Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

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http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2005

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX—DECEMBER 2004 

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent from September to December 2004, 

seasonally adjusted, moderating from the 0.9 percent gain from June to September, the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs rose 1.4 percent, while wage and 

salary costs increased 0.4 percent, the smallest quarterly increase in wage and salaries in 2004. The 

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

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

nonfarm private and State and local government workers. 

Rises in benefit costs accounted for more than 60 percent of the increase in compensation costs for 

civilian workers from September to December 2004. Among private industry workers, benefit costs 

contributed nearly two-thirds of compensation gains during the quarter, with defined benefit retirement costs 

accounting for nearly one-third of the gain in compensation costs. Among State and local government 

workers, benefit costs composed half of compensation gains during the September to December period, with 

health insurance costs accounting for one-fifth of the gain in compensation costs. 

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.7 percent from September to December 2004, after 

advancing 0.9 percent in the prior quarter. December gains were led by goods-producing industries. For State 

and local government workers, compensation costs rose 1.0 percent in December, a gain from the 0.5 percent 

advance in September. (See tables A and 1.) 

Benefit cost increases accelerated to 1.4 percent for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and State 

and local government) in the December 2004 quarter, following a gain of 1.1 percent in the September quarter. 

Private sector benefit costs rose 1.5 percent for the December quarter, significantly higher than the 1.0 percent 

gain in the previous quarter. Benefit costs for State and local governments increased 1.5 percent in the 

December quarter, following an increase of 1.4 percent in September 2004. 

Gains in wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent during the December quarter, 

moderating from a gain of 0.7 percent in September 2004. Wages and salaries for private industry workers 

rose 0.4 percent for the December quarter, slowing from the 0.9 percent gain during the prior period. Wage 

and salary gains slowed in goods-producing, transportation and public utilities, and wholesale trade industries. 

Wages and salaries in State and local government advanced 0.7 percent during the September-to-December 

period, after a 0.1 percent change in the previous quarter. 

United States 

Department News of Labor 
 2

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

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

Compensation Component 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2004

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 1.2 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.7 

 Wages and salaries 1.0 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 

 Benefit costs 2.0 1.4 1.5 1.4 2.4 1.8 1.1 1.4 

 Private industry

Compensation costs 1.4 0.8 1.1 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 

 Wages and salaries 1.0 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.4 

 Benefit costs 2.1 1.4 1.5 1.4 2.6 1.7 1.0 1.5 

 State and local government 

Compensation costs 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.5 1.0 

 Wages and salaries 0.6 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.7 

 Benefit costs 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.4 1.5 

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Annual compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.7 percent for the year ended December 

2004, virtually unchanged from a 3.8 percent over-the-year increase for December 2003. Compensation costs 

in private industry rose 3.8 percent in the year ended December 2004, compared with a 4.0 percent increase in 

December 2003. Compensation costs increased 3.5 percent for State and local governments for the year ended 

December 2004, compared with an over-the-year gain of 3.3 percent in December 2003. (See tables B, 2, and 

3.) 

The components of compensation showed dramatic differences in the rate of change. While increases in 

wages and salaries continued at a moderate pace, benefit costs continued to rise sharply. For civilian workers, 

wages and salaries rose 2.4 percent in the year ended December 2004, compared with a gain of 2.9 percent in 

December 2003. Wages and salaries for private industry workers also gained 2.4 percent for the year ended 

December, compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in December 2003. Benefit costs rose 6.9 percent for 

civilian workers for the period ended December 2004, compared with the increase of 6.3 percent for the year 

ended December 2003. (See tables B, 5, 6, and 8.) 

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

 Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.

Compensation Component 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 3.4 4.1 4.1 3.4 3.8 3.7 

 Wages and salaries 3.5 3.8 3.7 2.9 2.9 2.4 

 Benefit costs 3.3 4.9 5.2 5.0 6.3 6.9 

 Private industry

Compensation costs 3.4 4.4 4.2 3.2 4.0 3.8 

 Wages and salaries 3.5 3.9 3.8 2.7 3.0 2.4 

 Benefit costs 3.4 5.6 5.1 4.7 6.4 6.9 

 State and local government

Compensation costs 3.4 3.0 4.2 4.1 3.3 3.5 

 Wages and salaries 3.6 3.3 3.6 3.2 2.1 2.1 

 Benefit costs 2.8 2.4 5.5 6.2 6.1 6.7 

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended December 2004, compensation costs in private industry increased 4.7 percent for 

goods-producing industries, compared with an advance of 4.0 percent for the year ended December 2003. 

Compensation costs for manufacturing advanced 5.0 percent in December 2004, after increasing 4.1 percent in 

December 2003. Compensation costs for construction rose 2.4 percent in December 2004, compared with a 

3.4 percent rise in December 2003. (See table 3.) 
 3

The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-producing industries was 3.3 percent, compared 

with a 4.0 percent gain for the year ended December 2003. Among service-producing industries, the 12-month 

increase for transportation and public utilities was 3.9 percent for the year ended in December 2004, led by a 

5.0 percent increase in the electric, gas, and sanitary services industry. Compensation costs rose modestly in 

retail trade and wholesale trade, increasing 2.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, in December 2004. (See 

table 3.) 

Over-the-year compensation cost increases were 4.4 percent for blue-collar occupations, 3.5 percent for 

white-collar occupations, and 2.9 percent for service occupations for the year ended December 2004. Among 

white-collar occupational groups, compensation cost increases ranged from 2.4 percent for executive, 

administrative, and managerial employees to 4.5 percent for professional specialty and technical workers. 

Among blue-collar occupational groups, compensation cost increases ranged from 3.4 percent for 

transportation and material moving workers and handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers to 5.7 

percent for machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors. (See table 3.) 

Gains in compensation costs for union workers continued to outpace those for nonunion workers. 

