Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

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http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2006

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX—DECEMBER 2005 

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from September to December 2005, 

seasonally adjusted, the same increase that occurred between June and September, the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Benefit costs between September and December 

rose 1.1 percent and continued to outpace the gain in wages and salaries for civilian workers, 0.8 percent. 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 

civilian workers (nonfarm private and State and local government). 

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation cost gains for civilian, private sector, and State and local government workers were 

identical in the September to December quarter to their respective gains in the prior quarter. Civilian and 

private industry compensation costs rose 0.8 percent. For State and local government workers, compensation 

costs rose 1.1 percent. (See tables A and 1.) 

Benefit costs advanced 1.1 percent for civilian workers in the December quarter, compared with a 1.3 

percent gain in the September 2005 quarter. Private sector benefit costs rose 0.9 percent for the December 

quarter, following the 1.3 percent gain in the previous quarter. Benefit costs for State and local government 

workers increased 1.5 percent in the December quarter, compared with a 1.7 percent gain in the prior quarter. 

Wages and salaries of civilian workers rose 0.8 percent in the December quarter, compared with a gain 

of 0.6 percent during the prior quarter. Private industry workers wages and salaries increased 0.6 percent 

during the December 2005 quarter, the same increases as in the previous three quarters. Wages and salaries in 

State and local government advanced 0.9 percent during the September to December 2005 period, following 

an increase of 0.7 percent in the prior quarter. 

United States 

Department News of Labor 

NOTE

The ECI will convert to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System and the 2000 Standard 

Occupational Classification System with the release of the March 2006 estimates. In addition, several 

computational changes will be introduced, including rebasing all series to December 2005=100 from 

June 1989=100, the introduction of new employment weights and seasonal adjustment factors, and 

discontinuing the collection of severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans. See page 5 for 

details.
 2

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

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

Compensation Component 2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 

 Wages and salaries 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 

 Benefit costs 2.2 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.2 0.8 1.3 1.1 

 Private industry

Compensation costs 1.1 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 

 Wages and salaries 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 

 Benefit costs 2.2 1.7 1.3 1.6 1.1 0.8 1.3 0.9 

 State and local government 

Compensation costs 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.1 1.1 

 Wages and salaries 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.9 

 Benefit costs 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.5 

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Annual compensation cost increases moderated for civilian and private industry workers for the year 

ended December 2005, compared with their over-the-year increases for December 2004. Compensation costs 

for civilian workers increased 3.1 percent for the year ended December 2005, which was lower than the 3.7 

percent over-the-year increase for December 2004. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.0 percent in 

the year ended December 2005, slowing from a 3.8 percent increase in December 2004. In contrast, 

compensation costs increased 4.1 percent for State and local governments for the year ended December 2005, 

which was greater than the over-the-year gain of 3.5 percent in December 2004. (See tables B, 2, and 3.) 

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

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

Compensation Component 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 4.1 4.1 3.4 3.8 3.7 3.1 

 Wages and salaries 3.8 3.7 2.9 2.9 2.4 2.6 

 Benefit costs 4.9 5.2 5.0 6.3 6.9 4.5 

 Private industry

Compensation costs 4.4 4.2 3.2 4.0 3.8 3.0 

 Wages and salaries 3.9 3.8 2.7 3.0 2.4 2.5 

 Benefit costs 5.6 5.1 4.7 6.4 6.9 4.1 

 State and local government

Compensation costs 3.0 4.2 4.1 3.3 3.5 4.1 

 Wages and salaries 3.3 3.6 3.2 2.1 2.1 3.1 

 Benefit costs 2.4 5.5 6.2 6.1 6.7 6.0 

The components of compensation showed differences in their rate of change. While increases in wages 

and salaries continued at a moderate pace, the sharp increases in benefit costs seen over the past several years 

began to increase at a slower pace. For civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 2.6 percent in the year ended 

December 2005, compared with a gain of 2.4 percent in December 2004. Benefit costs gained 4.5 percent for 

civilian workers for the period ended December 2005, slowing sharply from an increase of 6.9 percent for the 

year ended December 2004. (See tables B, 5, 6, and 8.) 
 3

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended December 2005, compensation costs in private industry increased 3.3 percent for 

goods-producing industries, lower than the increase of 4.7 percent for the year ended December 2004. The rise 

in compensation costs for manufacturing moderated for the year ending December 2005, advancing 3.4 percent 

compared with the 5.0 percent gain in December 2004. In contrast, compensation costs for construction rose 

3.7 percent in December 2005, compared with a 2.4 percent gain in December 2004. (See table 3.) 

The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-producing industries was 2.8 percent, compared 

with a 3.3 percent gain for the year ended December 2004. Among service-producing industries, 

compensation gains in transportation and public utilities moderated for the year ending December 2005, rising 

2.4 percent compared with an increase of 3.9 percent in December 2004. (See table 3.) 

Over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.2 percent for white-collar occupations, 2.6 percent for 

blue-collar occupations, and 2.4 percent for service occupations for the year ended December 2005. Among 

white-collar occupational groups, compensation cost changes ranged from 2.9 percent for executive, 

administrative, and managerial workers to 4.2 percent for sales employees. Among blue-collar occupational 

groups, compensation cost increases ranged from 1.7 percent for machine operators, assemblers, and 

inspectors to 3.0 percent for transportation and material moving occupations. (See table 3.) 

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.8 percent over the year ended December 2005, 

slowing from the 5.6 percent gain for the year ended December 2004. For nonunion workers, compensation 

costs rose 3.0 percent for the year ended December 2005, compared with a gain of 3.4 percent for December 

2004. Benefit costs for union workers rose 3.5 percent for the year ended December 2005, decelerating 

sharply from the gain of 10.3 percent in December 2004. Benefit costs for nonunion workers advanced 4.2 

percent over the year ended December 2005, slowing from an increase of 6.2 percent in December 2004. 

