 06 O07 O8
Benefit costs 0.7 04 #04 #207 05 0.1 0.20.5

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.2 percent during the September-December
1997 period, following gains of 0.8 percent in both September and June. Wages and salaries also rose 1.2
percent, after increases of 0.9 percent in the previous three quarters. Benefit costs increased 1.1 percent; in

September, the increase was 0.5 percent. (See tables A and 1.)

BLS is evaluating statistical reliability of ECI series. Some series may be discontinued. See page 3.



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
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Private industry workers 127.3 131.0 132.3 06 1.0 1.0 3.4 3.6 3.9
Excluding sales 127.5 131.2 132.4 6 1.0 9 3.3 35 38
White-collar occupations 128.7 132.7 134.2 5 41 4A 3.5 37 43
Excluding sales .... 129.4 133.4 134.8 3 Ww 1.0 34 34 42
Professional specialty and technical 129.9 133.7 134.8 2 1.0 8 3.0 3.2 3.8
Executive, administrative, and
i 129.3 133.6 135.8 3 Ww 16 39 3.6 5.0
125.9 129.8 131.4 16 12 12 46 48 44
129.2 132.9 133.9 5 J B&B 31 3.4 3.6
Blue-collar occupations ....... 125.1 128.3 129.1 6 8 6 3.0 32 3.2
Precision production, craft, and repair .. 125.1 128.2 128.7 7 & 4 3.0 3.2 29
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors 126.4 129.5 130.6 8 8 8 34 3.3 3.3
Transportation and material moving 121.1 124.1 125.1 a 2 8 24 26 3.3
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
127.1 130.2 131.8 1.0 7 12 37 35 37
125.7. 129.9 131.1 13 1.8 a) 35 47 43
126.5 130.1 131.2 7 1.0 8&8 33 36 37
126.8 129.9 130.6 6 8 5 3.2 3.0 3.0
126.3 129.3 130.0 5 8 5 32 29 29
129.1 132.3 132.9 4 7 5 3.0 29 29
128.1 130.9 131.6 3 7 5 34 25 27
125:3 128.4 129.2 & 3 6 32 34 34
120.8 124.7 124.9 3 a 2 29 3.6 34
128.4 131.3 132.2 5 B&B 7 33 28 3.0
130.1 132.8 133.6 4 7 6 3.2 25 27
128.9 131.3 132.2 4 6 7 33 23 26
127.3 130.2 131.2 8 8 8 34 34 31
128.4 131.2 131.9 5 & 5 33 27 27
130.9 133.3 134.0 2 <1 5 22 a4 24
126.5 129.3 129.8 3 72 4 27 25 26
137.1 138.4 139.6 A -3 2 15 1.0 18
128.5 131.4 132.6 7 6 ) 33 3.0 3.2
127.5 131.5, 133.1 6 Ww 12 35 3.8 44
128.3 132.3 133.9 5 V1 12 33 37 44
128.5 132.6 134.3 5 14 13 3.6 38 45
129.9 134.2 135.9 3 Ww 13 34 3.6 46
124.8 127.9 128.9 8 6 8 28 3.3 33
125.6 129.8 131.0 1.3 18 a 35 47 43
Transportation and public utilities 127.0 130.1 131.3 a) 1.0 ) 27 3.3 34
‘Transportation’ . 124.7 128.5 129.5 7 1.3 8 25 3.8 3.8

‘See footnotes at end of table.