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 5.6 percent over the year ended December 2004, significantly 

higher than the 3.4 percent increase for nonunion workers. Among blue-collar workers, compensation costs 

advanced 5.7 percent for union workers, greater than the gain of 3.7 percent for nonunion workers. In 

manufacturing industries, compensation costs for union workers advanced sharply, rising 7.6 percent, 

significantly higher than the 4.2 percent increase for nonunion workers for the year ended December 2004. 

(See tables C and 4.) 

Wages and salaries for union workers rose 2.8 percent for the 12 months ended in December 2004, 

compared with an over-the-year increase of 2.4 percent for nonunion workers. Benefit costs for union workers 

continued to rise sharply, 10.3 percent, compared with an increase of 6.2 percent for nonunion workers in 

December 2004. (See tables C, 7, and 8.) 

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

not seasonally adjusted 

Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.

Compensation Component 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

 Union workers

Compensation costs 2.7 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.6 5.6 

 Wages and salaries 2.6 3.4 4.4 3.5 2.4 2.8 

 Benefit costs 2.8 5.2 3.7 5.7 8.3 10.3 

 Nonunion workers

Compensation costs 3.6 4.4 4.1 3.2 3.9 3.4 

 Wages and salaries 3.6 4.0 3.6 2.7 3.1 2.4 

 Benefit costs 3.5 5.7 5.4 4.5 6.0 6.2 

Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs ranged from 3.1 percent in the 

Midwest to 4.1 percent in the South for the year ended December 2004. Compensation costs rose 3.8 percent 

in the Northeast and 3.9 percent in the West. In the Midwest, gains in wages and salaries slowed to 1.6 

percent for the year ended December 2004, significantly less than the 3.9 percent gain for the year ended 

December 2003. Among the remaining regions, wages and salaries rose 2.5 percent in the Northeast, 2.6 

percent in the West, and 2.8 percent in the South for the year ended December 2004. (See tables 4 and 7.) 

State and local government

Wages and salaries for State and local government workers edged up 2.1 percent in the year ended 

December 2004, the same as the gain for December 2003. Benefit costs rose 6.7 percent for the year ended 

December 2004, greater than the gain of 6.1 percent for the year ended December 2003. (See tables B, 5, and 

8.) 
 4

For the year ended December 2004, compensation costs increased 3.0 percent for educational services, 

almost identical to the 2.9 percent increase for the year ended December 2003. Within educational services, 

compensation increases were 3.4 percent for elementary and secondary schools and 1.9 percent for colleges 

and universities. Among occupational groups, compensation costs of service workers rose 4.3 percent for the 

year ended December 2004, compared with gains of 3.5 percent for blue-collar workers and 3.3 percent for 

white-collar workers. (See table 2.) 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

NOTE: 

The new seasonal factors for 2005, along with revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past five years, 

will be available Wednesday, April 27, 2005, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm, by email request ocltinfo@bls.gov, or by telephone (202) 691-6199. The ECI for March 2005 is scheduled to be 

released Friday, April 29, 2005, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). 

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

To access data using Anonymous FTP, use the Internet address ftp://ftp.bls.gov.

For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to webmaster@bls.gov. For ECI data 

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

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

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

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. 

News releases and other information are available from the BLS fax-on-demand service. To request a 

document fax, call (202) 691-6325. To request 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 

To request a catalog of available documents, select option 2 at the initial voice prompt. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 
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Chart A. Changes in wages and salaries and in benefit costs, private industry, 1980-2004

12-month percent change

Wages and salaries

Benefits

Chart B. Changes in wages and salaries, private industry and State and local government, 1980-2004

12-month percent change

Chart C. Changes in benefits, private industry and State and local government, 1980-2004

12-month percent change

State and local government

Private

industry

State and

local government

Private

industry
6

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

occupational group 

(Seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June

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

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Mar.

2003

Jun.

2003

Sep.

2003

Dec.

2003

Mar.

2004

Jun.

2004

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Civilian workers .............................................. 173.9 175.2 1.2 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.7

State and local government .......................... 170.7 172.4 1.0 1.0 .5 .8 1.0 1.1 .5 1.0

Private industry ............................................. 174.5 175.8 1.4 .8 1.1 .8 1.1 1.0 .9 .7

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 174.0 175.5 1.6 1.0 1.0 .7 1.8 .9 1.1 .9

Construction ......................................... 166.9 167.4 .8 1.0 .8 .7 .9 .5 .7 .3

Manufacturing ....................................... 174.9 175.9 1.6 .8 1.0 .7 2.3 .8 1.2 .6

Durables ........................................... 176.0 176.8 2.0 .5 1.0 .7 2.6 .9 1.4 .5

Nondurables ..................................... 173.1 174.4 1.1 1.1 .9 .8 1.6 .8 1.1 .8

Service producing3 ................................... 174.8 176.0 1.3 .8 1.1 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .7

Transportation and public utilities ......... 173.3 173.9 .8 1.2 .6 .7 1.5 1.4 .6 .3

Wholesale trade .................................... 177.8 177.5 1.3 .5 .9 .5 .6 .6 1.6 -.2

Retail trade ........................................... 164.0 165.0 .2 .5 1.5 1.0 .4 1.0 .2 .6

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 184.8 186.0 4.9 .9 1.1 .4 .9 .6 .7 .6

Services ................................................ 176.6 178.2 .8 .8 1.0 .9 1.0 .9 .9 .9

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 173.7 175.1 1.2 .9 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 177.2 178.6 1.4 .7 1.2 .8 .9 .7 1.0 .8

Blue collar ................................................. 170.0 171.3 1.2 1.0 .9 .9 1.6 1.0 .9 .8

Service ...................................................... 169.2 170.0 1.1 .7 .8 .7 1.2 .9 .5 .5

WAGES AND SALARIES

Civilian workers .............................................. 165.5 166.2 1.0 .6 .7 .5 .6 .6 .7 .4

State and local government .......................... 163.8 165.0 .6 .8 .1 .6 .6 .7 .1 .7

Private industry ............................................. 165.8 166.4 1.0 .6 .9 .5 .6 .6 .9 .4

