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 NCSinfo@bls.gov 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Transmission of material in this release is embargoed 

Internet address: www.bls.gov/ect until 8:30 AM EDT, Friday, October 31, 2008 

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX—SEPTEMBER 2008 

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from June to September 2008, 

seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, the same as 

the increase for the last two quarters. Both components of compensation—wages and salaries and benefits—

registered increases that were the same as the previous quarter. Wages and salaries rose 0.7 percent and benefits 

rose 0.6 percent. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures 

quarterly changes in compensation costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and local 

government workers). 

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

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

component 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 

Civilian workers

 Compensation costs 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 

 Wages and salaries 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 

 Benefit costs 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 

 Private industry 

 Compensation costs 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6 

 Wages and salaries 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 

 Benefit costs 0.9 -0.3 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.6 

 State and local government 

 Compensation costs 1.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9 

 Wages and salaries 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.0 

 Benefit costs 1.5 1.7 1.6 0.9 1.2 0.3 1.1 0.7 

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for private industry rose 0.6 percent from June to September 2008, the same as the 

increase for the prior quarter. In state and local government, the increase was 0.9 percent, also the same as in 

the previous quarter. Wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 0.6 percent for the June to 

September 2008 period. For the previous quarter, the increase was 0.7 percent. In state and local government, 

Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Data Series 

There will be changes to the availability of Employment Cost Index (ECI) data for metropolitan and 

nonmetropolitan areas. See note on page 4 for additional information. 

 News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

United States 

Department 

of Labor
2

the increase was 1.0 percent, compared with 0.9 percent in the prior quarter. Benefit costs for private industry 

rose 0.6 percent, compared to 0.5 percent in the previous quarter. For state and local government, benefit costs 

increased 0.7 percent, less than the 1.1 percent increase in the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.9 percent for the year ended September 2008, less 

than the 3.3 percent increase for the year ended September 2007. In private industry, compensation costs rose 

2.8 percent in the year ended September 2008; the increase for the year ended September 2007 was 3.1 percent. 

For state and local government, the increase for the 12-month period ended September 2008 was 3.4 percent, 

down from the September 2007 increase of 4.3 percent. Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 3.1 

percent for the 12-month period; in September 2007, the increase was 3.3 percent. Private industry wages and 

salaries increased 2.9 percent in September 2008. In September 2007 the increase was 3.4 percent. State and 

local government wages and salaries increased 3.5 percent for the year ended September 2008, the same as the 

increase in September 2007. Benefits increased 2.6 percent for civilian workers. In private industry, benefit 

costs increased 2.4 percent, less than the increase for state and local government, which was 3.3 percent for the 

12-month period ended September 2008. (See table B.) 

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

Compensation component Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 3.9 3.8 3.0 3.3 3.3 2.9 

 Wages and salaries 2.9 2.5 2.3 3.2 3.3 3.1 

 Benefit costs 6.3 6.6 5.0 3.3 3.2 2.6 

Private industry 

Compensation costs 3.9 3.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 2.8 

 Wages and salaries 3.0 2.6 2.3 3.0 3.4 2.9 

 Benefit costs 6.3 6.7 4.5 2.8 2.4 2.4 

State and local government 

Compensation costs 3.7 3.4 3.9 4.1 4.3 3.4 

 Wages and salaries 2.4 2.1 2.6 3.7 3.5 3.5 

 Benefit costs 6.7 6.5 6.5 5.2 6.0 3.3 

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended September 2008, private industry compensation costs increased 2.7 percent for goodsproducing industries, compared to a 2.4 percent increase in September 2007. Compensation costs for 

manufacturing increased 2.3 percent for the year ended September 2008, compared to 1.8 percent for the year 

ended September 2007. In the construction industry, compensation costs rose 3.5 percent compared to 3.8 

percent for the 12-month period ending September 2007. (See table 5.) 

The over-the-year increase for September 2008 in compensation costs for service-providing industries was 

2.8 percent. The September 2007 increase was 3.3 percent. Among the major service-providing industries, 

changes in compensation costs ranged from 1.3 percent in information to 3.6 percent in professional and 

business services. (See table 5.) 

Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 2.5 percent 

for sales and office occupations to 3.0 percent for management, professional, and related occupations. (See 

table 5.) 

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.9 percent in the year ended September 2008 while 

compensation cost increases for nonunion workers increased 2.8 percent in the same 12-month period. Wages 

and salaries for union workers increased 2.9 percent in the 12-month period ended September 2008. For 
3

nonunion workers, the increase was 3.0 percent. Benefit costs for union workers rose 2.8 percent in the 12-

month period; costs for nonunion workers rose 2.4 percent. (See tables C, 6, 10, and 12.) 

Table C. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, private industry workers, by 

bargaining status, not seasonally adjusted 

Compensation component Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Union workers 

Compensation costs 4.7 5.6 3.0 2.8 2.0 2.9 

 Wages and salaries 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.2 2.7 2.9 

 Benefit costs 8.3 10.1 4.0 3.6 0.9 2.8 

 

Nonunion workers 

Compensation costs 3.9 3.4 2.9 3.1 3.2 2.8 

 Wages and salaries 3.2 2.5 2.3 3.2 3.4 3.0 

 Benefit costs 5.9 5.9 4.6 2.7 2.7 2.4 

State and local government

For the year ended September 2008, wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.5 

percent, the same as the increase for the 12-month period ended September 2007. Benefit costs increased 3.3 

percent for the current 12-month period, less than the increase for the previous year, which was 6.0 percent. 

Public administration wages and salaries increased 3.3 percent, also less than its September 2007 12-month 

percent increase of 4.3 percent. (See tables B, 11, and 12.) 

Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted

After adjusting for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, wages and salaries for 

civilian workers decreased 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ended September 2008, compared to a 0.6 

percent increase for the 12-month period ended September 2007. The decrease for private industry was 1.8 

percent compared to an increase of 0.5 percent for the year ended September 2007. State and local government 

registered a 1.4 percent decrease, compared to an increase of 0.7 percent for the previous year. (See table D.) 

Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index, constant 

dollars, not seasonally adjusted 

Sector, occupational group and industry Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Civilian workers 0.6 0.0 -2.3 1.1 0.6 -1.8 

Occupation 

 Management, professional, and related 0.8 -0.1 -2.2 1.5 0.7 -1.6 

 Sales and office 0.8 0.4 -2.4 1.0 0.2 -2.3 

 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 0.3 -0.2 -2.1 1.3 0.6 -1.5 

 Production, transportation, and material moving 0.2 0.0 -2.5 0.2 0.0 -1.9 

 Service 0.0 -0.6 -2.1 0.6 1.4 -1.7 

Industry 

 Goods producing 0.6 0.3 -2.3 0.7 0.3 -1.8 

 Service providing 0.6 -0.1 -2.3 1.2 0.6 -1.8 

 Private industry 0.8 0.0 -2.3 1.0 0.5 -1.8 

 State and local government 0.1 -0.5 -2.0 1.6 0.7 -1.4 
4

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

NOTE: 

Effective with the release of December 2008 data, compensation and wage and salary data aggregated 

across all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas—which currently appear in tables 6 and 10—will be 

discontinued as a result of classification changes to metropolitan statistical areas. 

This quarter’s ECI estimates for private industry for 14 individual localities (introduced last quarter) will 

be released Thursday, November 20, 2008. For each locality, two estimates are provided: 12-month percent 

change for total compensation and 12-month percent change for wages and salaries. The data will be available 

at www.bls.gov/ect as well as in news releases for each area. The regional news releases providing ECI 

estimates for the four regions and nine census divisions have been discontinued. However, those estimates are 

still included in tables 6 and 10 of this news release. For additional information, see "BLS Introduces New 

Employment Cost Indexes for 14 Metropolitan Areas," at www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20080922ar01p1.htm. 