f

it

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 1989=100) Percent changes for
Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
128.0 131.6 132.8 06 1.2 0.9 33 35 38
128.1 131.7 132.8 5 1.2 8 34 3.3 3.7
129.3 133.0 134.3 5 Ww 1.0 3.4 3.4 3.9
129.9 133.5 134.8 A wt 1.0 33 3.2 38
130.7 134.0 135.0 4 1.3 7 3.0 29 3.3
129.4 133.5, 135.6 3 aml 1.6 3.8 35 48
129.1 132.7 133.7 5 1.0 8 34 3.3 3.6
125.4 128.4 129.3 7 7 7 3.0 34 3.1
127.6 131.5 132.6 41 17 8 34 42 3.9
1268 | 1209 | 1306 6 8 5 32 30 30
128.4 131.3 132.2 5 8 7 33 28 3.0
128.5 132.2 133.6 6 1.2 Ww 3.4 35 4.0
131.4 134.8 136.0 6 14 a 33 35 37
131.4 134.3 135.4 Ss ) 8 23 27 3.0
Hospitals .. 130.5 182.5 133.6 4 8 8 24 19 24
Educational services 132.3 135.3 135.9 5 20 4 3.0 28 27
Public administration .. 1277 130.3 131.4 a 1.0 8 29 29 2.9
Nonmanutacturing 127.8 131.5 132.8 6 12 1.0 3.3 35 3.9
State and local govemment workers ... 130.9 133.6 134.4 6 1.6 6 28 27 27
Workers by occupational group
White-collar occupations ..... 131.4 133.7 134.5 6 17 6 29 26 26
Professional specialty and technical .. 131.7 134.4 135.1 5 18 5 29 25 2.6
Executive, administrative, and
manager 130.2 133.1 134.1 7 WW 8 26 29 3.0
Administrative support, including
129.0 131.4 132.3 10 15 7 3.1 29 26
128.8 131.2 132.3 7 Wd 8 25 26 27
131.0 134.2 135.2 7 1.4 7 29 32 32
131.9 134.7 135.3 5 1.9 4 29 27 26
130.5 133.3 134.4 3 1.3 8 24 25 3.0
131.4 133.9 135.3 2 1.0 1.0 22 21 3.0
131.3 133.7 135.2 3 1.0 14 23 21 3.0
132.0 134.8 135.3 5 2.0 A 29 27 25
132.2 134.9 136.5 & 2.0 4 3.0 27 25
132.4 135.3 135.7 3 2.0 3 25 25 25
131.2 133.6 134.6 11 Ww 7 42 29 26
Public administration .... 1277 130.3 131.4 a) 1.0 8 29 29 29

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 Formerly called hospitals and other services.
4 ‘This series may be discontinued with the September 1998 news release.


8

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
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997'] Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
130.6 133.9 135.1 0.6 08 09 34 32 3.4
130.8 134.1 135.2 5 8 8 29 3.0 3.4
131.7 135.2 136.7 5 & 141 3.2 34 38
132.5 135.9 137.4 4 8 wt 3.0 3.0 37
133.7, 136.7 137.8 3 & 8 29 26 3.1
Executive, administrative, and
131.3 135.2 137.4 3 1.0 1.6 35 3.3 46
128.1 132.2 133.5 1d 11 1.0 40 43 42
132.5 135.9 137.0 4 3 8 27 3.0 34
Blue-collar occupations ..... 129.0 131.7 132.3 7 7 5 27 28 26
Precision production, craft, and repair .. 129.1 131.7 131.9 7 6 2 27 27 2.2
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors ... 129.5 132.2 133.0 6 8 & 26 27 27
‘Transportation and material moving .. 125.2 128.0 128.9 2 a 7 18 25 3.0
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
and laborers 131.3 134.2 135.8 1.0 6 12 35 32 34
Service occupations .. 128.9 133.4 134.1 1.2 17 & 3.0 45 4.0
Production and nonsupervisory
occupat 130.0 133.2 134.2 6 & B8 29 34 3.2
Goods-producing industries? .. 130.9 133.6 134.1 6 7 4 28 27 24
Excluding sales ... 130.5 133.1 133.6 5 & 4 28 25 24
White-collar occupations 132.9 135.6 136.2 5 6 A 3.0 26 25
Excluding sales .. 132.1 134.5 135.0 5 5 A 3.0 23 22
Blue-collar occupations 129.6 132.4 132.8 5 & 3 26 27 25
126.4 129.7 129.7 4 8 0 24 3.0 26
132.1 134.6 135.3 6 6 5 3.0 25 24
White-collar occupations .. 133.6 135.8 136.7 6 4 7 32 23 23
Excluding sales 132.5 134.5 135.3 5 Ss & 33 2.0 21
Blue-collar occupations 131.1 133.7 134.3 7 7 4 28 27 24
132.6 135.0 135.7 5 7 5 28 24 23
137.4 137.8 136.9 6 “4 7 27 ~ “4
133.7 134.6 134.3 -1 72 36 & 4
142.3 141.8 139.6 15, 1.6 13 1.8 1.9
131.0 133.7 134.5 8 6 34 28 27
130.2 133.8 136.3 5 1.0 dt 3.2 3.3 3.9
130.9 134.5 136.1 5 9 1.2 29 3.2 4.0
131.1 134.9 136.6 4 a 1.3 34 33 42
132.6 136.3 138.1 3 9 1.3 3.0 31 41
127.3 130.0 130.9 7 & 7 27 28 28
128.6 132.7 133.9 1.2 1.6 9 3.0 44 41
‘Transportation and public utilities 130.4 132.9 134.2 9 9 1.0 3.0 28 2.9
‘Transportation! . 129.2 132.1 133.4 8B 9 1.0 33 3.0 3.3