Industry

Goods producing2,4 .................................. 162.3 162.4 .8 .7 .6 .3 .8 .6 .9 .1

Construction ......................................... 156.9 157.0 .5 .8 .8 .4 1.0 .1 .8 .1

Manufacturing4 ..................................... 163.8 164.0 1.0 .6 .4 .3 .7 .7 .9 .1

Durables4 ......................................... 164.5 164.7 1.0 .6 .6 .2 .6 .6 1.0 .1

Nondurables ..................................... 162.8 163.3 .5 .8 .4 .5 .7 .7 .9 .3

Service producing3 ................................... 167.4 168.2 1.1 .6 1.1 .6 .5 .5 .9 .5

Transportation and public utilities4 ....... 160.4 160.5 .5 .5 .3 .3 .7 1.0 .8 .1

Wholesale trade .................................... 169.9 168.3 1.3 -.1 .9 .7 .2 .1 2.0 -.9

Retail trade ........................................... 158.5 159.6 .0 .4 1.6 .4 .3 .7 .1 .7

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 176.5 177.7 5.2 .8 1.0 .2 .4 .1 .7 .7

Services ................................................ 170.8 172.2 .6 .8 .9 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 166.0 166.9 1.0 .6 1.0 .6 .5 .5 .9 .5

See footnotes at end of table.
7

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

occupational group — Continued

(Seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June

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

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Mar.

2003

Jun.

2003

Sep.

2003

Dec.

2003

Mar.

2004

Jun.

2004

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

WAGES AND SALARIES–Continued

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 169.5 170.4 1.1 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.5 1.0 0.5

Blue collar4 ............................................... 159.5 159.9 .8 .7 .6 .3 .7 .7 .8 .3

Service4 .................................................... 159.8 160.6 .6 .4 .6 .4 .4 .6 .3 .5

BENEFIT COSTS

Civilian workers .............................................. 194.7 197.5 2.0 1.4 1.5 1.4 2.4 1.8 1.1 1.4

State and local government .......................... 187.1 189.9 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.4 1.5

Private industry ............................................. 196.4 199.3 2.1 1.4 1.5 1.4 2.6 1.7 1.0 1.5

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 198.4 202.6 3.0 1.4 1.7 1.4 4.2 1.4 1.5 2.1

Manufacturing ....................................... 199.5 202.2 3.3 1.3 1.8 1.4 5.1 1.4 1.8 1.4

Service producing3 ................................... 195.3 197.4 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.9 .7 1.1

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 195.6 198.5 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.8 .9 1.5

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 199.2 202.2 2.0 1.1 1.5 1.3 1.9 1.6 1.2 1.5

Blue collar ................................................. 193.2 196.1 2.1 2.0 1.5 1.5 3.8 1.9 1.0 1.5

Service ...................................................... 197.8 198.7 2.4 1.4 1.2 1.4 3.1 1.8 .9 .5

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and

retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service industries. 4 No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.
8

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

industry and occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Civilian workers ............................................ 168.4 173.9 174.7 0.5 1.0 0.5 3.8 3.8 3.7

Excluding sales occupations .................. 168.6 173.9 175.0 .5 .9 .6 3.9 3.7 3.8

Industry

Goods producing2 ...................................... 166.6 173.4 174.4 .5 .9 .6 4.0 4.6 4.7

Manufacturing ......................................... 167.1 174.9 175.4 .4 1.0 .3 4.1 5.0 5.0

Service producing3 ..................................... 169.1 174.0 174.7 .5 1.0 .4 3.9 3.4 3.3

Services .................................................. 169.5 174.5 175.5 .6 1.3 .6 3.4 3.6 3.5

Health services ................................... 170.7 176.7 177.7 .8 1.3 .6 3.8 4.4 4.1

Hospitals ......................................... 174.8 180.5 181.8 1.0 1.3 .7 4.3 4.3 4.0

Educational services ........................... 167.6 171.8 172.9 .4 1.7 .6 2.9 2.9 3.2

Public administration4 ............................. 168.1 174.1 175.4 .5 1.6 .7 4.0 4.1 4.3

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 168.6 173.5 174.4 .5 1.0 .5 3.8 3.4 3.4

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 170.7 175.8 176.6 .5 1.0 .5 3.9 3.5 3.5

Excluding sales ................................... 171.1 176.2 177.4 .5 1.0 .7 3.9 3.5 3.7

Professional specialty and technical ....... 168.0 173.6 174.7 .6 1.4 .6 3.4 4.0 4.0

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 174.9 178.2 179.4 .5 .6 .7 4.9 2.4 2.6

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 172.5 178.7 180.0 .5 .8 .7 3.9 4.1 4.3

Blue collar ................................................... 163.7 170.1 170.9 .5 .8 .5 3.9 4.4 4.4

Service ........................................................ 167.9 172.7 173.6 .7 1.1 .5 3.5 3.5 3.4

State and local government ......................... 166.8 171.5 172.6 .5 1.7 .6 3.3 3.4 3.5

Industry

Services .................................................. 165.7 169.7 170.8 .5 1.7 .6 3.0 2.9 3.1

Excluding schools ........................... 168.2 173.0 173.8 .8 1.7 .5 3.3 3.7 3.3

Health services ................................... 171.0 175.7 176.8 .9 1.6 .6 3.3 3.7 3.4

Hospitals ......................................... 171.4 176.3 177.4 .6 1.8 .6 3.1 3.5 3.5

Educational services ........................... 165.0 168.8 169.9 .4 1.7 .7 2.9 2.7 3.0

Schools ........................................... 165.3 169.2 170.3 .4 1.7 .7 2.9 2.7 3.0

Elementary and secondary ......... 163.7 168.0 169.2 .4 2.1 .7 3.1 3.1 3.4

Colleges and universities ............ 170.0 172.4 173.2 .5 .8 .5 2.5 1.9 1.9

Public administration4 ............................. 168.1 174.1 175.4 .5 1.6 .7 4.0 4.1 4.3