Wages and salaries for union workers rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ended in December 2005, compared 

with an over-the-year increase of 2.5 percent for nonunion workers. (See tables C, 4, 7, and 8.) 

Among union blue-collar workers, compensation costs advanced 2.9 percent, compared with the gain of 

2.5 percent for nonunion blue-collar workers for the 12 months ended in December 2005. In manufacturing 

industries, compensation cost gains for union workers slowed sharply, rising 2.5 percent for the year ended 

December 2005, significantly less than the 7.6 percent in December 2004. For nonunion workers in 

manufacturing, compensation costs rose 3.6 percent for the year ended December 2005, compared with an 

over-the year gain of 4.2 percent in December 2004. (See table 4.) 

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

not seasonally adjusted 

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

Compensation Component 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

 Union workers

Compensation costs 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.6 5.6 2.8 

 Wages and salaries 3.4 4.4 3.5 2.4 2.8 2.3 

 Benefit costs 5.2 3.7 5.7 8.3 10.3 3.5 

 Nonunion workers

Compensation costs 4.4 4.1 3.2 3.9 3.4 3.0 

 Wages and salaries 4.0 3.6 2.7 3.1 2.4 2.5 

 Benefit costs 5.7 5.4 4.5 6.0 6.2 4.2 

Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs ranged from 2.3 percent in the 

South to 3.4 percent in the Northeast and Midwest for the year ended December 2005. Compensation costs 

rose 3.0 percent in the West. Gains in wages and salaries ranged from 2.0 percent in the South and West to 3.3 

percent in the Midwest for the year ended December 2005. Wages and salaries rose 2.8 percent in the 

Northeast for the year ended December 2005. (See tables 4 and 7.) 
 4

State and local government

Wages and salaries for State and local government workers rose 3.1 percent in the year ended December 

2005, greater than the gain of 2.1 percent for December 2004. Benefit costs rose 6.0 percent for the year ended 

December 2005, compared with a gain of 6.7 percent for the year ended December 2004. (See tables B, 5, and 

8.) 

For the year ended December 2005, compensation costs increased 4.0 percent for educational services, 

outpacing the 3.0 percent increase for the year ended December 2004. Compensation costs for colleges and 

universities rose 3.8 percent, a significant increase from the 1.9 percent gain for the year ended December 

2004. Among occupational groups, compensation costs of service workers rose 4.8 percent for the year ended 

December 2005, compared with gains of 4.3 percent for blue-collar workers and 3.9 percent for white-collar 

workers. (See table 2.) 

Annual changes, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted

Quarterly and annual changes are computed in terms of June 1989 dollars to give an approximate 

measure of changes in compensation costs after adjustment for the changes over the same time in the price of 

consumer goods and services. These estimates, in “constant dollars,” showed annual compensation costs for 

civilian workers were -0.3 percent for the year ended December 2005, compared with a 0.5 percent over-theyear change for December 2004. Compensation costs in private industry changed -0.4 percent in the year 

ended December 2005, compared with a 0.5 percent change in December 2004. Compensation costs advanced 

0.6 percent for State and local government for the year ended December 2005, compared with an over-the-year 

change of 0.2 percent in December 2004. These inflation-adjusted ECI series were derived using the 

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average All Items. (See table D and the 

Explanatory Note for details.) 

Table D. 12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, constant dollars, 

not seasonally adjusted 

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

Compensation Component 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 0.7 2.5 1.0 1.9 0.5 -0.3 

 Wages and salaries 0.4 2.1 0.5 1.0 -0.8 -0.8 

 Benefit costs 1.5 3.6 2.5 4.4 3.5 1.1 

 Private industry

Compensation costs 0.9 2.6 0.8 2.1 0.5 -0.4 

 Wages and salaries 0.5 2.2 0.4 1.1 -0.8 -0.9 

 Benefit costs 2.1 3.5 2.3 4.5 3.6 0.7 

 State and local government

Compensation costs -0.4 2.6 1.6 1.4 0.2 0.6 

 Wages and salaries 0.0 2.1 0.8 0.2 -1.1 -0.3 

 Benefit costs -1.0 3.8 3.7 4.2 3.3 2.5 
 5

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

NOTE: 

The new seasonal factors for 2006, along with revised seasonally adjusted indexes for the past five years 

will be available Wednesday, April 26, 2006, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home, by e-mail 

request to olctinfo@bls.gov, or by telephone (202) 691-6199. The ECI for March 2006 is scheduled to be 

released Friday, April 28, 2006, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). 

Beginning with the release of the March 2006 estimates, the ECI will publish industry categories based 

on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and classify jobs into occupational 

categories according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual. These systems will 

replace the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual and the Occupational Classification System 

(OCS) currently being used in the ECI. Broad categories, such as civilian workers and private industry 

workers, are comparable for both the old and new classification systems; however, some detailed occupational 

and industry classifications (even with the same title) may not be comparable. Some new series will be 

introduced while others will be dropped. For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including 

background and definitions, see the BLS websites: http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and 

http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. 

In addition, several computational changes will be introduced, including rebasing all series to December 

2005=100 from June 1989=100, and the initiation of new employment weights and seasonal adjustment 

factors. Collection of severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans, which are included in the total 

compensation component in tables 1 through 4, and the benefit component in table 8, will be discontinued 

beginning with the March 2006 estimates. New series will be added, including series for the census divisions 

and for series on workers, excluding incentive paid occupations. At the same time, an improved process for 

imputing costs for missing values will be introduced. 