See footnotes at end of table.


Employment Cost Index

Chart A. Changes in wages and - Chart B. Changes in compensation,
salaries and benefit costs, seasonally adjusted and not seasonally
: private industry adjusted, private industry
| Wages & salaries Benefits Seasonally adjusted Not seasonally adjusted _
12-month percent change 3-month percent change

142

80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98

_Chart C. Changes in compensation, Chart D. Changes in compensation,
goods-producing and service- _ white-collar and blue-collar
producing sectors, private industry _ occupations, private industry

Goods-producing Service-producing White-collar Blue-collar

_ 12-month percent change 12-month percent change

0 0 . :
8 82 8 6 HE 9 9 9% 96 98 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of ‘Compensation Levels and Trends January 1998 ocltinfo@bls.gov 202/606-6199


15
Table &. BENEFITS (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cost index for benefits only, civilian, state and local and private
indust workers, by industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for

Series 3 months ended 12 months ended
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997

Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997

138.2 140.3 141.1 0.4 Os 0.6 2.0 1.9 24
State and local goverment workers .......... 196.8 138.2 138.6 5 6 3 22 45 1.3
Private industry workers ... 138.6 140.8 141.8 4 a) 7 2.0 2.0 23
White-collar occupations 139.7 142.0 143.4 A 4 1.0 22 18 26
Blue-coliar occupations ......... 137.0 138.8 139.0 6 6 a 17 19 1.5
Service occupations? .. 137.4 141.4 142.0 a 13 4 1.0 38 3.3
Goods-producing industries? 139.7 141.5 141.5 & 4 Oo 19 19 1.3
‘Service-producing industries? 137.4 139.8 141.4 a 4 1 2.0 1.9 29
139.8 141.4 141.7 7 3 2 23 19 14
151.6 147.6 143.0 “24 8 “3.1 38 47 57
150.9 146.8 144.8 -8 +3 1.4 5.9 3.5 4.0
152.2 148.2 139.6 3.9 AS 58 9 64 8.3
137.9 140.2 141.5 3 5 3 19 2.0 2.6
140.7 142.2 142.0 & 9 aA 2.0 » 1.6 2
137.8 140.2 141.5 3 A a 2.0 20 27

4 This series may be discontinued with the September 1998 news release. trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries.

2 Includes mining, construction, and mani . NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those for the
3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail aggregate, occupation, and indusby series.


: 17 :
adjusted directly. More aggregate series, such as civilian or private industry workers, use composite estimates. The

+ somposite 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 1997 data from the ECI, are published
in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - March 1997." 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, with March as the reference month, 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 will usually differ from those in the ECI.

Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that occur
between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in the population:
The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample design may differ from each other. A
measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can be used to measure the precision
with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples. The chances
are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a complete population figure by less than the
standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error.
All the statements of comparisons appearing in this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better,
unless otherwise indicated. This means that for differences cited the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the
standard error of the difference.

Because standard errors vary from quarter to quarter, the ECI uses a five-year moving average of standard errors
to evaluate published series. Currently, in the higher level aggregate series the standard errors for 3-month changes are
generally 0.1 percent or less; for 12-month changes, standard errors are generally 0.25 percent or less. Currently, in the
lower level series, standard errors are generally 0.3 percent or less for 3-month changes and 0.6 percent or less for 12-
month changes.

. When comparing data by bargaining status, it is important to note that differences may be due to factors other
than bargaining status, such as occupational and industry mix. For example, union occupations tend to be concentrated in
blue-collar occupations within manufacturing industries. Thus, differences between blue-collar and white-collar pay or
differences in manufacturing versus nonmanufacturing industries could explain such differences.

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
2490), "National Compensation Measures," and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review and

sation and Working Conditions. 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, IHlinois 60690, 312/353-1880. Reprints of the articles plus other descriptive pieces and a complete
historical listing are available upon request by calling 202/606-6199, sending email to ocltinfo@bls.gov, or visiting the
web site at: http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm. 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.


3

4 The over-the-year increases in compensation costs in private industry was 2.1 percent for union workers,
lower than the 3.8 percent for nonunion workers. The pattern was similar for service-producing industries

“ » where union compensation increased 2.1 percent and nonunion compensation increased 4.2 percent. For goods-
producing industries, the increase for union workers was 2.1 percent, and the increase for nonunion workers was
2.6 percent. Compensation in blue-collar occupations increased 2.1 percent for union workers and 2.9 percent
for nonunion workers. (See table 4.)

State and local government

In state and local government, the December 1997 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries was less
than in private industry. The December 1997 over-the-year increase was 2.7 percent; compared with 2.8 percent
for December 1996 and 3.2 percent in December 1995. Benefit costs for December 1997 increased 1.3 percent.
In December 1996 the increase was 2.2 percent, and, in December 1995 the increase was 2.6 percent.

The release dates for the Employment Cost Index in 1998 have been changed to the last Thursday of the
month following the reference month, as follows:

Reference month Release date and time

March 1998 April 30, 1998 8:30 AM
June 1998 July 30, 1998 8:30 AM
September 1998 October 29, 1998 8:30 AM
December 1998 January 28,1999 8:30 AM

The Bureau is evaluating published ECI series to assure that they meet statistical standards for teliability.
Preliminary research has targeted 37 series for elimination from the news release. These series are marked with
a footnote in the accompanying tables. Series that fail reliability standards will be removed from the news
release beginning in September 1998 and will be available only upon request.

BLS Data Available on the World Wide Web and Fax On Demand

ECT data, as well as other data produced by BLS, are now available on the World Wide Web. The ECI
home page address is: http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm. The BLS home page address is: http://stats.bls.gov.
To access data using GOPHER or Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address: stats.bls.gov.

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

‘News releases and other information are available from the BLS fax-on-demand service. To request a document
fax, call 202-606-6325. 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



2

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 0.7 percent during the September-
December 1997 period, following gains of 0.5 percent in each of the previous three quarters. Wages and
salaries increased 0.8 percent; in the June-September quarter, the increase was 0.7 percent. Benefits increased
0.5 percent; the previous quarterly increase was 0.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers (not seasonally adjusted) were up 3.3 percent for the year ended
December 1997. This compares with increases of 2.9 percent in December 1996 and 2.7 percent in December
1995. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.4 percent in December 1997, about the same as the 3.1
percent in December 1996 but higher than the December 1995 increase of 2.6 percent. In contrast,
compensation costs for state and local governments increased 2.3 percent for the year ended in December 1997.
The gain for the year ended in December 1996 was 2.6 percent and in December 1995 the increase was 2.9
percent. (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