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 165.7 170.0 171.2 .5 1.5 .7 3.1 3.1 3.3

Professional specialty and technical ....... 164.1 168.4 169.4 .4 1.7 .6 2.9 3.1 3.2

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 169.1 172.1 174.3 .7 .6 1.3 3.2 2.4 3.1

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 168.5 174.3 175.5 .4 1.5 .7 3.8 3.8 4.2

Blue collar ................................................... 165.2 169.9 171.0 1.0 1.4 .6 3.4 3.9 3.5

Service ........................................................ 173.0 179.4 180.5 .6 2.3 .6 4.0 4.3 4.3

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; service

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

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

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

occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Private industry workers .............................. 168.8 174.4 175.2 0.4 0.8 0.5 4.0 3.7 3.8

Excluding sales occupations .................. 169.0 174.6 175.6 .5 .8 .6 4.1 3.9 3.9

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 166.5 173.3 174.3 .5 .9 .6 4.0 4.6 4.7

Excluding sales ................................... 165.9 172.5 173.7 .5 .8 .7 4.2 4.5 4.7

White collar ............................................. 170.5 176.4 177.8 .2 1.0 .8 3.8 3.7 4.3

Excluding sales ................................... 169.2 174.5 176.4 .4 .7 1.1 4.3 3.6 4.3

Blue collar ............................................... 163.9 171.3 172.0 .6 .9 .4 4.2 5.2 4.9

Construction ........................................... 163.3 167.0 167.3 .6 .7 .2 3.4 2.9 2.4

Manufacturing ......................................... 167.1 174.9 175.4 .4 1.0 .3 4.1 5.0 5.0

White collar ......................................... 169.6 176.4 176.7 .1 1.0 .2 3.9 4.1 4.2

Excluding sales ............................... 167.8 174.1 174.7 .2 .9 .3 4.4 4.0 4.1

Blue collar ........................................... 165.1 173.7 174.3 .6 1.0 .3 4.3 5.9 5.6

Durables ............................................. 167.3 175.8 176.3 .4 1.0 .3 4.2 5.5 5.4

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 182.1 201.6 202.0 -1.2 .3 .2 5.7 9.3 10.9

White collar ................................. 177.0 195.2 195.3 -.3 .2 .1 7.1 10.0 10.3

Blue collar ................................... 188.4 210.9 211.8 -2.8 1.2 .4 3.3 8.8 12.4

Nondurables ....................................... 166.6 173.1 173.6 .4 .8 .3 3.9 4.3 4.2

Service producing3 .................................. 169.7 174.7 175.3 .5 .8 .3 4.0 3.5 3.3

Excluding sales ................................... 170.6 175.6 176.5 .5 .8 .5 4.0 3.5 3.5

White collar ............................................. 172.0 177.3 177.8 .5 .9 .3 4.2 3.6 3.4

Excluding sales ................................... 174.2 179.4 180.4 .6 .9 .6 4.3 3.6 3.6

Blue collar ............................................... 162.6 167.4 168.1 .2 .6 .4 3.6 3.2 3.4

Service .................................................... 164.3 168.1 168.9 .7 .4 .5 3.1 3.0 2.8

Transportation and public utilities ........... 167.0 173.6 173.5 .3 .6 -.1 3.3 4.3 3.9

Transportation .................................... 159.6 166.2 166.2 .1 .9 .0 2.2 4.3 4.1

Public utilities ...................................... 177.0 183.6 183.4 .3 .3 -.1 4.6 4.1 3.6

Communications ............................. 179.0 183.8 183.5 .3 .1 -.2 5.2 3.0 2.5

Electric, gas, and sanitary

services ........................................ 174.6 183.3 183.3 .5 .5 .0 3.9 5.5 5.0

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 165.0 169.1 169.1 .4 .6 .0 3.3 2.9 2.5

Excluding sales ............................... 165.9 169.6 170.4 .5 .6 .5 3.4 2.8 2.7

Wholesale trade .................................. 172.0 177.8 176.6 .0 1.1 -.7 3.2 3.4 2.7

Excluding sales ............................... 171.3 175.3 176.3 .1 .7 .6 2.5 2.4 2.9

Retail trade ......................................... 161.0 164.2 164.7 .7 .3 .3 3.3 2.7 2.3

General merchandise stores .......... 165.6 168.8 169.5 2.7 1.6 .4 6.8 4.7 2.4

Food stores ..................................... 160.3 163.5 164.0 .6 .0 .3 2.6 2.6 2.3

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 180.9 184.8 186.0 .4 .7 .6 7.4 2.6 2.8

Excluding sales ............................... 186.1 190.0 191.2 .4 .7 .6 7.5 2.5 2.7

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 209.0 210.5 212.3 .7 .8 .9 12.8 1.4 1.6

Insurance ............................................ 176.2 182.1 183.6 .6 .9 .8 4.9 4.0 4.2

Excluding sales ............................... 173.7 179.1 180.3 .5 .6 .7 4.8 3.6 3.8

Services .................................................. 171.4 176.9 177.9 .6 1.0 .6 3.6 3.8 3.8

Business services ............................... 172.6 178.5 179.1 .4 .9 .3 3.0 3.8 3.8

Health services ................................... 170.8 177.0 178.0 .8 1.3 .6 3.9 4.5 4.2

Hospitals ......................................... 175.9 181.8 183.2 1.2 1.2 .8 4.6 4.5 4.2

Nursing homes ............................... – – – .6 .5 .6 3.4 3.1 3.0

Educational services ........................... 181.3 187.0 188.5 .6 1.5 .8 3.5 3.8 4.0

Colleges and universities ................ 179.4 185.2 186.2 .6 1.5 .5 3.3 3.8 3.8

See footnotes at end of table.
10

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

occupational group — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 169.0 173.9 174.7 0.5 0.8 0.5 4.0 3.5 3.4