Several publications are being prepared to provide more information on the computational changes to 

the ECI and the transition to NAICS and SOC. In addition, the April 2006 Monthly Labor Review will be 

devoted to a series of articles detailing the changes. The latest information on the transition will be available 

on the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/#notices. 

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. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 6

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80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

0

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80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

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80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

Chart A. Changes in wages and salaries and in benefit costs, private industry, 1980-2005

12-month percent change

Wages and salaries

Benefits

Chart B. Changes in wages and salaries, private industry and State and local government, 1980-2005

12-month percent change

Chart C. Changes in benefits, private industry and State and local government, 1980-2005

12-month percent change

State

and local

government

Private

industry

State and local 

government

Private

industry
 7

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.

2005

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2004

Jun.

2004

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Mar.

2005

Jun.

2005

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Civilian workers .............................................. 179.4 180.9 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8

State and local government .......................... 177.5 179.5 .9 .9 .8 .9 1.0 .7 1.1 1.1

Private industry ............................................. 179.8 181.2 1.1 .9 1.0 .8 .6 .6 .8 .8

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 180.9 181.7 1.7 1.0 1.3 1.0 .5 1.0 1.1 .4

Construction ......................................... 172.8 173.7 .8 .5 .7 .4 1.1 .9 1.2 .5

Manufacturing ....................................... 180.6 182.6 1.6 1.1 1.2 1.0 .4 1.0 .8 1.1

Durables ........................................... 182.3 184.5 1.7 1.2 1.3 1.1 .4 1.2 .9 1.2

Nondurables ..................................... 177.8 179.4 1.3 .9 1.1 .9 .3 .7 .8 .9

Service producing3 ................................... 179.4 181.0 .8 .9 .8 .7 .6 .5 .7 .9

Transportation and public utilities ......... 176.9 178.5 1.4 1.1 .8 .6 .2 .3 1.0 .9

Wholesale trade .................................... 181.5 184.0 .6 .6 1.4 .1 1.0 -.4 1.7 1.4

Retail trade ........................................... 168.4 170.0 .4 .9 .3 .7 .6 .6 .8 1.0

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 191.0 192.3 .9 .6 .7 .6 1.6 1.1 .1 .7

Services ................................................ 181.3 182.8 .9 1.0 .9 1.0 .7 .6 .4 .8

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 178.7 180.1 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7 .6 .7 .8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 182.8 184.4 .9 .8 .9 .9 .9 .6 .8 .9

Blue collar ................................................. 174.6 176.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 .9 .2 .8 .8 .8

Service ...................................................... 173.1 174.5 .9 .9 .5 .7 .2 .6 .7 .8

WAGES AND SALARIES

Civilian workers .............................................. 169.2 170.5 .6 .6 .7 .5 .6 .6 .6 .8

State and local government .......................... 168.5 170.1 .6 .5 .4 .6 .8 .5 .7 .9

Private industry ............................................. 169.4 170.5 .6 .6 .7 .4 .6 .6 .6 .6

Industry

Goods producing2,4 .................................. 166.0 166.8 .8 .6 .9 .1 .7 .7 .7 .5

Construction ......................................... 160.6 162.2 .6 .4 .6 .3 .3 .8 .9 1.0

Manufacturing4 ..................................... 167.4 168.2 .7 .7 .9 .1 .8 .7 .6 .5

Durables4 ......................................... 168.1 169.0 .6 .6 1.0 .1 .7 .7 .6 .5

Nondurables ..................................... 166.2 167.3 .7 .7 .8 .4 .6 .5 .7 .7

Service producing3 ................................... 170.8 172.2 .5 .5 .7 .6 .5 .5 .5 .8

Transportation and public utilities4 ....... 162.4 162.7 .7 1.0 .8 .1 -.4 .8 .8 .2

Wholesale trade .................................... 171.6 174.3 .2 .4 1.6 -.8 .8 -.6 1.8 1.6

Retail trade ........................................... 162.7 164.1 .4 .6 .1 .6 .6 .6 .9 .9

Finance, insurance, and real estate4 .... 180.9 181.9 .4 .1 .7 .7 .8 1.1 -.2 .6

Services ................................................ 174.8 176.0 .7 .8 .8 .8 .7 .5 .3 .7

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 169.5 171.0 .6 .5 .7 .6 .5 .5 .5 .9

See footnotes at end of table.
 8

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.

2005

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2004

Jun.

2004

Sep.

2004

Dec.

2004

Mar.

2005

Jun.

2005

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

WAGES AND SALARIES–Continued

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 173.2 174.7 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.9

Blue collar4 ............................................... 163.0 163.9 .7 .7 .8 .3 .6 .8 .6 .6

Service4 .................................................... 163.2 164.1 .4 .6 .3 .5 .5 .6 .6 .6

BENEFIT COSTS

Civilian workers .............................................. 204.7 206.9 2.2 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.2 .8 1.3 1.1

State and local government .......................... 198.7 201.6 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.5

Private industry ............................................. 206.2 208.1 2.2 1.7 1.3 1.6 1.1 .8 1.3 .9

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 211.7 212.7 3.4 1.5 2.0 2.3 .9 1.4 1.7 .5

Manufacturing ....................................... 210.8 213.5 3.9 1.8 2.1 1.9 .4 1.5 1.6 1.3

Service producing3 ................................... 202.9 205.5 1.5 1.7 .9 1.2 1.2 .4 1.0 1.3

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 204.6 206.3 1.5 1.7 1.0 1.5 1.2 .6 1.1 .8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 210.7 212.5 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.7 .9 1.4 .9

Blue collar ................................................. 200.7 202.3 3.1 1.9 1.6 1.6 -.1 .8 1.2 .8

Service ...................................................... 203.4 206.1 2.2 1.7 1.2 1.2 -.3 .9 1.1 1.3

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; and service industries. 4 No identifiable seasonality was found for this series.
 9