The ECI for December 2008 is scheduled for release on Friday, January 30, 2009, at 8:30 AM EST. 

ECI data are available on the Compensation Cost Trends page at www.bls.gov/ect. For ECI data requests, 

send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov or call (202)691-6199. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, 

send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov. 

BLS news releases, including the ECI, are available through an e-mail subscription service. See the 

subscription link at www.bls.gov/ect or www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm. 

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. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 
5

0

1

2

3

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

0

2

4

6

8

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

percent change

Wages and salaries

Benefits

percent change

3-month percent change, Seasonally adjusted

Wages and salaries and Benefits

Civilian workers

percent change

Current 

dollars

Constant

dollars

Benefits

Wages and

salaries

12-month percent change, Not seasonally adjusted

Wages and salaries and Benefits

Civilian workers

Current- and Constant-dollars, Not seasonally adjusted

12-month percent change, Wages and salaries

Civilian workers
6

Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, by occupational group and industry

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

2005 = 100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2007

Sep.

2007

Dec.

2007

Mar.

2008

June

2008

Sep.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers2 ................................................................ 108.3 109.1 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7

Industry

Goods-producing industries3,4 ............................... 106.7 107.2 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .5

Manufacturing3 ................................................... 105.1 105.6 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5

Service-providing industries3,5 ............................... 108.8 109.5 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 .6

Education and health services3 .......................... 109.7 110.4 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9 .6

Education services3 ........................................ 109.6 110.5 .9 .9 1.0 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .8

Elementary and secondary schools3 .......... 109.7 110.4 .9 1.0 1.0 .9 .7 .8 1.2 .6

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools3 .... 109.6 110.6 .8 .8 1.1 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9

Health care and social assistance3,6 .............. 109.7 110.3 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .8 .5

Hospitals3 ................................................... 109.3 110.1 1.0 .9 .9 .7 .8 .7 .9 .7

Nursing and residential care facilities3 ....... 108.3 109.0 1.2 .6 .7 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .6

Public administration3 ......................................... 110.3 111.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 107.9 108.6 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9 .8 .6 .6

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 108.8 109.6 .9 .7 .9 .9 .8 .8 .7 .7

Management, business, and financial ................ 108.5 109.2 .9 .6 .8 1.0 .8 1.0 .6 .6

Professional and related ..................................... 109.0 109.8 1.1 .7 1.0 .8 .8 .7 .7 .7

Sales and office ...................................................... 107.3 107.7 1.0 .7 .7 .7 1.0 .6 .5 .4

Sales and related ................................................ 106.0 105.8 .9 .5 .7 .4 1.3 .3 .5 -.2

Office and administrative support ....................... 108.3 109.1 .9 .9 .7 .9 .8 .7 .6 .7

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 108.2 108.9 .8 .4 .7 1.0 .9 .9 .4 .6

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 109.5 110.2 .8 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2 .6 .6

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 106.5 107.3 .8 .0 .4 1.1 .8 .6 .0 .8

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 106.0 106.6 .6 .2 .8 .6 .6 1.0 .5 .6

Production .......................................................... 105.2 105.9 .4 .1 .7 .5 .6 .9 .4 .7

Transportation and material moving ................... 107.1 107.5 .9 .5 .9 .6 .7 1.1 .5 .4

Service occupations ............................................... 108.7 109.5 .8 1.3 .8 1.1 .7 .7 .8 .7

Industry

Goods-producing industries4 .................................. 106.7 107.1 .7 .3 .9 .5 .9 .9 .6 .4

Construction ....................................................... 109.9 110.4 1.1 1.1 .8 .9 1.0 1.2 .7 .5

Manufacturing ..................................................... 105.1 105.6 .5 .0 .9 .3 .8 .8 .4 .5

Aircraft manufacturing3 ................................... 90.6 91.3 -1.6 -4.6 1.8 -3.1 -.8 2.7 1.8 .8

Service-providing industries7 .................................. 108.4 109.1 .8 .8 .9 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................... 107.2 107.5 .8 .1 .9 .6 .8 .7 .9 .3

Wholesale trade .............................................. 107.1 107.1 .6 .7 .8 -.3 1.2 .3 1.3 .0

Retail trade ..................................................... 107.6 108.1 .7 .4 .9 1.2 .9 .8 .7 .5

Transportation and warehousing3 .................. 106.4 106.6 .9 .7 .9 .4 .2 1.2 .6 .2

Utilities3 .......................................................... 107.7 108.0 1.1 -7.6 1.6 .6 1.2 .2 1.2 .3

Information .......................................................... 105.9 107.1 .6 .9 .9 .4 .7 -.3 -.2 1.1

Financial activities .............................................. 107.1 107.5 .7 1.1 .4 1.1 .5 .6 .5 .4

Finance and insurance3 ................................. 107.4 107.7 .6 1.1 .3 1.1 .7 .3 .6 .3

Credit intermediation and related

activities3 .................................................. 106.1 106.8 -.2 1.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 .3 .8 .7

Insurance carriers and related activities3 ... 107.8 108.3 .5 .9 1.3 1.1 -.2 1.4 .5 .5

See footnotes at end of table.
7

Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, by occupational group and industry — Continued

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

2005 = 100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2007

Sep.

2007

Dec.

2007

Mar.

2008

June

2008

Sep.

2008

Industry

Professional and business services ................... 109.6 110.8 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.6 1.1

Professional, scientific, and technical

services3 ....................................................... 111.6 112.9 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1 .9 1.2 .7 1.2

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services3 ...... 107.8 109.0 .8 1.0 .7 1.0 .9 .8 .5 1.1

Education and health services ............................ 109.5 110.2 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .8 .6

Education services ......................................... 109.7 110.9 1.3 .6 .8 .8 1.1 .7 1.4 1.1

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools3 .... 110.0 111.2 1.2 .4 1.0 .9 .9 .7 1.6 1.1

Health care and social assistance6 ................ 109.5 110.0 1.0 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .5

Hospitals3 ................................................... 109.1 110.0 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .9 .8

Nursing and residential care facilities3 ....... 107.9 108.7 1.2 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 .8 .7

Leisure and hospitality ........................................ 109.4 110.6 1.3 1.5 .8 1.3 .6 .7 .5 1.1

Accommodation and food services3 ............... 110.1 111.3 1.5 1.6 .8 1.5 .4 .8 .6 1.1

Other services, except public administration ...... 109.3 109.7 1.0 1.2 .3 .8 .9 .7 .6 .4

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 109.9 110.9 1.1 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 .6 .9 .9

Industry

Education and health services3 .......................... 109.8 110.6 .9 1.0 1.0 .8 .8 .8 1.0 .7

Education services3 ........................................ 109.6 110.4 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .8 .8 1.0 .7

Schools3 ..................................................... 109.6 110.4 .8 1.0 1.1 .9 .7 .8 1.0 .7

Elementary and secondary schools3 .......... 109.7 110.4 .8 1.1 1.0 .8 .7 .8 1.1 .6

Health care and social assistance3,6 .............. 111.4 112.3 1.0 1.0 .8 .3 1.1 .5 1.3 .8

Hospitals3 ................................................... 110.1 110.5 1.3 1.2 1.0 .5 .9 .9 .8 .4

Public administration3 ......................................... 110.3 111.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 .2 .7 1.2

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these

series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment

revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March

2003.

