Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical Contact: USDL: 07-0605 

 (202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov 

Media Contact: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL 

 (202) 691-5902 IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED 

Internet address: UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (E.D.T.), 

 http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX—MARCH 2007 

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent from December 2006 to March 

2007, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This 

was about the same as the 0.9 percent increase for the September to December 2006 period. Wages and 

salaries rose 1.1 percent for the three-month period, compared with 0.7 percent for the previous period. 

Benefit costs changed by 0.1 percent, after an increase of 1.1 percent during the previous three-month period. 

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 industry and state and local government). 

Increases in wages and salaries accounted for 84 percent of the rise in compensation costs for civilian 

workers from December 2006 to March 2007, not seasonally adjusted. Among private industry workers, 

wages and salaries comprised 96 percent of the compensation gain. In state and local government, wages and 

salaries accounted for 40 percent of the change in compensation. In state and local government, benefit 

increases were due primarily to increases in defined benefits and health benefits. 

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

For private industry, compensation costs rose 0.6 percent, compared to 0.8 percent for the prior quarter, 

while state and local government increased 1.3 percent, compared to 1.0 percent for the quarter ended 

December 2006. (See tables A and 1.) 

Wages and salaries of civilian workers increased 1.1 percent, up from 0.7 percent in the September to 

December 2006 quarter. For private industry workers, wages and salaries increased 1.1 percent, up from 0.8 

percent. In state and local government, the increase was 0.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. 

(See tables A and 2.) 

NOTE 

Beginning with this release, “white-collar occupations,” “blue-collar occupations,” “excluding sales 

occupations,” “manufacturing - durable goods,” and “manufacturing - nondurable goods” series have been 

discontinued. For more information, see www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsm0001.htm. 

United States 

Department News of Labor
 2

 The change in benefit costs for civilian workers in the March quarter was 0.1 percent, down from an 

increase of 1.1 percent in the December quarter. For state and local government, benefits increased 2.1 

percent, up from 1.4 percent in the previous quarter. (See tables A and 3.) 

In private industry, benefit costs declined 0.3 percent compared to a 0.9 percent increase the previous 

quarter. This decline was due primarily to lower employer contributions to defined benefit retirement plans, 

which was seen across industries and occupational groups. Lower contributions may be due to several factors. 

For example, over the last couple of years, many employers have had to make additional payments to defined 

benefit funds to make up for lower than expected earnings from investments during the early part of the 

decade; if these payments are no longer required, current contributions would be lessened. Also, the recent 

improved performance of the stock market may have also been a factor, requiring employers to contribute less 

to retirement plans. 

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

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

Compensation component 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007

Civilian workers

Compensation costs 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8

 Wages and salaries 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.1

 Benefit costs 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.1

 Private industry

Compensation costs 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6

 Wages and salaries 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.1

 Benefit costs 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.7 1.0 0.9 -0.3

 State and local government

Compensation costs 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.0 1.3 1.0 1.3

 Wages and salaries 0.7 0.5 1.0 0.5 0.9 1.3 0.8 0.9

 Benefit costs 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.4 2.1

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Annual compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.5 percent for the year ended March 2007, 

compared with a 2.8 percent increase for the year ended March 2006. In private industry, compensation costs 

rose 3.2 percent in the year ended March 2007. In March 2006, the increase was 2.6 percent. For state and 

local government, the yearly increase for March 2007 was 4.6 percent. In March 2006, it was 3.7 percent. 

The components of compensation differed in their rate of change. While increases in wages and salaries 

for civilian workers accelerated, benefit costs increases decelerated due to a slowdown in private industry. 

Wages and salaries rose 3.6 percent for civilian workers for the year ended March 2007, greater than the 2.7 

percent gain for March 2006. Benefit costs increased 3.1 percent for the March 2007 12-month period. In 

March 2006, the increase was 3.4 percent. Differences in 12-month percent changes for benefit costs between 

private industry and state and local government were significant. Private industry benefits increased 2.2 

percent, down from 3.0 percent while state and local government increased 6.3 percent, up from 5.4 percent. 

(See tables B, 8, and 12.) 

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended March 2007, compensation costs increased 2.6 percent for goods-producing 

industries, compared to a 2.3 percent increase in March 2006. Compensation costs for manufacturing 

remained low, at 1.9 percent, for the year ended March 2007, the same for the year ended March 2006. 

Compensation costs for the construction industry rose 4.0 percent, compared to 3.4 percent for the previous 

year. (See table 5.) 
 3

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

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

Compensation component 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Civilian workers 

Compensation costs 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.8 3.5 

 Wages and salaries 3.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.7 3.6 

 Benefit costs 4.5 5.9 6.7 5.9 3.4 3.1 

 Private industry 

Compensation costs 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.5 2.6 3.2 

 Wages and salaries 3.5 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.4 3.6 

 Benefit costs 4.4 5.7 6.8 5.5 3.0 2.2 

 State and local government 

Compensation costs 3.7 4.3 3.4 3.6 3.7 4.6 

 Wages and salaries 3.3 3.2 2.1 2.3 2.8 3.8 

 Benefit costs 4.8 6.6 6.4 6.7 5.4 6.3 

The over-the-year increase for March 2007 in compensation costs for service-providing industries was 

3.3 percent. In March 2006, the increase was 2.7 percent. Among the supersector industries, compensation 

gains ranged from 2.3 percent in the trade, transportation, and utilities industries to 4.7 percent in the leisure 

and hospitality industry. (See Table 5.) 