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Civilian workers ............................................ 174.7 179.3 180.2 0.5 0.9 0.5 3.7 3.1 3.1

Excluding sales occupations .................. 175.0 179.5 180.3 .6 .8 .4 3.8 3.2 3.0

Industry

Goods producing2 ...................................... 174.4 179.8 180.2 .6 .7 .2 4.7 3.7 3.3

Manufacturing ......................................... 175.4 180.7 181.3 .3 .6 .3 5.0 3.3 3.4

Service producing3 ..................................... 174.7 179.1 180.2 .4 1.0 .6 3.3 2.9 3.1

Services .................................................. 175.5 179.6 180.7 .6 1.0 .6 3.5 2.9 3.0

Health services ................................... 177.7 182.7 184.0 .6 .9 .7 4.1 3.4 3.5

Hospitals ......................................... 181.8 187.6 189.0 .7 1.1 .7 4.0 3.9 4.0

Educational services ........................... 172.9 178.1 179.8 .6 2.1 1.0 3.2 3.7 4.0

Public administration4 ............................. 175.4 181.1 183.1 .7 1.6 1.1 4.3 4.0 4.4

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 174.4 178.8 179.8 .5 1.0 .6 3.4 3.1 3.1

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 176.6 181.5 182.5 .5 .9 .6 3.5 3.2 3.3

Excluding sales ................................... 177.4 182.1 183.1 .7 .8 .5 3.7 3.3 3.2

Professional specialty and technical ....... 174.7 179.6 180.7 .6 1.1 .6 4.0 3.5 3.4

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 179.4 184.0 184.7 .7 .5 .4 2.6 3.3 3.0

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 180.0 184.7 185.7 .7 .8 .5 4.3 3.4 3.2

Blue collar ................................................... 170.9 174.8 175.4 .5 .6 .3 4.4 2.8 2.6

Service ........................................................ 173.6 178.1 179.2 .5 1.3 .6 3.4 3.1 3.2

State and local government ......................... 172.6 177.9 179.6 .6 1.8 1.0 3.5 3.7 4.1

Industry

Services .................................................. 170.8 175.8 177.5 .6 2.0 1.0 3.1 3.6 3.9

Excluding schools ........................... 173.8 179.3 180.0 .5 1.6 .4 3.3 3.6 3.6

Health services ................................... 176.8 182.3 183.1 .6 1.5 .4 3.4 3.8 3.6

Hospitals ......................................... 177.4 182.6 183.5 .6 1.6 .5 3.5 3.6 3.4

Educational services ........................... 169.9 174.9 176.7 .7 2.0 1.0 3.0 3.6 4.0

Schools ........................................... 170.3 175.2 177.1 .7 2.0 1.1 3.0 3.5 4.0

Elementary and secondary ......... 169.2 174.0 176.0 .7 2.2 1.1 3.4 3.6 4.0

Colleges and universities ............ 173.2 178.4 179.8 .5 1.6 .8 1.9 3.5 3.8

Public administration4 ............................. 175.4 181.1 183.1 .7 1.6 1.1 4.3 4.0 4.4

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 171.2 176.0 177.8 .7 1.7 1.0 3.3 3.5 3.9

Professional specialty and technical ....... 169.4 174.2 176.3 .6 1.8 1.2 3.2 3.4 4.1

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 174.3 178.8 180.0 1.3 1.3 .7 3.1 3.9 3.3

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 175.5 180.4 181.6 .7 1.5 .7 4.2 3.5 3.5

Blue collar ................................................... 171.0 177.4 178.3 .6 2.1 .5 3.5 4.4 4.3

Service ........................................................ 180.5 187.6 189.2 .6 2.5 .9 4.3 4.6 4.8

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; service

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

activities of State and local governments, SICs 91 through 96.
 10

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Private industry workers .............................. 175.2 179.6 180.4 0.5 0.6 0.4 3.8 3.0 3.0

Excluding sales occupations .................. 175.6 179.9 180.6 .6 .6 .4 3.9 3.0 2.8

Industry

Goods producing2 .................................... 174.3 179.7 180.1 .6 .7 .2 4.7 3.7 3.3

Excluding sales ................................... 173.7 179.1 179.4 .7 .7 .2 4.7 3.8 3.3

White collar ............................................. 177.8 186.0 186.3 .8 1.0 .2 4.3 5.4 4.8

Excluding sales ................................... 176.4 184.7 184.6 1.1 .9 -.1 4.3 5.8 4.6

Blue collar ............................................... 172.0 175.6 176.1 .4 .5 .3 4.9 2.5 2.4

Construction ........................................... 167.3 172.9 173.5 .2 1.1 .3 2.4 3.5 3.7

Manufacturing ......................................... 175.4 180.7 181.3 .3 .6 .3 5.0 3.3 3.4

White collar ......................................... 176.7 184.8 185.4 .2 .8 .3 4.2 4.8 4.9

Excluding sales ............................... 174.7 183.0 183.3 .3 .8 .2 4.1 5.1 4.9

Blue collar ........................................... 174.3 177.5 178.1 .3 .5 .3 5.6 2.2 2.2

Durables ............................................. 176.3 182.3 182.9 .3 .6 .3 5.4 3.7 3.7

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 202.0 235.1 238.7 .2 .3 1.5 10.9 16.6 18.2

White collar ................................. 195.3 228.7 230.5 .1 .1 .8 10.3 17.2 18.0

Blue collar ................................... 211.8 243.7 250.7 .4 .5 2.9 12.4 15.6 18.4

Nondurables ....................................... 173.6 177.8 178.3 .3 .6 .3 4.2 2.7 2.7

Service producing3 .................................. 175.3 179.3 180.2 .3 .7 .5 3.3 2.6 2.8