White collar ............................................. 172.1 177.2 178.0 .5 .9 .5 4.1 3.5 3.4

Excluding sales ................................... 174.2 179.3 180.6 .6 .9 .7 4.2 3.5 3.7

Blue collar ............................................... 161.7 166.4 167.3 .4 .5 .5 3.7 3.3 3.5

Service .................................................... 164.2 168.0 168.9 .6 .4 .5 3.1 2.9 2.9

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 172.0 177.3 178.1 .5 .9 .5 4.1 3.6 3.5

Excluding sales ................................... 173.0 178.3 179.5 .5 .9 .7 4.3 3.6 3.8

Professional specialty and technical ....... 170.5 176.8 178.1 .6 1.2 .7 3.7 4.4 4.5

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 175.9 179.2 180.2 .5 .6 .6 5.2 2.4 2.4

Sales ....................................................... 167.1 173.1 171.4 -.1 1.1 -1.0 3.2 3.5 2.6

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 173.1 179.4 180.7 .5 .7 .7 3.8 4.1 4.4

Blue collar ................................................. 163.6 170.1 170.8 .5 .8 .4 4.0 4.5 4.4

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 164.2 170.2 171.2 .7 .7 .6 4.1 4.4 4.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 163.2 172.2 172.5 .4 1.0 .2 4.1 5.9 5.7

Transportation and material moving ....... 156.9 161.8 162.3 .1 .7 .3 3.4 3.3 3.4

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 169.5 174.3 175.3 .5 .6 .6 4.1 3.4 3.4

Service ....................................................... 164.9 168.9 169.7 .7 .4 .5 3.2 3.1 2.9

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations4 ........................................... 166.6 172.4 173.0 .5 .8 .3 3.8 4.0 3.8

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service

industries.

4 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the

Hourly Earnings Index, which was discontinued in January 1989.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
11

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

region, and area 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Bargaining status, region, and area

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 166.8 175.3 176.2 0.7 0.8 0.5 4.6 5.8 5.6

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 164.2 172.6 173.5 .7 .8 .5 4.9 5.8 5.7

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 165.9 176.0 176.7 .7 .8 .4 5.1 6.9 6.5

Service-producing industries3 .................. 167.5 174.4 175.4 .6 .9 .6 4.0 4.7 4.7

Manufacturing ........................................... 166.3 178.4 178.9 .8 .8 .3 5.3 8.1 7.6

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 165.1 177.3 177.8 .9 .8 .3 5.2 8.3 7.7

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 166.5 173.0 174.1 .6 .8 .6 4.1 4.5 4.6

Nonunion ..................................................... 169.1 174.2 174.9 .4 .9 .4 3.9 3.4 3.4

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 163.2 168.6 169.2 .4 .7 .4 3.5 3.7 3.7

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 166.7 172.4 173.5 .4 .9 .6 3.7 3.8 4.1

Service-producing industries3 .................. 169.8 174.6 175.1 .5 .8 .3 4.0 3.3 3.1

Manufacturing ........................................... 167.3 173.8 174.3 .2 1.0 .3 3.7 4.1 4.2

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 164.8 171.2 171.9 .4 1.1 .4 3.8 4.3 4.3

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 169.3 174.0 174.7 .5 .8 .4 3.9 3.3 3.2

Region4

Northeast ...................................................... 167.9 173.7 174.2 .6 .8 .3 4.1 4.1 3.8

South ............................................................ 163.9 169.5 170.6 .4 1.0 .6 3.1 3.9 4.1

Midwest ........................................................ 172.5 177.6 177.9 .5 .8 .2 4.8 3.4 3.1

West ............................................................. 172.2 178.1 179.0 .5 .7 .5 4.4 3.9 3.9

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 169.1 174.6 175.3 .5 .9 .4 4.1 3.7 3.7

Other ............................................................. 166.9 173.3 174.3 .5 .7 .6 3.8 4.3 4.4

1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service

industries.

4 The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,

Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District

of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,

and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and

Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and

Wyoming.

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

for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series.
12

Table 5. Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for civilian and State and local government workers, by

industry and occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Civilian workers ............................................ 162.3 165.7 166.2 0.3 0.9 0.3 2.9 2.4 2.4

Excluding sales occupations .................. 162.3 165.6 166.3 .4 .9 .4 2.9 2.4 2.5

Industry

Goods producing1 ...................................... 158.7 162.3 162.4 .3 .8 .1 2.3 2.5 2.3

Manufacturing ......................................... 160.1 163.8 164.0 .3 .9 .1 2.3 2.6 2.4

Service producing2 ..................................... 163.6 167.0 167.5 .4 .9 .3 3.0 2.5 2.4

Services .................................................. 165.4 169.3 170.1 .4 1.1 .5 2.7 2.8 2.8

Health services ................................... 165.9 170.8 171.7 .7 1.3 .5 3.1 3.7 3.5

Hospitals ......................................... 167.7 171.8 173.2 .8 1.1 .8 3.4 3.3 3.3

Educational services ........................... 163.2 166.0 166.8 .3 1.3 .5 1.9 2.0 2.2

Public administration3 ............................. 160.0 162.6 163.5 .4 .7 .6 2.7 2.0 2.2

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 162.7 166.0 166.5 .4 .9 .3 3.0 2.4 2.3

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 165.1 168.7 169.1 .4 1.0 .2 3.1 2.6 2.4

Excluding sales ................................... 165.7 169.1 169.9 .4 .9 .5 3.1 2.5 2.5

Professional specialty and technical ....... 162.5 166.5 167.0 .4 1.3 .3 2.5 2.9 2.8

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 171.2 173.4 174.4 .4 .6 .6 4.5 1.7 1.9

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 164.9 168.8 169.7 .4 .8 .5 2.7 2.7 2.9

Blue collar ................................................... 156.3 159.7 160.0 .3 .8 .2 2.4 2.5 2.4

Service ........................................................ 160.6 162.8 163.6 .5 .6 .5 2.4 1.9 1.9