4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste

services; educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other

services, except public administration; and public administration. 6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately. 7 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and

recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except

public administration.
8

Table 2. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, by occupational group and industry

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

2005 = 100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2007

Sep.

2007

Dec.

2007

Mar.

2008

June

2008

Sep.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 108.4 109.2 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7

Industry

Goods-producing industries2,3 ............................... 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6

Manufacturing2 ................................................... 106.6 107.3 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7

Service-providing industries2,4 ............................... 108.6 109.3 .7 1.1 .7 .9 .8 .7 .8 .6

Education and health services2 .......................... 109.1 109.9 .8 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8 .9 .7

Education services2 ........................................ 108.5 109.6 .7 .7 .7 1.1 .9 .8 1.0 1.0

Elementary and secondary schools2 .......... 108.2 109.3 .6 .8 .7 .9 .8 .8 1.0 1.0

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools2 .... 109.0 110.0 .8 .5 1.0 1.1 1.0 .7 .9 .9

Health care and social assistance2,5 .............. 109.7 110.3 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9 .7 .5

Hospitals2 ................................................... 109.5 110.4 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .8 1.0 .9 .8

Nursing and residential care facilities2 ....... 108.2 109.1 1.1 .8 .6 1.1 .6 .8 .8 .8

Public administration2 ......................................... 108.8 109.9 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 108.4 109.0 .8 1.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7 .6

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 109.2 110.0 .9 1.1 .8 .9 .8 .9 .7 .7

Management, business, and financial ................ 108.8 109.6 .6 1.2 .7 .9 .7 1.1 .6 .8

Professional and related ..................................... 109.5 110.3 1.1 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .9 .8 .7

Sales and office ...................................................... 107.5 107.8 .8 1.0 .7 .5 1.0 .7 .6 .3

Sales and related ................................................ 106.5 106.0 1.0 .7 .6 .1 1.3 .4 .7 -.4

Office and administrative support ....................... 108.3 109.2 .9 1.0 .7 .8 .8 .7 .6 .8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 108.9 109.6 .8 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.1 .6 .6

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 110.0 110.7 .9 1.0 .9 .9 1.2 1.3 .6 .7

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 107.5 108.3 .7 .8 .2 1.2 .8 .7 .5 .7

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 106.8 107.5 .6 .8 .6 .7 .5 1.0 .8 .7

Transportation and material moving ................... 107.4 107.8 .7 .7 .8 .7 .6 1.2 .8 .4

Industry

Goods-producing industries3 .................................. 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .6 .6

Construction ....................................................... 109.9 110.4 1.1 1.2 .9 .8 1.0 1.2 .7 .5

Manufacturing ..................................................... 106.6 107.3 .7 .7 .6 .6 .7 .8 .7 .7

Aircraft manufacturing2 ................................... 107.1 107.8 .3 .7 .4 .1 .7 1.1 .6 .6

Service-providing industries6 .................................. 108.5 109.2 .8 1.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 .7 .6

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................... 107.2 107.4 .7 .7 .9 .2 .9 .6 1.1 .2

Retail trade ..................................................... 107.6 108.0 .9 .5 1.0 .8 1.0 .5 1.0 .4

Transportation and warehousing2 .................. 105.9 106.4 .9 .8 .8 .2 .5 .9 .6 .5

Utilities2 .......................................................... 109.1 109.2 .8 .7 .9 .7 .9 1.1 .9 .1

Information .......................................................... 106.1 107.2 .1 1.2 .9 .4 .4 -.2 .8 1.0

Financial activities .............................................. 107.4 107.7 .7 1.3 .1 1.3 .3 .8 .3 .3

Finance and insurance2 ................................. 108.1 108.3 .6 1.5 .0 1.2 .6 .6 .4 .2

Credit intermediation and related

activities2 .................................................. 105.4 106.1 -.7 2.2 -1.9 1.3 1.2 .2 .3 .6

Professional and business services ................... 109.8 111.0 .8 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.3 .6 1.1

Professional, scientific, and technical

services2 ....................................................... 111.5 112.7 .9 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0 1.6 .7 1.1

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services2 ...... 108.0 109.4 .9 1.0 .6 1.1 .9 .8 .4 1.3

See footnotes at end of table.
9

Table 2. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, by occupational group and industry — Continued

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

2005 = 100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2007

Sep.

2007

Dec.

2007

Mar.

2008

June

2008

Sep.

2008

Industry

Education and health services ............................ 109.4 110.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6

Education services ......................................... 109.1 110.4 1.3 .3 .8 .8 1.2 .7 1.0 1.2

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools2 .... 109.0 110.3 1.2 .0 1.0 .8 1.1 .7 1.0 1.2

Health care and social assistance5 ................ 109.5 110.0 .9 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 .6 .5

Hospitals2 ................................................... 109.3 110.2 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8 .9 1.0 .8

Leisure and hospitality ........................................ 110.0 111.4 1.4 1.8 .9 1.5 .6 .7 .4 1.3

Accommodation and food services2 ............... 110.5 111.9 1.6 2.0 .7 1.7 .6 .8 .6 1.3

Other services, except public administration2 .... 109.8 110.2 .8 1.5 .3 1.0 1.0 .9 .6 .4

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 108.7 109.8 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8 .7 .9 1.0

Industry

Education and health services2 .......................... 108.7 109.8 .6 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 1.0

Education services2 ........................................ 108.4 109.4 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9

Schools2 ..................................................... 108.4 109.4 .5 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8 1.0 .9

Elementary and secondary schools2 .......... 108.2 109.3 .5 .8 .7 1.0 .7 .8 1.1 1.0

Health care and social assistance2,5 .............. 111.3 112.6 .9 .9 .8 .7 1.0 .7 1.2 1.2

Hospitals2 ................................................... 110.6 111.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 .7 .9 1.1 .8 .7

Public administration2 ......................................... 108.8 109.9 1.4 1.0 1.0 .9 .8 .7 .7 1.0

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these

series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment

revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March

2003.

3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste

services; educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other

services, except public administration; and public administration. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately. 6 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and

recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except

public administration.
10

Table 3. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by occupational group and industry

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

2005 = 100) Percent changes for 3-months ended–

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2007

Sep.

2007

Dec.

2007

Mar.

2008

June

2008

Sep.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 108.1 108.8 1.0 0.2 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 106.9 107.5 .9 -.3 1.1 .8 .8 .6 .5 .6

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 107.7 108.5 1.1 -.4 1.3 .8 .9 .4 .7 .7

Sales and office ...................................................... 106.9 107.5 1.0 .2 .9 1.0 1.0 .3 .4 .6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 106.7 107.4 .8 -.6 .9 .7 .8 .8 -.1 .7

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 104.5 104.8 .6 -.9 1.1 .4 1.0 .8 .0 .3

Service occupations ............................................... 108.4 108.7 .9 .1 1.0 1.0 .8 .4 1.0 .3

Industry

Goods-producing industries2 .................................. 104.4 104.5 .6 -.8 1.2 .1 1.0 .8 .3 .1

Manufacturing ..................................................... 102.2 102.3 .4 -1.3 1.4 -.3 1.0 .6 -.1 .1

Aircraft manufacturing3 ................................... 72.9 73.7 -4.0 -11.9 4.2 -8.0 -3.2 5.5 3.4 1.0

Service-providing industries4 .................................. 108.0 108.7 1.0 .0 1.0 1.0 .8 .6 .6 .6

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 112.5 113.3 1.5 1.7 1.6 .9 1.2 .3 1.1 .7

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes for these

series are being published for the first time with the 2008 seasonal adjustment

revisions. Historical data for these series are published beginning with March

2003.