Excluding sales ................................... 176.5 180.3 181.2 .5 .5 .5 3.5 2.7 2.7

White collar ............................................. 177.8 181.9 182.8 .3 .7 .5 3.4 2.6 2.8

Excluding sales ................................... 180.4 184.1 185.0 .6 .5 .5 3.6 2.6 2.5

Blue collar ............................................... 168.1 172.4 173.1 .4 .5 .4 3.4 3.0 3.0

Service .................................................... 168.9 172.1 172.9 .5 .6 .5 2.8 2.4 2.4

Transportation and public utilities ........... 173.5 177.3 177.7 -.1 .9 .2 3.9 2.1 2.4

Transportation .................................... 166.2 167.8 167.8 .0 1.0 .0 4.1 1.0 1.0

Public utilities ...................................... 183.4 190.4 191.3 -.1 .6 .5 3.6 3.7 4.3

Communications ............................. 183.5 190.0 191.0 -.2 .8 .5 2.5 3.4 4.1

Electric, gas, and sanitary

services ........................................ 183.3 190.7 191.6 .0 .3 .5 5.0 4.0 4.5

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 169.1 173.4 174.5 .0 1.0 .6 2.5 2.5 3.2

Excluding sales ............................... 170.4 174.5 175.1 .5 .8 .3 2.7 2.9 2.8

Wholesale trade .................................. 176.6 181.8 183.0 -.7 1.4 .7 2.7 2.2 3.6

Excluding sales ............................... 176.3 180.5 180.8 .6 .6 .2 2.9 3.0 2.6

Retail trade ......................................... 164.7 168.6 169.6 .3 .8 .6 2.3 2.7 3.0

General merchandise stores .......... 169.5 171.9 174.2 .4 -.1 1.3 2.4 1.8 2.8

Food stores ..................................... 164.0 166.6 167.9 .3 .4 .8 2.3 1.9 2.4

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 186.0 191.0 192.3 .6 .1 .7 2.8 3.4 3.4

Excluding sales ............................... 191.2 195.2 196.3 .6 -.5 .6 2.7 2.7 2.7

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 212.3 213.7 214.9 .9 -1.7 .6 1.6 1.5 1.2

Insurance ............................................ 183.6 189.0 190.0 .8 .1 .5 4.2 3.8 3.5

Excluding sales ............................... 180.3 185.5 186.3 .7 .3 .4 3.8 3.6 3.3

Services .................................................. 177.9 181.6 182.4 .6 .6 .4 3.8 2.7 2.5

Business services ............................... 179.1 181.1 181.3 .3 .1 .1 3.8 1.5 1.2

Health services ................................... 178.0 182.9 184.3 .6 .8 .8 4.2 3.3 3.5

Hospitals ......................................... 183.2 189.1 190.7 .8 1.0 .8 4.2 4.0 4.1

Nursing homes ............................... – – – .6 .9 1.1 3.0 3.0 3.5

Educational services ........................... 188.5 194.9 195.7 .8 2.1 .4 4.0 4.2 3.8

Colleges and universities ................ 186.2 192.3 193.2 .5 2.0 .5 3.8 3.8 3.8

See footnotes at end of table.
 11

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 174.7 178.9 179.7 0.5 0.7 0.4 3.4 2.9 2.9

White collar ............................................. 178.0 182.3 183.2 .5 .7 .5 3.4 2.9 2.9

Excluding sales ................................... 180.6 184.5 185.3 .7 .5 .4 3.7 2.9 2.6

Blue collar ............................................... 167.3 171.6 172.2 .5 .6 .3 3.5 3.1 2.9

Service .................................................... 168.9 172.0 172.9 .5 .6 .5 2.9 2.4 2.4

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 178.1 183.0 183.8 .5 .8 .4 3.5 3.2 3.2

Excluding sales ................................... 179.5 184.2 184.9 .7 .5 .4 3.8 3.3 3.0

Professional specialty and technical ....... 178.1 183.0 183.5 .7 .8 .3 4.5 3.5 3.0

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 180.2 184.8 185.5 .6 .3 .4 2.4 3.1 2.9

Sales ....................................................... 171.4 177.0 178.6 -1.0 1.5 .9 2.6 2.3 4.2

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 180.7 185.4 186.3 .7 .6 .5 4.4 3.3 3.1

Blue collar ................................................. 170.8 174.7 175.2 .4 .6 .3 4.4 2.7 2.6

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 171.2 175.6 176.1 .6 .4 .3 4.3 3.2 2.9

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 172.5 174.9 175.5 .2 .6 .3 5.7 1.6 1.7

Transportation and material moving ....... 162.3 167.0 167.2 .3 .8 .1 3.4 3.2 3.0

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 175.3 179.2 180.2 .6 .7 .6 3.4 2.8 2.8

Service ....................................................... 169.7 172.9 173.7 .5 .6 .5 2.9 2.4 2.4

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations4 ........................................... 173.0 177.1 177.9 .3 .7 .5 3.8 2.7 2.8

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.
 12

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 176.2 180.4 181.1 0.5 0.8 0.4 5.6 2.9 2.8

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 173.5 177.8 178.5 .5 .7 .4 5.7 3.0 2.9

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 176.7 181.0 181.9 .4 .7 .5 6.5 2.8 2.9

Service-producing industries3 .................. 175.4 179.5 180.0 .6 .9 .3 4.7 2.9 2.6

Manufacturing ........................................... 178.9 182.6 183.4 .3 .5 .4 7.6 2.4 2.5

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 177.8 180.5 181.2 .3 .6 .4 7.7 1.8 1.9

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 174.1 178.6 179.2 .6 1.0 .3 4.6 3.2 2.9

Nonunion ..................................................... 174.9 179.4 180.2 .4 .6 .4 3.4 3.0 3.0