State and local government ......................... 161.9 164.5 165.3 .4 1.0 .5 2.1 2.0 2.1

Industry

Services .................................................. 162.1 164.8 165.5 .3 1.3 .4 1.8 2.0 2.1

Excluding schools ........................... 164.5 167.5 168.3 .8 1.1 .5 2.6 2.6 2.3

Health services ................................... 166.7 169.6 170.7 1.0 1.1 .6 2.8 2.7 2.4

Hospitals ......................................... 166.7 169.9 171.0 .7 1.2 .6 2.6 2.7 2.6

Educational services ........................... 161.6 164.2 164.9 .2 1.3 .4 1.7 1.9 2.0

Schools ........................................... 161.8 164.3 165.0 .2 1.2 .4 1.8 1.8 2.0

Elementary and secondary ......... 160.9 163.8 164.5 .2 1.4 .4 1.8 2.0 2.2

Colleges and universities ............ 164.0 165.4 166.3 .3 .6 .5 1.5 1.2 1.4

Public administration3 ............................. 160.0 162.6 163.5 .4 .7 .6 2.7 2.0 2.2

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 161.5 164.1 164.9 .3 1.0 .5 2.0 1.9 2.1

Professional specialty and technical ....... 161.4 164.4 165.0 .2 1.3 .4 1.9 2.1 2.2

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 163.3 164.3 166.1 .5 .3 1.1 2.0 1.1 1.7

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 159.5 162.6 163.0 .3 1.1 .2 2.2 2.2 2.2

Blue collar ................................................... 158.3 160.7 161.4 .4 .9 .4 2.1 2.0 2.0

Service ........................................................ 165.8 168.5 169.4 .5 .9 .5 2.9 2.2 2.2

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; service

industries; and public administration. 3 Includes executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory

activities of State and local governments, SICs 91 through 96.
13

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

occupational group 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Private industry workers .............................. 162.3 165.9 166.2 0.4 0.9 0.2 3.0 2.6 2.4

Excluding sales occupations .................. 162.4 165.8 166.5 .4 .8 .4 3.1 2.5 2.5

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................... 158.7 162.3 162.4 .3 .9 .1 2.4 2.5 2.3

Excluding sales ................................... 158.0 161.2 161.6 .4 .6 .2 2.6 2.4 2.3

White collar ............................................. 162.1 166.0 165.9 .1 .9 -.1 2.2 2.5 2.3

Excluding sales ................................... 160.4 163.6 164.1 .3 .6 .3 2.6 2.3 2.3

Blue collar ............................................... 156.4 159.8 160.1 .3 .8 .2 2.5 2.5 2.4

Construction ........................................... 154.0 157.1 157.0 .3 .8 -.1 2.5 2.3 1.9

Manufacturing ......................................... 160.1 163.8 164.0 .3 .9 .1 2.3 2.6 2.4

White collar ......................................... 162.1 166.1 166.1 .1 .9 .0 2.2 2.5 2.5

Excluding sales ............................... 160.0 163.5 163.9 .3 .6 .2 2.6 2.5 2.4

Blue collar ........................................... 158.5 162.1 162.4 .4 .9 .2 2.5 2.7 2.5

Durables ............................................. 160.9 164.5 164.7 .2 1.0 .1 2.3 2.4 2.4

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 167.7 172.4 172.6 .2 .3 .1 2.8 3.0 2.9

White collar ................................. 160.6 165.7 165.9 .2 .1 .1 2.8 3.4 3.3

Blue collar ................................... 178.2 183.0 183.3 .2 1.3 .2 2.9 2.9 2.9

Nondurables ....................................... 158.7 162.8 162.9 .3 .7 .1 2.3 2.8 2.6

Service producing2 .................................. 163.9 167.5 167.9 .4 .8 .2 3.3 2.6 2.4

Excluding sales ................................... 165.0 168.5 169.3 .5 .8 .5 3.4 2.6 2.6

White collar ............................................. 166.6 170.4 170.8 .4 .9 .2 3.7 2.7 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 169.0 172.8 173.6 .5 .9 .5 3.8 2.7 2.7

Blue collar ............................................... 155.4 158.9 159.4 .2 .7 .3 2.2 2.5 2.6

Service .................................................... 157.4 159.4 160.2 .5 .4 .5 2.1 1.8 1.8

Transportation and public utilities ........... 156.5 160.4 160.5 .3 .8 .1 1.6 2.8 2.6

Transportation .................................... 150.8 155.0 155.1 .3 1.0 .1 .5 3.1 2.9

Public utilities ...................................... 164.1 167.5 167.5 .4 .7 .0 3.0 2.5 2.1

Communications ............................. 165.9 168.8 168.3 .3 .8 -.3 3.2 2.1 1.4

Electric, gas, and sanitary

services ........................................ 161.8 165.9 166.6 .5 .5 .4 2.8 3.0 3.0

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 159.5 162.5 162.1 .2 .6 -.2 2.6 2.1 1.6

Excluding sales ............................... 161.3 163.5 164.1 .4 .4 .4 2.7 1.7 1.7

Wholesale trade .................................. 165.3 169.7 167.5 .3 1.1 -1.3 2.7 3.0 1.3

Excluding sales ............................... 166.3 168.6 168.9 .4 .6 .2 1.6 1.8 1.6

Retail trade ......................................... 156.5 158.7 159.3 .1 .2 .4 2.5 1.5 1.8

General merchandise stores .......... 153.6 157.5 158.1 .3 1.7 .4 2.9 2.9 2.9

Food stores ..................................... 152.8 154.5 155.0 .4 .1 .3 1.7 1.5 1.4

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 174.5 176.5 177.7 .2 .7 .7 7.3 1.4 1.8

Excluding sales ............................... 179.8 181.8 182.9 .3 .7 .6 7.5 1.5 1.7

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 210.2 209.5 211.3 .5 .9 .9 14.3 .2 .5