4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and

recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except

public administration.
11

Table 4. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, for civilian workers, by occupational group and

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers2 ................................................................ 106.1 108.3 109.2 1.0 0.7 0.8 3.3 3.1 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations3 ............... 106.2 108.5 109.5 1.0 .6 .9 3.4 3.2 3.1

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 106.7 109.0 110.1 1.1 .6 1.0 3.6 3.3 3.2

Management, business, and financial ................ 106.2 108.9 109.7 1.0 .6 .7 3.4 3.5 3.3

Professional and related ..................................... 107.0 109.0 110.4 1.2 .6 1.3 3.7 3.1 3.2

Sales and office ...................................................... 105.5 107.7 108.2 .7 .8 .5 3.0 2.8 2.6

Sales and related ................................................ 104.1 106.1 106.0 .5 1.0 -.1 2.4 2.4 1.8

Office and administrative support ....................... 106.4 108.6 109.5 .9 .6 .8 3.5 2.9 2.9

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 106.1 108.4 109.3 1.0 .6 .8 3.0 3.1 3.0

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 106.5 109.6 110.3 .8 1.0 .6 3.4 3.7 3.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 105.6 107.0 108.0 1.1 .3 .9 2.5 2.5 2.3

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 104.2 106.2 106.9 .7 .6 .7 2.4 2.6 2.6

Production .......................................................... 103.3 105.3 105.9 .5 .5 .6 1.7 2.4 2.5

Transportation and material moving ................... 105.3 107.3 108.1 .9 .7 .7 3.0 2.8 2.7

Service occupations ............................................... 106.9 109.1 110.2 1.3 .6 1.0 4.3 3.4 3.1

Industry

Goods-producing industries4 .................................. 104.4 106.8 107.3 .5 .7 .5 2.4 2.8 2.8

Manufacturing ..................................................... 103.2 105.1 105.6 .3 .4 .5 1.8 2.1 2.3

Service-providing industries5 .................................. 106.4 108.5 109.5 1.1 .6 .9 3.4 3.1 2.9

Education and health services ............................ 107.2 109.2 110.8 1.6 .6 1.5 3.6 3.5 3.4

Education services ......................................... 107.3 108.9 111.1 2.3 .6 2.0 3.8 3.8 3.5

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 107.4 108.8 111.1 2.3 .6 2.1 3.8 3.6 3.4

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools ...... 107.1 109.0 111.1 2.1 .5 1.9 3.7 3.9 3.7

Health care and social assistance6 ................ 107.1 109.6 110.4 .9 .6 .7 3.5 3.3 3.1

Hospitals ..................................................... 106.7 109.2 110.2 .9 .7 .9 3.4 3.3 3.3

Nursing and residential care facilities ......... 105.6 108.2 109.0 .6 .8 .7 2.9 3.0 3.2

Public administration .......................................... 108.0 110.1 111.6 1.3 .4 1.4 5.5 3.3 3.3

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in

this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social assistance;

arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services;

other services, except public administration; and public administration. 6 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
12

Table 5. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, for private industry workers, by occupational group

and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Private industry workers

All workers ...................................................................... 105.7 108.0 108.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 3.1 3.0 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ................... 105.8 108.3 109.0 .8 .7 .6 3.2 3.1 3.0

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ..................... 106.4 108.9 109.6 .9 .7 .6 3.4 3.2 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 106.4 108.9 109.7 .9 .7 .7 3.5 3.2 3.1

Management, business, and financial .................... 106.0 108.7 109.3 .9 .6 .6 3.2 3.4 3.1

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 106.1 108.9 109.6 .9 .6 .6 3.4 3.5 3.3

Professional and related ......................................... 106.7 109.0 109.9 .8 .6 .8 3.5 2.9 3.0

Sales and office .......................................................... 105.3 107.5 107.9 .6 .8 .4 2.9 2.7 2.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 106.0 108.5 109.2 .8 .6 .6 3.4 3.1 3.0

Sales and related .................................................... 104.2 106.2 106.0 .6 1.1 -.2 2.5 2.5 1.7

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 105.6 108.5 109.1 .9 .6 .6 3.3 3.6 3.3

Office and administrative support ........................... 106.0 108.5 109.2 .6 .6 .6 3.2 2.9 3.0

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance .... 105.9 108.3 109.0 .9 .7 .6 2.8 3.1 2.9

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .................................................................. 106.5 109.7 110.3 .8 1.0 .5 3.3 3.8 3.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair ...................... 105.2 106.6 107.4 1.1 .3 .8 2.1 2.4 2.1

Production, transportation, and material moving ........ 103.9 106.0 106.6 .6 .5 .6 2.2 2.6 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 103.9 105.9 106.6 .6 .5 .7 2.2 2.5 2.6

Production .............................................................. 103.2 105.2 105.8 .4 .4 .6 1.6 2.3 2.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 103.2 105.2 105.8 .4 .5 .6 1.7 2.3 2.5

Transportation and material moving ....................... 104.9 107.2 107.7 .8 .8 .5 2.8 3.0 2.7

Service occupations ................................................... 106.4 108.7 109.4 1.1 .8 .6 4.0 3.3 2.8

Industry and occupational group

Goods-producing industries3 ...................................... 104.4 106.8 107.2 .5 .7 .4 2.4 2.8 2.7

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 104.5 106.9 107.4 .5 .6 .5 2.5 2.8 2.8

Management, professional, and related ............. 104.3 106.6 106.7 .5 .5 .1 2.7 2.7 2.3

Sales and office .................................................. 104.1 106.3 106.7 .4 1.1 .4 2.0 2.5 2.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 106.1 109.0 109.8 .8 .8 .7 3.3 3.5 3.5

Production, transportation, and material moving 103.3 105.3 105.8 .4 .5 .5 1.7 2.3 2.4

Construction ........................................................... 106.9 110.1 110.6 .9 1.1 .5 3.8 4.0 3.5

Manufacturing ......................................................... 103.2 105.1 105.6 .3 .4 .5 1.8 2.1 2.3

Management, professional, and related ......... 103.3 105.2 105.4 .0 .3 .2 2.0 1.8 2.0

Sales and office .............................................. 103.5 106.1 106.7 .3 1.0 .6 2.2 2.8 3.1

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ................................................. 102.8 104.5 105.3 .4 -.1 .8 1.3 2.1 2.4

Production, transportation, and material

moving .......................................................... 103.1 105.0 105.5 .5 .5 .5 1.6 2.3 2.3

Aircraft manufacturing ........................................ 87.1 89.9 90.9 -2.8 .2 1.1 -7.2 .3 4.4

See footnotes at end of table.
13

Table 5. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, for private industry workers, by occupational group

and industry — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Service-providing industries4 ...................................... 106.1 108.5 109.1 0.9 0.7 0.6 3.3 3.1 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 106.3 108.7 109.5 .9 .6 .7 3.5 3.1 3.0

Management, professional, and related ............. 106.8 109.3 110.2 .8 .7 .8 3.5 3.2 3.2

Sales and office .................................................. 105.4 107.7 108.0 .6 .8 .3 3.0 2.8 2.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 105.7 107.3 107.8 1.1 .6 .5 2.0 2.7 2.0

Production, transportation, and material moving 104.7 107.0 107.6 .7 .6 .6 2.7 2.9 2.8