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 169.2 172.9 173.4 .4 .5 .3 3.7 2.6 2.5

Goods-producing industries2 .................... 173.5 179.3 179.6 .6 .7 .2 4.1 4.0 3.5

Service-producing industries3 .................. 175.1 179.1 180.1 .3 .6 .6 3.1 2.6 2.9

Manufacturing ........................................... 174.3 180.1 180.6 .3 .6 .3 4.2 3.6 3.6

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 171.9 175.4 175.9 .4 .4 .3 4.3 2.5 2.3

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 174.7 178.9 179.7 .4 .7 .4 3.2 2.8 2.9

Region4

Northeast ...................................................... 174.2 178.9 180.2 .3 .7 .7 3.8 3.0 3.4

South ............................................................ 170.6 174.0 174.5 .6 .3 .3 4.1 2.7 2.3

Midwest ........................................................ 177.9 183.0 183.9 .2 1.2 .5 3.1 3.0 3.4

West ............................................................. 179.0 184.0 184.4 .5 .4 .2 3.9 3.3 3.0

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 175.3 179.9 180.6 .4 .7 .4 3.7 3.0 3.0

Other ............................................................. 174.3 178.1 178.5 .6 .5 .2 4.4 2.8 2.4

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.
 13

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Civilian workers ............................................ 166.2 169.5 170.5 0.3 0.8 0.6 2.4 2.3 2.6

Excluding sales occupations .................. 166.3 169.4 170.4 .4 .7 .6 2.5 2.3 2.5

Industry

Goods producing1 ...................................... 162.4 166.0 166.9 .1 .7 .5 2.3 2.3 2.8

Manufacturing ......................................... 164.0 167.4 168.2 .1 .6 .5 2.4 2.2 2.6

Service producing2 ..................................... 167.5 170.8 171.8 .3 .8 .6 2.4 2.3 2.6

Services .................................................. 170.1 173.3 174.3 .5 .8 .6 2.8 2.4 2.5

Health services ................................... 171.7 175.6 177.0 .5 .7 .8 3.5 2.8 3.1

Hospitals ......................................... 173.2 177.5 178.9 .8 1.0 .8 3.3 3.3 3.3

Educational services ........................... 166.8 170.5 172.1 .5 1.5 .9 2.2 2.7 3.2

Public administration3 ............................. 163.5 167.4 168.8 .6 1.1 .8 2.2 3.0 3.2

Nonmanufacturing ...................................... 166.5 169.9 170.9 .3 .8 .6 2.3 2.3 2.6

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 169.1 172.5 173.5 .2 .8 .6 2.4 2.3 2.6

Excluding sales ................................... 169.9 173.1 174.1 .5 .6 .6 2.5 2.4 2.5

Professional specialty and technical ....... 167.0 170.3 171.3 .3 .9 .6 2.8 2.3 2.6

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 174.4 177.4 178.3 .6 .3 .5 1.9 2.3 2.2

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 169.7 173.0 174.0 .5 .6 .6 2.9 2.5 2.5

Blue collar ................................................... 160.0 163.2 164.1 .2 .6 .6 2.4 2.2 2.6

Service ........................................................ 163.6 166.8 167.7 .5 .9 .5 1.9 2.5 2.5

State and local government ......................... 165.3 168.9 170.4 .5 1.3 .9 2.1 2.7 3.1

Industry

Services .................................................. 165.5 168.9 170.5 .4 1.4 .9 2.1 2.5 3.0

Excluding schools ........................... 168.3 172.0 172.9 .5 1.1 .5 2.3 2.7 2.7

Health services ................................... 170.7 174.1 175.1 .6 .9 .6 2.4 2.7 2.6

Hospitals ......................................... 171.0 174.0 175.0 .6 .9 .6 2.6 2.4 2.3

Educational services ........................... 164.9 168.3 170.0 .4 1.5 1.0 2.0 2.5 3.1

Schools ........................................... 165.0 168.4 170.2 .4 1.4 1.1 2.0 2.5 3.2

Elementary and secondary ......... 164.5 167.8 169.7 .4 1.6 1.1 2.2 2.4 3.2

Colleges and universities ............ 166.3 170.0 171.2 .5 1.1 .7 1.4 2.8 2.9

Public administration3 ............................. 163.5 167.4 168.8 .6 1.1 .8 2.2 3.0 3.2

Occupational group

White collar ................................................. 164.9 168.3 170.0 .5 1.3 1.0 2.1 2.6 3.1

Professional specialty and technical ....... 165.0 168.4 170.4 .4 1.3 1.2 2.2 2.4 3.3

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 166.1 169.7 170.4 1.1 1.0 .4 1.7 3.3 2.6

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 163.0 166.1 167.1 .2 1.3 .6 2.2 2.2 2.5

Blue collar ................................................... 161.4 165.3 166.1 .4 1.3 .5 2.0 2.9 2.9

Service ........................................................ 169.4 173.9 175.0 .5 1.6 .6 2.2 3.2 3.3

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.
 14

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Private industry workers .............................. 166.2 169.5 170.4 0.2 0.7 0.5 2.4 2.2 2.5

Excluding sales occupations .................. 166.5 169.6 170.3 .4 .5 .4 2.5 2.3 2.3

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................... 162.4 166.0 166.8 .1 .7 .5 2.3 2.3 2.7

Excluding sales ................................... 161.6 165.2 165.9 .2 .7 .4 2.3 2.5 2.7

White collar ............................................. 165.9 170.0 170.7 -.1 .9 .4 2.3 2.4 2.9

Excluding sales ................................... 164.1 168.0 168.5 .3 .8 .3 2.3 2.7 2.7

Blue collar ............................................... 160.1 163.4 164.3 .2 .6 .6 2.4 2.3 2.6