Insurance ............................................ 164.5 168.9 170.4 .4 1.0 .9 3.4 3.1 3.6

Excluding sales ............................... 160.7 164.6 165.5 .2 .5 .5 3.1 2.6 3.0

Services .................................................. 166.7 171.1 172.0 .5 1.1 .5 3.1 3.1 3.2

Business services ............................... 169.8 174.3 175.0 .4 .9 .4 3.0 3.1 3.1

Health services ................................... 165.8 170.9 171.9 .7 1.2 .6 3.2 3.8 3.7

Hospitals ......................................... 167.9 172.4 173.8 .8 1.1 .8 3.6 3.5 3.5

Nursing homes ............................... – – – .6 .5 .5 2.8 2.5 2.5

Educational services ........................... 171.0 175.5 176.8 .4 1.7 .7 2.7 3.1 3.4

Colleges and universities ................ 168.4 172.9 173.6 .5 1.7 .4 2.5 3.2 3.1

See footnotes at end of table.
14

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

occupational group — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry and occupational group

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 162.6 166.2 166.6 0.3 0.8 0.2 3.2 2.5 2.5

White collar ............................................. 166.3 170.1 170.5 .4 .9 .2 3.6 2.7 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 168.5 172.3 173.1 .5 .9 .5 3.7 2.7 2.7

Blue collar ............................................... 153.8 157.1 157.5 .3 .6 .3 2.4 2.4 2.4

Service .................................................... 157.3 159.2 160.1 .5 .3 .6 2.1 1.7 1.8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 165.9 169.7 170.0 .4 .9 .2 3.4 2.7 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 167.0 170.6 171.4 .5 .8 .5 3.5 2.6 2.6

Professional specialty and technical ....... 163.0 167.6 168.0 .6 1.3 .2 2.8 3.4 3.1

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 172.5 174.9 175.7 .4 .6 .5 4.9 1.8 1.9

Sales ....................................................... 161.1 165.9 164.0 -.3 1.2 -1.1 2.7 2.7 1.8

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 165.7 169.7 170.8 .4 .7 .6 2.7 2.8 3.1

Blue collar ................................................. 156.1 159.5 159.9 .3 .8 .3 2.4 2.5 2.4

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 156.2 159.3 159.7 .5 .6 .3 2.6 2.4 2.2

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 156.9 161.6 161.6 .1 1.1 .0 2.4 3.1 3.0

Transportation and material moving ....... 149.8 152.9 153.3 .0 .7 .3 2.0 2.1 2.3

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 160.6 163.6 164.5 .4 .6 .6 2.2 2.3 2.4

Service ....................................................... 157.8 159.8 160.6 .4 .3 .5 2.1 1.7 1.8

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations3 ........................................... 159.4 163.1 163.4 .4 .9 .2 2.7 2.7 2.5

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service

industries.

3 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the

Hourly Earnings Index, which was discontinued in January 1989.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
15

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

region, and area 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Bargaining status, region, and area

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 156.2 160.0 160.6 0.6 0.8 0.4 2.4 3.0 2.8

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 153.5 156.7 157.2 .5 .8 .3 2.6 2.6 2.4

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 155.4 158.7 158.9 .4 .8 .1 2.8 2.5 2.3

Service-producing industries2 .................. 157.3 161.7 162.6 .6 .9 .6 2.1 3.5 3.4

Manufacturing ........................................... 157.1 160.5 160.7 .3 .8 .1 2.6 2.4 2.3

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 155.8 159.2 159.2 .4 .9 .0 2.6 2.6 2.2

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 155.6 159.6 160.4 .6 .8 .5 2.3 3.2 3.1

Nonunion ..................................................... 163.4 167.0 167.3 .2 .8 .2 3.1 2.5 2.4

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 157.8 161.4 161.7 .2 .7 .2 2.3 2.5 2.5

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 160.1 163.8 163.9 .3 .9 .1 2.2 2.6 2.4

Service-producing industries2 .................. 164.5 168.0 168.4 .3 .8 .2 3.5 2.4 2.4

Manufacturing ........................................... 161.3 165.2 165.3 .2 .9 .1 2.2 2.7 2.5

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 160.4 164.1 164.5 .4 .9 .2 2.3 2.7 2.6

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 163.7 167.1 167.5 .4 .8 .2 3.4 2.5 2.3

Region3

Northeast ...................................................... 160.9 164.9 165.0 .6 .8 .1 3.3 3.1 2.5

South ............................................................ 157.9 161.6 162.3 .3 .9 .4 2.1 2.7 2.8

Midwest ........................................................ 166.5 169.2 169.2 .2 .9 .0 3.9 1.9 1.6

West ............................................................. 165.2 169.1 169.5 .3 .7 .2 3.2 2.7 2.6

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 162.7 166.3 166.6 .3 .8 .2 3.0 2.5 2.4

Other ............................................................. 159.5 163.3 163.8 .4 .7 .3 3.0 2.8 2.7

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities;

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service

industries.

3 The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,

Rhode Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District

of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,

and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and

Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and

Wyoming.

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

for the aggregate, occupation, and industry series.
16

Table 8. Employment Cost Index for benefits for civilian, State and local government, and private industry

workers by industry, occupational group, and bargaining status 

(Not seasonally adjusted data)

Industry, occupational group, and

bargaining status

Indexes (June 1989=100) Percent changes for–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Dec.