Service occupations ........................................... 106.4 108.7 109.5 1.0 .7 .7 4.0 3.2 2.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities .......................... 104.7 107.3 107.6 .5 1.1 .3 2.2 3.0 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.2 107.8 108.4 .8 .8 .6 2.6 3.3 3.0

Wholesale trade .................................................. 104.2 107.2 107.1 -.4 1.4 -.1 1.8 2.5 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.5 108.0 108.9 .6 .6 .8 2.9 3.0 3.2

Retail trade ......................................................... 105.1 107.6 108.2 1.2 .9 .6 3.1 3.6 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.5 108.1 108.9 1.2 .7 .7 3.3 3.6 3.2

Transportation and warehousing ........................ 104.5 106.4 106.8 .5 .8 .4 2.9 2.3 2.2

Utilities ................................................................ 105.0 108.1 108.1 .3 1.5 .0 -4.6 3.2 3.0

Information .............................................................. 105.8 106.2 107.2 .2 .1 .9 2.7 .6 1.3

Financial activities .................................................. 105.4 107.3 107.4 .8 .5 .1 3.2 2.6 1.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.6 108.2 108.6 .4 .7 .4 3.2 2.9 2.8

Finance and insurance ....................................... 105.7 107.7 107.6 .8 .7 -.1 3.0 2.7 1.8

Credit intermediation and related

activities ........................................................ 103.6 106.4 106.5 .5 .9 .1 1.2 3.2 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.9 109.2 109.7 .7 .9 .5 3.1 3.8 3.6

Insurance carriers and related activities ......... 106.0 107.9 108.3 1.0 .5 .4 3.9 2.8 2.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 104.9 107.9 108.1 .1 .9 .2 2.8 3.0 3.1

Real estate and rental and leasing ..................... 104.1 105.7 106.4 1.1 .2 .7 3.9 2.6 2.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 105.8 108.5 109.3 .5 .4 .7 4.1 3.0 3.3

Professional and business services ....................... 106.9 109.9 110.8 .9 .8 .8 3.9 3.8 3.6

Professional, scientific, and technical services ... 108.4 111.9 112.8 .8 .7 .8 4.6 4.1 4.1

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services ............ 105.6 108.0 109.0 .8 .8 .9 3.4 3.1 3.2

Education and health services ................................ 106.9 109.4 110.3 1.1 .7 .8 3.6 3.5 3.2

Education services ............................................. 106.7 109.1 111.4 1.7 .9 2.1 3.4 4.0 4.4

Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and

professional schools ..................................... 106.9 109.5 111.6 1.7 1.1 1.9 3.3 4.2 4.4

Health care and social assistance5 .................... 106.9 109.4 110.1 .9 .6 .6 3.6 3.3 3.0

Hospitals ......................................................... 106.5 109.1 110.1 .9 .8 .9 3.2 3.3 3.4

Nursing and residential care facilities ............. 105.5 107.8 108.7 .7 .7 .8 3.0 2.9 3.0

Nursing care facilities2 ................................ 105.6 108.0 108.9 .9 .7 .8 3.5 3.2 3.1

Leisure and hospitality ............................................ 107.5 109.3 110.6 1.4 .3 1.2 5.0 3.1 2.9

Accommodation and food services ..................... 108.1 110.0 111.4 1.6 .5 1.3 5.5 3.4 3.1

Other services, except public administration .......... 107.1 109.4 109.9 .9 .6 .5 3.4 3.1 2.6

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in

this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and

recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except

public administration. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
14

Table 6. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, for private industry workers, by bargaining status,

census region and division, and metropolitan area status

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Bargaining status, census region and division, and

metropolitan area status

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 104.4 106.7 107.4 0.5 0.8 0.7 2.0 2.7 2.9

Goods-producing industries2 .............................. 103.1 105.6 106.2 .3 1.0 .6 1.3 2.7 3.0

Manufacturing ................................................. 100.0 101.7 102.1 .0 .3 .4 -.5 1.7 2.1

Service-providing industries3 .............................. 105.4 107.5 108.3 .7 .5 .7 2.4 2.7 2.8

Nonunion ................................................................ 105.9 108.3 108.9 .8 .7 .6 3.2 3.0 2.8

Goods-producing industries2 .............................. 104.8 107.1 107.6 .6 .6 .5 2.7 2.8 2.7

Manufacturing ................................................. 104.1 106.2 106.6 .4 .6 .4 2.4 2.4 2.4

Service-providing industries3 .............................. 106.2 108.6 109.2 .9 .8 .6 3.4 3.1 2.8

Census region and division4

Northeast ................................................................ 106.2 108.1 108.7 1.0 .7 .6 3.6 2.9 2.4

New England ...................................................... 105.4 107.1 107.8 .6 .4 .7 3.2 2.2 2.3

Middle Atlantic .................................................... 106.5 108.6 109.1 1.1 .7 .5 3.8 3.1 2.4

South ...................................................................... 106.1 108.5 109.1 .8 .6 .6 3.2 3.0 2.8

South Atlantic ..................................................... 106.8 109.1 109.7 .8 .6 .5 3.6 2.9 2.7

East South Central ............................................. 104.8 107.2 108.0 1.0 .7 .7 3.3 3.3 3.1

West South Central ............................................ 105.6 108.2 108.7 .8 .8 .5 2.8 3.2 2.9

Midwest .................................................................. 104.6 107.0 107.4 .4 .9 .4 2.2 2.7 2.7

East North Central .............................................. 104.4 106.5 106.9 .3 .9 .4 2.1 2.3 2.4

West North Central ............................................. 105.3 108.4 108.8 1.0 1.0 .4 2.8 3.9 3.3

West ....................................................................... 105.7 108.4 109.3 .8 .6 .8 3.1 3.3 3.4

Mountain ............................................................. 106.6 109.4 110.3 1.3 .9 .8 3.8 4.0 3.5

Pacific ................................................................. 105.4 108.1 108.9 .6 .5 .7 2.8 3.1 3.3

Metropolitan area status

Metropolitan areas .................................................. 105.7 108.0 108.6 .8 .7 .6 3.1 3.0 2.7

Nonmetropolitan areas ........................................... 105.8 108.4 109.1 .8 .8 .6 3.1 3.2 3.1

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration. 4 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of

Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,

Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky,

Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana,

Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,

and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific:

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those

for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical

note" for further information.)
15

Table 7. Employment Cost Index for total compensation1, for State and local government workers, by

occupational group and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 107.6 109.4 111.3 1.8 0.5 1.7 4.3 3.5 3.4

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 107.5 109.3 111.3 2.0 .5 1.8 4.1 3.7 3.5

Professional and related ..................................... 107.5 109.1 111.1 2.1 .5 1.8 4.0 3.6 3.3

Sales and office ...................................................... 107.9 109.3 111.0 1.6 .5 1.6 4.5 2.9 2.9

Office and administrative support ....................... 108.2 109.8 111.4 1.7 .5 1.5 4.5 3.2 3.0

Service occupations ............................................... 108.0 110.0 111.9 1.6 .3 1.7 4.8 3.5 3.6

Industry

Education and health services ................................ 107.5 109.1 111.2 2.1 .5 1.9 3.7 3.6 3.4

Education services ............................................. 107.4 108.8 111.0 2.3 .4 2.0 3.8 3.6 3.4

Schools2 ......................................................... 107.4 108.8 111.0 2.4 .4 2.0 3.8 3.7 3.4

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 107.4 108.8 111.1 2.3 .5 2.1 3.7 3.6 3.4

Health care and social assistance3 .................... 108.6 111.1 112.7 .9 .9 1.4 3.3 3.3 3.8

Hospitals ......................................................... 107.5 109.7 110.8 1.1 .5 1.0 4.1 3.2 3.1

Public administration .............................................. 108.0 110.1 111.6 1.3 .4 1.4 5.5 3.3 3.3

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges;

colleges, universities, and professional schools.