Construction ........................................... 157.0 160.9 161.9 -.1 1.1 .6 1.9 2.4 3.1

Manufacturing ......................................... 164.0 167.4 168.2 .1 .6 .5 2.4 2.2 2.6

White collar ......................................... 166.1 169.9 170.4 .0 .7 .3 2.5 2.3 2.6

Excluding sales ............................... 163.9 167.7 167.9 .2 .7 .1 2.4 2.6 2.4

Blue collar ........................................... 162.4 165.5 166.4 .2 .5 .5 2.5 2.1 2.5

Durables ............................................. 164.7 168.1 169.0 .1 .6 .5 2.4 2.2 2.6

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) .. 172.6 176.6 177.7 .1 .3 .6 2.9 2.4 3.0

White collar ................................. 165.9 170.5 171.6 .1 .1 .6 3.3 2.9 3.4

Blue collar ................................... 183.3 186.0 187.0 .2 .6 .5 2.9 1.6 2.0

Nondurables ....................................... 162.9 166.3 166.8 .1 .6 .3 2.6 2.1 2.4

Service producing2 .................................. 167.9 171.1 171.9 .2 .6 .5 2.4 2.1 2.4

Excluding sales ................................... 169.3 172.1 172.9 .5 .4 .5 2.6 2.1 2.1

White collar ............................................. 170.8 174.1 175.0 .2 .6 .5 2.5 2.2 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 173.6 176.5 177.3 .5 .3 .5 2.7 2.1 2.1

Blue collar ............................................... 159.4 162.4 163.2 .3 .6 .5 2.6 2.2 2.4

Service .................................................... 160.2 162.8 163.5 .5 .6 .4 1.8 2.1 2.1

Transportation and public utilities ........... 160.5 162.4 162.7 .1 .8 .2 2.6 1.2 1.4

Transportation .................................... 155.1 156.2 156.1 .1 1.0 -.1 2.9 .8 .6

Public utilities ...................................... 167.5 170.5 171.5 .0 .4 .6 2.1 1.8 2.4

Communications ............................. 168.3 171.0 172.2 -.3 .4 .7 1.4 1.3 2.3

Electric, gas, and sanitary

services ........................................ 166.6 169.8 170.7 .4 .4 .5 3.0 2.4 2.5

Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 162.1 165.9 167.1 -.2 1.1 .7 1.6 2.1 3.1

Excluding sales ............................... 164.1 167.7 168.5 .4 .8 .5 1.7 2.6 2.7

Wholesale trade .................................. 167.5 171.7 173.4 -1.3 1.4 1.0 1.3 1.2 3.5

Excluding sales ............................... 168.9 172.2 172.8 .2 .4 .3 1.6 2.1 2.3

Retail trade ......................................... 159.3 162.9 163.9 .4 .9 .6 1.8 2.6 2.9

General merchandise stores .......... 158.1 159.0 161.3 .4 .0 1.4 2.9 1.0 2.0

Food stores ..................................... 155.0 157.5 158.5 .3 .5 .6 1.4 1.9 2.3

Finance, insurance, and real estate ....... 177.7 180.9 181.9 .7 -.2 .6 1.8 2.5 2.4

Excluding sales ............................... 182.9 184.6 185.6 .6 -1.0 .5 1.7 1.5 1.5

Banking, savings and loan, and other

credit agencies ................................. 211.3 210.2 211.3 .9 -2.4 .5 .5 .3 .0

Insurance ............................................ 170.4 173.9 174.4 .9 .1 .3 3.6 3.0 2.3

Excluding sales ............................... 165.5 168.9 169.2 .5 .2 .2 3.0 2.6 2.2

Services .................................................. 172.0 175.1 175.8 .5 .5 .4 3.2 2.3 2.2

Business services ............................... 175.0 176.5 176.6 .4 .0 .1 3.1 1.3 .9

Health services ................................... 171.9 175.8 177.3 .6 .7 .9 3.7 2.9 3.1

Hospitals ......................................... 173.8 178.5 180.1 .8 1.0 .9 3.5 3.5 3.6

Nursing homes ............................... – – – .5 .7 1.0 2.5 2.9 3.4

Educational services ........................... 176.8 182.1 182.6 .7 2.0 .3 3.4 3.8 3.3

Colleges and universities ................ 173.6 178.4 179.2 .4 1.7 .4 3.1 3.2 3.2

See footnotes at end of table.
 15

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Industry–Continued

Nonmanufacturing industries ................. 166.6 169.8 170.7 0.2 0.7 0.5 2.5 2.2 2.5

White collar ............................................. 170.5 173.8 174.8 .2 .6 .6 2.5 2.2 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 173.1 176.1 176.9 .5 .4 .5 2.7 2.2 2.2

Blue collar ............................................... 157.5 160.7 161.5 .3 .6 .5 2.4 2.3 2.5

Service .................................................... 160.1 162.7 163.4 .6 .6 .4 1.8 2.2 2.1

Occupational group

White collar ............................................... 170.0 173.5 174.3 .2 .7 .5 2.5 2.2 2.5

Excluding sales ................................... 171.4 174.5 175.3 .5 .5 .5 2.6 2.3 2.3

Professional specialty and technical ....... 168.0 171.2 171.7 .2 .7 .3 3.1 2.1 2.2

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ............................................ 175.7 178.7 179.6 .5 .2 .5 1.9 2.2 2.2

Sales ....................................................... 164.0 168.9 170.3 -1.1 1.7 .8 1.8 1.8 3.8

Administrative support, including

clerical .................................................. 170.8 174.1 175.0 .6 .5 .5 3.1 2.6 2.5

Blue collar ................................................. 159.9 163.0 163.9 .3 .6 .6 2.4 2.2 2.5