2003

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Civilian workers .......................................... 184.3 195.2 197.0 0.8 1.2 0.9 6.3 6.8 6.9

State and local government ........................ 178.5 188.3 190.4 .9 2.9 1.1 6.1 6.4 6.7

Private industry ........................................... 185.8 196.9 198.7 .8 .8 .9 6.4 6.8 6.9

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................. 183.8 198.1 201.2 .8 1.0 1.6 7.5 8.7 9.5

Service producing2 ................................. 186.2 195.5 196.5 .8 .7 .5 5.9 5.8 5.5

Manufacturing ......................................... 182.3 199.2 200.4 .7 1.2 .6 7.9 10.0 9.9

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) ...... 213.4 265.2 266.0 -3.6 .5 .3 10.9 19.8 24.6

White collar ..................................... 216.3 265.9 265.9 -1.1 .2 .0 15.7 21.6 22.9

Blue collar ....................................... 207.5 262.9 264.9 -7.4 1.2 .8 4.1 17.4 27.7

Nonmanufacturing .................................. 186.7 195.7 197.6 .9 .7 1.0 5.9 5.7 5.8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................. 189.2 199.1 201.1 .8 .9 1.0 6.0 6.1 6.3

Blue collar ............................................... 179.9 193.3 194.9 .8 .8 .8 7.2 8.4 8.3

Service .................................................... 186.4 197.5 198.2 1.2 .7 .4 6.6 7.3 6.3

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................... 187.1 205.0 206.4 .9 .8 .7 8.3 10.6 10.3

Nonunion ................................................ 185.1 194.6 196.5 .8 .8 1.0 6.0 5.9 6.2

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; 

 

wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and service

industries. 
17

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

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

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

cost series provide the change for the two components of compensation. 

Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an 

hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates 

are total earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends 

and holidays, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses such as lump-sum payments provided in lieu of 

wage increases. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living 

adjustments are included in straight-time wage and salary rates. 

Benefits covered by the ECI are: Paid leave—vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave; 

supplemental pay—premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, 

weekends, and holidays), shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as referral bonuses and lumpsum payments provided in lieu of wage increases); insurance benefits—life, health, short-term disability, and 

long-term disability; retirement and savings benefits—defined benefit and defined contribution plans; legally 

required benefits—Social Security, Medicare, Federal and State unemployment insurance, and workers' 

compensation; and other benefits—severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans. 

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

excluding households and the public sector excluding the Federal government. The private industry series and 

the State and local government series provide data for the two sectors separately. 

Data for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 43,000 occupational 

observations within about 9,700 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 3,500

occupations within about 800 sample establishments in State and local governments. Data are collected for the 

pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. 

The sampled establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 1987 Standard Industrial 

Classification (SIC), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Details on the sample design 

are included in the bulletin, Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin 2532). Within an establishment, 

specific job categories are selected and classified into about 500 occupational classifications according to the 

1990 Census of Population. Individual occupations are combined into broader occupational groups. Fixed 

employment weights are used each quarter to calculate the most aggregate series—civilian, private, and State 

and local government. These fixed weights are also used to derive all of the industry and occupation series 

indexes. Since March 1995, 1990 employment counts, primarily from the Bureau’s Occupational Employment 

Statistics survey, have been used. For more information on these topics, see the articles, “Introducing New 

Weights for the Employment Cost Index,” in the June 1985 issue of the Monthly Labor Review and 

“Introducing 1990 Weights for the Employment Cost Index” in the June 1995 issue of Compensation and 

Working Conditions. 

For the series based on bargaining status, region, and area size, employment data are not available. The 

employment weights are reallocated within these series each quarter based on the current ECI sample. The 

indexes for these series, consequently, are not strictly comparable to those for the aggregate, industry, and 

occupation series. A fuller explanation of the calculation of index numbers appears in an article, "Estimation 

Procedures for the Employment Cost Index," in the May 1982 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning 

with the March 1990 ECI release, indexes were rebased to June 1989=100. A description of the rebasing is 

included in the article "Employment Cost Index Rebased to June 1989," in the April 1990 issue of the Monthly 

Labor Review. 

Beginning with the December 1990 ECI release, seasonally adjusted data are available for selected ECI 

series. Seasonal adjustment removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year. 

These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. For more information on the methodology 

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

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

newly updated seasonal adjustment factors. The historical data for the last five years are then revised based on 
18

the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2004 and revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 

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

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

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

Because the ECI is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that 

occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations 

in the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample design may 

differ from one other. A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can 

be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected 

result of all possible samples. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs 

from a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that 

this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error. The statements of comparisons appearing in 

this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better, unless otherwise indicated. This means 

that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference. 

Because standard errors vary from quarter to quarter, the ECI uses a five-year moving average of 

standard errors to evaluate published series. To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of series, the fiveyear moving average of standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally adjusted series) will be available 

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

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

bargaining status may be due to factors other than union status, such as occupational and industry mix. For 

example, union occupations tend to be concentrated in blue-collar occupations within manufacturing 

industries. Thus, differences between blue-collar and white-collar pay or differences in manufacturing versus 

nonmanufacturing industries could explain such differences. An important consideration when choosing a 

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

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

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

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

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

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

and Compensation and Working Conditions. Orders for bulletins should be made to the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, Publication Sales Center, Room 960, 230 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-

1880. Reprints of the articles and other descriptive pieces are available upon request by calling (202) 691-

6199 or sending e-mail to (ocltinfo@bls.gov). 

Historical data series are available, beginning with some wage and salary series begun in 1975. In 

addition, constant-dollar ECI series derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) 

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

health insurance in private industry beginning with June 1982 are also available. This information is available 

at the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm) or upon request. 

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

published in a separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation–September 2004." 

Beginning with the March 2004 estimates, industry estimates are based on the 2002 North American Industry 

Classification (NAICS) system and the occupational categories are classified according to the 2000 Standard 

Occupational (SOC) system. These systems replace the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC) 

and the Occupational Classification System (OCS). The release and information on the transition to the new 

industry and occupational classification systems are available by e-mail request at ocltinfo@bls.gov, on the 

Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, or by telephone (202) 691-6199. Historical data and related 

articles are included in the bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-99, (Bulletin 2526). 

Also available on the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) or upon request is an annual 

historical summary from March 1986 through March 2002. Data on a quarterly basis beginning with June 

2002 are also available. The cost levels are calculated with current employment weights, rather than the fixed 

1990 weights used in computing the ECI. Therefore, year-to-year changes in the cost levels usually differ 

from those in the ECI.