3 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
16

Table 8. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for civilian workers, by occupational group and

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 106.0 108.4 109.3 1.0 0.7 0.8 3.3 3.2 3.1

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ............... 106.2 108.6 109.6 1.0 .7 .9 3.6 3.3 3.2

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 106.6 109.0 110.1 1.1 .7 1.0 3.6 3.4 3.3

Management, business, and financial ................ 106.4 109.0 109.8 .9 .7 .7 3.6 3.4 3.2

Professional and related ..................................... 106.7 109.0 110.3 1.3 .6 1.2 3.5 3.5 3.4

Sales and office ...................................................... 105.4 107.7 108.1 .6 .9 .4 2.9 2.8 2.6

Sales and related ................................................ 104.3 106.6 106.3 .4 1.3 -.3 2.3 2.6 1.9

Office and administrative support ....................... 106.1 108.5 109.3 .8 .6 .7 3.4 3.0 3.0

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 106.3 109.0 109.9 1.1 .8 .8 3.5 3.7 3.4

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 106.6 109.9 110.7 .9 .8 .7 3.6 4.0 3.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 105.8 107.8 108.8 1.3 .7 .9 3.1 3.3 2.8

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 104.7 106.9 107.7 .8 .8 .7 2.7 2.9 2.9

Production .......................................................... 104.3 106.5 107.2 .7 .8 .7 2.5 2.8 2.8

Transportation and material moving ................... 105.1 107.3 108.2 .9 .7 .8 2.9 3.0 2.9

Service occupations ............................................... 106.5 108.7 109.9 1.1 .6 1.1 4.2 3.2 3.2

Industry

Goods-producing industries3 .................................. 105.4 108.0 108.6 .7 .8 .6 3.0 3.2 3.0

Manufacturing ..................................................... 104.5 106.7 107.4 .6 .8 .7 2.6 2.7 2.8

Service-providing industries4 .................................. 106.2 108.5 109.4 1.0 .7 .8 3.4 3.2 3.0

Education and health services ............................ 106.6 108.7 110.2 1.6 .6 1.4 3.4 3.6 3.4

Education services ......................................... 106.2 107.9 110.0 2.1 .6 1.9 3.1 3.8 3.6

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 106.0 107.5 109.9 2.1 .5 2.2 3.0 3.6 3.7

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools ...... 106.6 108.4 110.4 2.2 .5 1.8 3.5 3.9 3.6

Health care and social assistance5 ................ 107.1 109.6 110.4 1.1 .6 .7 3.8 3.5 3.1

Hospitals ..................................................... 106.7 109.4 110.5 1.0 .9 1.0 3.7 3.6 3.6

Nursing and residential care facilities ......... 105.8 108.1 109.1 1.1 .7 .9 3.5 3.2 3.1

Public administration .......................................... 106.4 108.6 109.9 1.1 .4 1.2 4.3 3.2 3.3

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in

this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social assistance;

arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services;

other services, except public administration; and public administration. 5 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
17

Table 9. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by occupational group and

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Private industry workers

All workers ...................................................................... 106.0 108.4 109.1 0.9 0.7 0.6 3.4 3.1 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ................... 106.1 108.7 109.5 .9 .7 .7 3.5 3.3 3.2

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ..................... 106.7 109.3 110.1 .9 .7 .7 3.6 3.3 3.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 106.7 109.3 110.2 .9 .7 .8 3.7 3.3 3.3

Management, business, and financial .................... 106.3 109.0 109.7 .8 .7 .6 3.4 3.3 3.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 106.6 109.3 110.1 .9 .8 .7 3.9 3.4 3.3

Professional and related ......................................... 107.0 109.5 110.4 .9 .7 .8 3.8 3.3 3.2

Sales and office .......................................................... 105.3 107.7 108.0 .5 .9 .3 2.8 2.8 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 106.0 108.7 109.5 .8 .6 .7 3.5 3.3 3.3

Sales and related .................................................... 104.4 106.6 106.4 .4 1.2 -.2 2.4 2.5 1.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 105.7 109.1 109.7 .9 .7 .5 3.4 4.1 3.8

Office and administrative support ........................... 106.0 108.5 109.2 .6 .7 .6 3.3 2.9 3.0

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance .... 106.2 109.0 109.8 1.0 .8 .7 3.3 3.7 3.4

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .................................................................. 106.7 110.1 110.8 .9 .8 .6 3.6 4.1 3.8

Installation, maintenance, and repair ...................... 105.6 107.6 108.5 1.3 .7 .8 2.9 3.3 2.7

Production, transportation, and material moving ........ 104.5 106.8 107.5 .7 .8 .7 2.7 2.9 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 104.6 106.7 107.5 .8 .7 .7 2.9 2.8 2.8

Production .............................................................. 104.2 106.4 107.2 .6 .8 .8 2.5 2.7 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 104.1 106.3 107.2 .5 .8 .8 2.4 2.6 3.0

Transportation and material moving ....................... 105.0 107.4 108.0 .9 .8 .6 2.9 3.2 2.9

Service occupations ................................................... 106.5 108.8 109.7 1.1 .8 .8 4.4 3.3 3.0

Industry and occupational group

Goods-producing industries2 ...................................... 105.4 108.0 108.6 .7 .8 .6 3.0 3.2 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 105.6 108.2 108.9 .7 .7 .6 3.2 3.1 3.1

Management, professional, and related ............. 105.9 108.4 108.7 .6 .6 .3 3.4 2.9 2.6

Sales and office .................................................. 104.7 107.2 107.6 .6 1.3 .4 2.4 3.0 2.8

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 106.5 109.6 110.5 .9 .7 .8 3.7 3.8 3.8

Production, transportation, and material moving 104.4 106.6 107.3 .7 .9 .7 2.5 2.8 2.8

Construction ........................................................... 107.0 110.0 110.6 .9 .9 .5 4.0 3.8 3.4

Manufacturing ......................................................... 104.5 106.7 107.4 .6 .8 .7 2.6 2.7 2.8

Management, professional, and related ......... 105.0 107.2 107.6 .4 .5 .4 2.7 2.5 2.5

Sales and office .............................................. 103.9 106.9 107.6 .7 1.3 .7 2.8 3.6 3.6

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ................................................. 105.0 107.1 108.1 .7 .3 .9 2.6 2.7 3.0

Production, transportation, and material

moving .......................................................... 104.2 106.3 107.1 .6 .9 .8 2.4 2.6 2.8

Aircraft manufacturing ........................................ 104.4 107.4 107.6 -.4 .4 .2 1.5 2.5 3.1

See footnotes at end of table.
18

Table 9. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by occupational group and

industry — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Service-providing industries3 ...................................... 106.1 108.6 109.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 3.4 3.1 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 106.3 108.9 109.7 .9 .8 .7 3.7 3.4 3.2

Management, professional, and related ............. 106.8 109.4 110.3 .8 .7 .8 3.6 3.3 3.3

Sales and office .................................................. 105.4 107.7 108.0 .5 .8 .3 2.9 2.7 2.5

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 105.7 108.0 108.6 1.3 1.0 .6 2.6 3.5 2.7

Production, transportation, and material moving 104.6 107.1 107.8 .6 .8 .7 2.9 3.0 3.1