Precision production, craft, and repair .... 159.7 162.9 163.7 .3 .6 .5 2.2 2.3 2.5

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ............................................. 161.6 164.5 165.4 .0 .5 .5 3.0 1.8 2.4

Transportation and material moving ....... 153.3 157.3 157.8 .3 .8 .3 2.3 2.9 2.9

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers .......................................... 164.5 167.0 168.2 .6 .7 .7 2.4 2.1 2.2

Service ....................................................... 160.6 163.2 164.1 .5 .6 .6 1.8 2.1 2.2

Production and nonsupervisory

occupations3 ........................................... 163.4 166.7 167.6 .2 .7 .5 2.5 2.2 2.6

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.
 16

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Bargaining status

Union ........................................................... 160.6 163.4 164.3 0.4 0.8 0.6 2.8 2.1 2.3

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 157.2 160.5 161.6 .3 .8 .7 2.4 2.4 2.8

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 158.9 162.2 163.6 .1 .7 .9 2.3 2.2 3.0

Service-producing industries2 .................. 162.6 164.9 165.4 .6 .8 .3 3.4 2.0 1.7

Manufacturing ........................................... 160.7 163.8 165.4 .1 .6 1.0 2.3 2.1 2.9

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 159.2 162.3 163.9 .0 .6 1.0 2.2 1.9 3.0

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 160.4 163.1 163.7 .5 .9 .4 3.1 2.2 2.1

Nonunion ..................................................... 167.3 170.7 171.5 .2 .6 .5 2.4 2.2 2.5

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 161.7 164.7 165.5 .2 .4 .5 2.5 2.0 2.4

Goods-producing industries1 .................... 163.9 167.5 168.3 .1 .7 .5 2.4 2.3 2.7

Service-producing industries2 .................. 168.4 171.7 172.6 .2 .6 .5 2.4 2.2 2.5

Manufacturing ........................................... 165.3 168.8 169.3 .1 .6 .3 2.5 2.2 2.4

Blue-collar occupations ........................ 164.5 167.6 168.2 .2 .4 .4 2.6 2.1 2.2

Nonmanufacturing .................................... 167.5 170.8 171.7 .2 .6 .5 2.3 2.2 2.5

Region3

Northeast ...................................................... 165.0 168.5 169.7 .1 .7 .7 2.5 2.2 2.8

South ............................................................ 162.3 165.0 165.5 .4 .4 .3 2.8 2.1 2.0

Midwest ........................................................ 169.2 173.6 174.8 .0 1.3 .7 1.6 2.6 3.3

West ............................................................. 169.5 172.2 172.9 .2 .2 .4 2.6 1.8 2.0

Area

Metropolitan .................................................. 166.6 169.9 170.7 .2 .7 .5 2.4 2.2 2.5

Other ............................................................. 163.8 167.2 168.0 .3 .5 .5 2.7 2.4 2.6

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.
 17

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.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

3 months ended– 12 months ended–

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Dec.

2004

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Civilian workers .......................................... 197.0 205.1 205.9 0.9 1.1 0.4 6.9 5.1 4.5

State and local government ........................ 190.4 199.8 201.9 1.1 3.0 1.1 6.7 6.1 6.0

Private industry ........................................... 198.7 206.4 206.9 .9 .7 .2 6.9 4.8 4.1

Industry

Goods producing1 .................................. 201.2 210.9 210.3 1.6 .7 -.3 9.5 6.5 4.5

Service producing2 ................................. 196.5 203.1 204.2 .5 .7 .5 5.5 3.9 3.9

Manufacturing ......................................... 200.4 210.1 210.2 .6 .6 .0 9.9 5.5 4.9

Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721) ...... 266.0 362.8 372.0 .3 .2 2.5 24.6 36.8 39.8

White collar ..................................... 265.9 369.0 372.5 .0 .2 .9 22.9 38.8 40.1

Blue collar ....................................... 264.9 351.2 369.7 .8 .2 5.3 27.7 33.6 39.6

Nonmanufacturing .................................. 197.6 204.6 205.2 1.0 .8 .3 5.8 4.5 3.8

Occupational group

White collar ............................................. 201.1 210.4 211.0 1.0 .9 .3 6.3 5.7 4.9

Blue collar ............................................... 194.9 200.3 200.3 .8 .5 .0 8.3 3.6 2.8

Service .................................................... 198.2 203.1 204.1 .4 .5 .5 6.3 2.8 3.0

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................... 206.4 213.5 213.7 .7 .9 .1 10.3 4.1 3.5

Nonunion ................................................ 196.5 204.3 204.8 1.0 .7 .2 6.2 5.0 4.2

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. 
 18

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. 

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. 

Employees in occupations included in the survey receive cash payments from the establishment for services 

performed and the establishment pays 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 this quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 50,400 occupational 

observations within about 11,300 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. 

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. 
 19

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 

the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2005 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 (http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf), and several articles 

published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working Conditions. The bulletins, articles, 

and other descriptive pieces are available on the BLS website (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm), by 

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

Historical and supplemental data series from the ECI are available upon request or at the Internet site 

http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm. Historical data are available beginning with the first publication of each 

series at (http://www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf) or (ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistry.txt). Supplemental 

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

industry, are also available at (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/echealth.pdf) beginning with June 1982. 

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, June 1989=100. The ECI for each quarter is 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. Data dating back to the first publication of each series are 

available at the Internet sites(http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf), (ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconst.txt) 

or upon request. 
 20

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 2005." 

The release is available by e-mail request at ocltinfo@bls.gov, by telephone at (202) 691-6199, or on the 

Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm. Historical data and related articles are included in the bulletin, 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-99, (Bulletin 2526). Also available is an annual historical 

summary from March 1986 through March 2002 on the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) or 

upon request. 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.