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

Compensation component 92 93 94 95 96 97
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 3.5 3.5 3.0 2.7 2.9 3.3
Wages and salaries 2.7 3.1 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.8
Benefit costs 5.3 46 3.4 © 2.3 2.0 2.1
Private industry
Compensation costs 3.5 3.6 3.1 2.6 3.1 3.4
Wages and salaries 2.6 3.1 2.8 2.8 3.4 3.9
Benefit costs 5.2 5.0 3.7 2.2 2.0 23
State and local government
Compensation costs 3.7 28 3.0 2.9 2.6 23
Wages and salaries 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.2 2.8 2.7
Benefit costs 5.4 + 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.2 13
Private industry

In private industry, wages and salaries grew 3.9 percent for the year ended December 1997; up from 2.8
percent in December 1995. The increase for the year ended December 1996 was 3.4 percent. (See tables B and
6.) Benefit costs for private industry workers increased 2.3 percent for the year ended in December 1997, which
was about the same as the 2.2 percent increase in December 1995. The increase for the year ended in December
1996 was 2.0 percent. (See chart A and tables B and 8.)

In private industry, over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.8 percent for white-collar
occupations, 2.6 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 4.0 percent for service occupations. Among the
occupational groups, increases ranged from 2.2 percent for precision production, craft, and repair occupations to
4.6 percent for executive, administrative, and managerial occupations.

For the year ended December 1997, the 2.4 percent rise in compensation costs in goods-producing
industries was lower than the 3.9 percent increase in the service-producing industries. For the year ended
December 1996, compensation costs rose 2.8 percent in goods-producing industries and 3.2 percent in service-
producing industries. Among industry divisions, over-the-year increases ranged from 2.4 percent in
manufacturing to 6.7 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate. (See table 3.)

y
‘


13
Table 6. WAGES AND SALARIES (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED): Employment Cc: . xdex 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
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 "
Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997 | Dec. 1996 | Sep. 1997 | Dec. 1997
Public utilities ..... 132.0 133.5 14 08 Ww 29 28 29
Communications .. 131.8 134.0 1.6 3 Ww 3.2 28 28
Electric, gas, and sanitary services 129.0 132.2 132.9 4 8 5 25 29 3.0
130.9 131.6 1.0 9 5 38 41 3.6
132.2 133.2 9 B 8 3.7 45 43
133.0 133.6 9 6 5 33 35 34
133.9 135.0 7 8 8 3.3 3.9 40
129.9 130.6 a a 5 43 44 38
126.7 128.4 17 4 13 38 33 3.0
126.7 127.0 13 1.6 2 47 29 18
126.4 130.6 o x) 33 32 34 69
129.3 133.6 +6 2 33 3.3 26 66
128.9 138.3 2.4 17 73 34 WZ W7
128.7 130.2 5 5 1.2 31 26 3.3
132.9 133.7 3 5 6 27 28 34
134.7 136.2 6 13 11 3.6 3.9 44
134.9 137.3 12 19 1.8 47 5.0 5.5
1343 | 135.4 5 8 8 23 27 3.0
132.2 133.2 5 8 8 20 19 22
= > 1.0 8 8&8 28 3.3 34
197.8 138.4 4 22 4 34 34 3.4
137.8 138.7 3 24 7 28 33 37
130.7 132.1 7 Ww 14 35 38 42
132.4 134.1 5 1 13 3.6 38 45
133.8 135.5 3 11 13 33 36 46
126.4 127.1 & 7 6 28 33 3.2
129.7 130.9 1.3 1.8 ) 35 47 43
1 This series may be discontinued with the September 1998 news release. 4 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail
This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly ‘rade: finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industies.
Eargings index, which was discontinued in January 1989. Data not available.

$ Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.


16
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 salaty 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.

Data for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 17,000 occupations within about
4,000 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 4,300 occupations within about 800 sample
establishments in State and local governments. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12" 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
Statistics 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, which 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.

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 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 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