Service occupations ........................................... 106.6 108.8 109.7 1.2 .7 .8 4.5 3.3 2.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities .......................... 104.6 107.2 107.5 .3 1.2 .3 2.4 2.8 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 105.4 107.8 108.5 .8 .9 .6 3.2 3.1 2.9

Wholesale trade .................................................. 104.0 107.2 106.8 -.8 1.9 -.4 1.3 2.3 2.7

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 105.8 108.3 109.1 .6 .8 .7 3.0 2.9 3.1

Retail trade ......................................................... 105.1 107.6 108.1 .9 1.1 .5 3.1 3.3 2.9

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 105.5 108.0 108.9 .9 .8 .8 3.4 3.3 3.2

Transportation and warehousing ........................ 104.1 106.0 106.7 .4 1.0 .7 2.7 2.2 2.5

Utilities ................................................................ 106.1 109.3 109.3 .6 1.2 .0 3.0 3.6 3.0

Information .............................................................. 105.2 106.3 107.3 .3 .9 .9 2.5 1.3 2.0

Financial activities .................................................. 106.0 107.7 107.7 1.0 .5 .0 3.4 2.7 1.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 106.1 108.8 109.2 .5 .6 .4 3.4 3.0 2.9

Finance and insurance ....................................... 106.5 108.4 108.2 .9 .5 -.2 3.5 2.7 1.6

Credit intermediation and related

activities ........................................................ 103.5 106.0 105.9 .5 .8 -.1 .8 2.9 2.3

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 106.3 109.5 110.0 .7 .7 .5 3.3 3.7 3.5

Insurance carriers and related activities ......... 107.2 108.5 109.0 1.3 .6 .5 4.8 2.6 1.7

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 105.6 108.3 108.6 .2 1.1 .3 3.3 2.8 2.8

Real estate and rental and leasing ..................... 103.6 104.7 105.3 1.2 .2 .6 2.8 2.2 1.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 105.8 107.8 108.7 .6 .4 .8 3.2 2.5 2.7

Professional and business services ....................... 106.7 110.0 111.0 .8 .8 .9 3.6 3.9 4.0

Professional, scientific, and technical services ... 107.9 111.7 112.7 .7 .8 .9 4.1 4.3 4.4

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services ............ 105.7 108.3 109.4 .9 .8 1.0 3.6 3.3 3.5

Education and health services ................................ 106.9 109.2 110.2 1.2 .6 .9 3.8 3.4 3.1

Education services ............................................. 106.4 108.6 110.8 1.7 .6 2.0 3.2 3.8 4.1

Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and

professional schools ..................................... 106.5 108.4 110.8 1.8 .6 2.2 3.0 3.6 4.0

Health care and social assistance4 .................... 107.0 109.4 110.1 1.1 .6 .6 3.9 3.4 2.9

Hospitals ......................................................... 106.5 109.2 110.3 1.0 .9 1.0 3.5 3.6 3.6

Nursing and residential care facilities ............. 105.9 108.1 109.0 1.0 .7 .8 3.6 3.1 2.9

Nursing care facilities1 ................................ 106.0 108.1 109.0 1.1 .7 .8 3.8 3.1 2.8

Leisure and hospitality ............................................ 108.1 109.9 111.4 1.6 .2 1.4 5.7 3.3 3.1

Accommodation and food services ..................... 108.4 110.4 111.9 1.8 .4 1.4 6.1 3.7 3.2

Other services, except public administration .......... 107.3 109.9 110.4 1.1 .6 .5 3.8 3.6 2.9

1 The index for this series is not strictly comparable with other series in

this table. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and insurance;

real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and

recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services, except

public administration. 4 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
19

Table 10. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for private industry workers, by bargaining status,

census region and division, and metropolitan area status

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Bargaining status, census region and division, and

metropolitan area status

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 104.4 106.7 107.4 0.7 1.1 0.7 2.7 2.9 2.9

Goods-producing industries1 .............................. 104.3 106.4 107.1 .7 1.1 .7 2.4 2.7 2.7

Manufacturing ................................................. 102.9 104.4 104.9 .4 1.0 .5 1.5 1.9 1.9

Service-providing industries2 .............................. 104.6 106.9 107.7 .8 1.0 .7 3.0 3.0 3.0

Nonunion ................................................................ 106.2 108.7 109.4 .9 .7 .6 3.4 3.2 3.0

Goods-producing industries1 .............................. 105.8 108.4 109.0 .8 .6 .6 3.3 3.2 3.0

Manufacturing ................................................. 104.9 107.3 108.0 .7 .7 .7 2.8 3.0 3.0

Service-providing industries2 .............................. 106.3 108.8 109.4 .9 .8 .6 3.5 3.2 2.9

Census region and division3

Northeast ................................................................ 106.1 108.2 108.7 1.0 .7 .5 3.5 3.0 2.5

New England ...................................................... 105.7 107.6 108.3 .9 .5 .7 3.3 2.7 2.5

Middle Atlantic .................................................... 106.4 108.4 109.0 1.2 .7 .6 3.8 3.1 2.4

South ...................................................................... 106.5 109.1 109.8 .9 .9 .6 3.5 3.3 3.1

South Atlantic ..................................................... 106.9 109.5 110.2 .8 .8 .6 3.6 3.2 3.1

East South Central ............................................. 105.6 107.9 109.0 1.1 .7 1.0 3.4 3.3 3.2

West South Central ............................................ 106.1 108.8 109.4 .8 .9 .6 3.3 3.3 3.1

Midwest .................................................................. 105.0 107.5 107.9 .6 1.1 .4 2.9 3.0 2.8

East North Central .............................................. 104.7 107.0 107.3 .3 1.1 .3 2.7 2.5 2.5

West North Central ............................................. 105.6 108.9 109.5 1.1 .9 .6 3.1 4.2 3.7

West ....................................................................... 106.2 108.9 109.9 .8 .6 .9 3.4 3.3 3.5

Mountain ............................................................. 106.7 109.9 110.8 1.1 .9 .8 3.8 4.2 3.8

Pacific ................................................................. 106.0 108.6 109.6 .7 .5 .9 3.2 3.1 3.4

Metropolitan area status

Metropolitan areas .................................................. 105.9 108.4 109.0 .8 .8 .6 3.3 3.1 2.9

Nonmetropolitan areas ........................................... 106.2 108.9 109.9 1.0 .7 .9 3.5 3.5 3.5

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration. 3 The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of

Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,

Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky,

Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana,

Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,

and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific:

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

NOTE: The indexes for these series are not strictly comparable to those

for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series. (See "Technical

note" for further information.)
20

Table 11. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, for State and local government workers, by

occupational group and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 106.4 108.2 110.1 1.7 0.5 1.8 3.5 3.4 3.5

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 106.3 108.2 110.1 1.9 .6 1.8 3.3 3.7 3.6

Professional and related ..................................... 106.3 108.1 110.1 2.0 .6 1.9 3.2 3.7 3.6

Sales and office ...................................................... 106.3 107.9 109.3 1.4 .5 1.3 3.6 3.0 2.8

Office and administrative support ....................... 106.5 108.3 109.7 1.4 .5 1.3 3.7 3.1 3.0

Service occupations ............................................... 106.5 108.6 110.4 1.2 .3 1.7 4.0 3.2 3.7

Industry

Education and health services ................................ 106.3 108.1 110.2 2.0 .6 1.9 3.1 3.7 3.7

Education services ............................................. 106.1 107.7 109.9 2.1 .5 2.0 3.0 3.7 3.6

Schools1 ......................................................... 106.1 107.7 109.9 2.1 .5 2.0 3.0 3.7 3.6

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 106.0 107.5 109.8 2.1 .6 2.1 2.9 3.6 3.6

Health care and social assistance2 .................... 108.2 111.0 112.8 .9 .8 1.6 3.2 3.5 4.3

Hospitals ......................................................... 107.6 110.3 111.4 1.0 .5 1.0 4.4 3.6 3.5

Public administration .............................................. 106.4 108.6 109.9 1.1 .4 1.2 4.3 3.2 3.3

1 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges;

colleges, universities, and professional schools.

2 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
21

Table 12. Employment Cost Index for benefits, by occupational group, industry, and bargaining status

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group, industry, and bargaining status

Indexes (Dec. 2005 = 100) Percent changes for–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Sept.

2007

June

2008

Sept.

2008

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 106.1 108.1 108.9 1.0 0.5 0.7 3.2 2.9 2.6

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 105.0 107.0 107.5 .7 .5 .5 2.4 2.6 2.4

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 105.6 107.9 108.5 .7 .6 .6 2.7 2.9 2.7

Sales and office ...................................................... 105.2 107.0 107.6 .9 .5 .6 3.1 2.6 2.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 105.3 107.0 107.5 .5 .5 .5 1.7 2.1 2.1

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 102.7 104.5 104.8 .3 .1 .3 1.1 2.1 2.0

Service occupations ............................................... 106.0 108.5 108.7 .9 .8 .2 2.9 3.2 2.5

Industry

Goods-producing industries2 .................................. 102.4 104.4 104.6 .2 .4 .2 1.1 2.2 2.1

Manufacturing ..................................................... 100.7 102.2 102.3 -.3 -.1 .1 .2 1.2 1.6

Aircraft manufacturing .................................... 68.5 71.3 73.1 -6.7 .3 2.5 -18.7 -2.9 6.7

Service-providing industries3 .................................. 106.0 108.1 108.7 .8 .5 .6 2.9 2.8 2.5

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 104.3 106.6 107.2 .2 .0 .6 .9 2.4 2.8

Nonunion ................................................................ 105.1 107.1 107.6 .8 .6 .5 2.7 2.7 2.4

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 110.3 111.8 113.9 2.1 .4 1.9 6.0 3.5 3.3

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal

government. See "Technical note" for further explanation. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

services; education services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration.
22

TECHNICAL NOTE 

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a measure of the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence 

of employment shifts among occupations and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages 

and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. The wage and salary series and the benefit cost series 

provide the changes 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. 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 personal 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 year-end, referral, and 

attendance bonuses); insurance benefits—life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement 

and savings benefits—defined benefit and defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits—Social 

Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. 

The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the total private nonfarm economy 

excluding private 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. 

Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2007 North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). Prior to December 2007, the 2002 NAICS classification system was used. 

Differences between the two NAICS systems did not affect any of the published ECI series. All industries are 

classified into two sectors—goods-producing and service-providing. Within a sample establishment, specific 

job categories are selected and classified into about 800 occupational classifications according to the 2000 

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are combined to represent one of 

ten intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or one of five higher-level 

aggregations such as management, professional, and related occupations. Both the NAICS and the SOC 

classification systems are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For more detailed 

information on NAICS and SOC, including background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: 

www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. 

To be included in the ECI, employees in occupations must receive cash payments from the establishment 

for services performed and the establishment must pay the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes on that 

individual’s wages. Major exclusions from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their own pay 

(for example, proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), volunteers, unpaid 

workers, family members being paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, and 

U.S. citizens working overseas. 

Data for the September 2008 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 56,000 

occupational observations selected from a sample of about 12,000 establishments in private industry and 

approximately 11,800 occupations from a sample of about 1,900 establishments in state and local governments. 

The state and local government sample, which is replaced less frequently than the private industry sample, was 

replaced in its entirety in September 2007. As a result of this replacement, the number of state and local 

government occupations and establishments increased substantially. The private industry sample is rotated over 

approximately 5 years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent 
23

burden. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, 

September, and December. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis. 

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 occupational 

series indexes. Beginning with March 2006 estimates, 2002 fixed employment weights from the Bureau’s 

Occupational Employment Statistics survey were introduced. 

For the series based on bargaining status, census region and division, metropolitan area status, and for 

series excluding incentive paid occupations, fixed employment data are not available. The employment weights 

are reallocated within these series each quarter based on the current ECI sample. The nursing care facilities 

indexes in private industry are estimated using fixed-employment weights derived from staffing patterns 

estimated from the four-digit industry NAICS group 6231, nursing care facilities, a sub-industry of the larger 

industry group, nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623). The indexes for these series, consequently, 

are not strictly comparable with those for the aggregate, occupational, and industry series. A fuller explanation 

of the calculation of index numbers appears in chapter 8 of the BLS Handbook of Methods, at the web site 

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf. 

Beginning with the release of the March 2006 data, indexes were rebased to December 2005=100 from 

June 1989=100. The percentage changes shown in the current- and constant-dollar historical tables were 

calculated from the rebased indexes. Thus, changes may differ from those originally published because of 

rounding. 

The ECI state and local government sample consists of 152 areas that represent the Nation's 361 

metropolitan statistical areas and 573 micropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in December 2003 and 

the remaining portions of the 50 states. The ECI private industry sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and 

nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation's 326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in 1994 

and the remaining portions of the 50 states. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

(MSAs) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs). Nonmetropolitan areas are counties and 

other geographic designations that do not fit the metropolitan area definition. The private industry estimates 

will begin the conversion to December 2003 OMB areas definitions in December 2008. 

Seasonally adjusted data for selected ECI series began with the December 1990 ECI release. 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. The seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once per year. 

The March release contains data reflecting the newly updated seasonal adjustment factors. The historical data 

for the last five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2008 and 

revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available at www.bls.gov/ect/ectsfact.htm or upon 

request. Several new seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent changes of occupational series were 

added this quarter, with historical data available beginning with March 2003. 

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. 
24

The ECI uses standard errors to evaluate published series. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of 

series, the standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) are available on the BLS Web 

site at www.bls.gov/ect/ectvar.htm shortly after the 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. An 

important consideration when choosing a series for escalation is the sampling error. For more information, see 

www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm. 

More detailed information on the ECI is available from several sources. These include a chapter, 

“National compensation measures,” (www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf) from the BLS Handbook of 

Methods, and several articles published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working 

Conditions. The articles and other descriptive pieces are available at www.bls.gov/ect/#publications, by calling 

(202) 691-6199, or sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. 

Historical ECI data, using industry categories based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System 

and classifying jobs into occupational classifications according to the Census of Population, are available dating 

from the first publication of each series to December 2005 at: www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf. Data are also 

available for series based on the 2002 and 2007 North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) and 

the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005=100 as 

the base period at: www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf. 

In addition, constant-dollar ECI series derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 

(CPI-U) are available. The constant-dollar series are calculated by converting the CPI-U to the same base as the 

ECI. The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period. The 

CPI-U U.S. City Average All Items is used to compute all series except for the regional estimates, which use 

corresponding CPI regional data. 

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

insurance in private industry, are also available at www.bls.gov/ect/sp/echealth.pdf. 

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

separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" (ECEC). The next ECEC release is 

scheduled for 10:00 AM EST, Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Historical ECEC data are available in summary 

documents. Both the release and historical data are available at www.bls.gov/ect, by email to 

NCSinfo@bls.gov, or by calling (202) 691-6199. Since the ECEC is calculated with current employment 

weights rather than the fixed weights used in computing the ECI, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually 

differ from those in the ECI.