Among private industry occupational groups, over-the-year compensation gains ranged from 2.1 percent 

for production, transportation, and material moving to 3.7 percent for service occupations. (See table 5.) 

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.2 percent for the year ended March 2007, compared 

with a 2.7 percent increase for March 2006. For nonunion workers, the increase for the 12-month period 

ended March 2007 was 3.3 percent. In March 2006, the increase was 2.6 percent. Wages and salaries for 

union workers increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ended March 2007, while wages for nonunion 

workers rose 3.7 percent. Benefit costs for union workers rose 1.6 percent for the 12-month period while 

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

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

bargaining status, not seasonally adjusted 

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

Compensation component 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

 Union workers

Compensation costs 4.5 4.4 5.6 3.6 2.7 2.2 

 Wages and salaries 4.3 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.5 

 Benefit costs 5.1 6.7 10.6 5.6 2.9 1.6 

 Nonunion workers

Compensation costs 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.5 2.6 3.3 

 Wages and salaries 3.5 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.5 3.7 

 Benefit costs 4.1 5.5 5.9 5.6 2.9 2.4 

State and local government

For the year ended March 2007, compensation costs for state and local government workers rose 4.6 

percent compared to 3.7 percent a year ago. The 12-month gain in wages and salaries was 3.8 percent. Last 

year, the gain was 2.8 percent. For benefits, costs increased 6.3 percent compared to 5.4 percent for the 

previous year. (See tables B, 7, 11, and 12.) 

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

Employment cost changes are also provided that measure the change in wages and salaries after 

adjustment for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services. These “constant dollar” estimates 
 4

show that wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent for the 12-month period ended March 

2007, compared to a decrease of 0.7 percent in March 2006. The private industry increase was 0.7 percent 

compared to a decrease of 0.9 percent in March 2006. State and local government registered a 1.0 percent 

increase, compared to a decrease of 0.6 percent for the previous year. (See table D.) 

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

not seasonally adjusted 

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

Compensation component 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Civilian workers 2.0 -0.1 0.8 -0.6 -0.7 0.7 

Occupation 

 Management, professional, and related 2.2 0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.8 1.0 

 Sales and office 2.1 -0.3 1.1 -0.3 -0.7 0.6 

 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 1.8 0.0 0.9 -1.0 -0.4 0.7 

 Production, transportation, and material moving 2.0 -0.6 0.4 -0.7 -1.0 -0.2 

 Service 1.7 -0.8 0.4 -0.9 -1.0 1.2 

Industry 

 Goods-producing 1.7 -0.2 0.7 -0.7 -0.5 0.4 

 Service-providing 2.1 -0.1 0.8 -0.5 -0.8 0.8 

 

 Private industry 2.1 -0.2 0.9 -0.5 -0.9 0.7 

 State and local government 1.8 0.2 0.4 -0.8 -0.6 1.0 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

NOTE: 

The ECI for June 2007 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 8:30 A.M. (E.D.T.). 

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

The FTP site can be accessed at: 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 NCSinfo@bls.gov.

BLS news releases, including the ECI, are 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. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 5

0

1

2

3

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

0

2

4

6

8

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

percent change

Wages and salaries

Benefits

percent change

3-month percent change, Seasonally adjusted

Wages and salaries and Benefits

Civilian workers

percent change

Current 

dollars

Constant

dollars

Benefits

Wages and

salaries

12-month percent change, Not seasonally adjusted

Wages and salaries and Benefits

Civilian workers

Current- and Constant-dollars

12-month percent change, Wages and salaries

Civilian workers
 6

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

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

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

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2005

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers2 ................................................................ 103.4 104.2 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 103.3 103.9 .6 .7 .6 .7 .8 .9 .8 .6

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related3 ............... 103.8 104.5 .6 .6 .7 .7 .8 1.1 .9 .7

Management, business, and financial3 .............. 103.4 104.1 .4 .3 .6 .9 .6 .9 .7 .7

Professional and related3 ................................... 104.2 104.8 .8 .8 .7 .7 .9 1.2 1.2 .6

Sales and office3 .................................................... 103.1 103.7 .6 .8 1.0 .4 .9 .6 1.0 .6

Sales and related3 .............................................. 102.5 102.7 .3 1.0 1.5 -.2 .9 .3 1.2 .2

Office and administrative support3 ..................... 103.6 104.4 .6 .8 .7 .7 .9 .9 .9 .8

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance3 ....................................................... 103.8 104.1 .7 .7 .8 .8 .9 1.0 .9 .3

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry3 ............................................................ 103.8 104.5 .6 .8 .8 .8 1.1 .9 .9 .7

Installation, maintenance, and repair3 ................ 103.7 103.6 .9 .5 .8 .7 .8 1.0 .9 -.1

Production, transportation, and material moving3 .. 102.4 102.5 .5 .7 .4 .3 .7 .6 .7 .1

Production3 ......................................................... 102.1 102.0 .5 .7 .4 .2 .7 .6 .5 -.1

Transportation and material moving3 ................. 102.7 103.2 .5 .8 .4 .4 .7 .6 .9 .5

Service occupations3 .............................................. 103.2 104.4 .6 .6 .5 .7 .7 .8 .9 1.2

Industry

Goods-producing industries4 .................................. 102.6 102.9 .8 .8 .5 .1 1.0 .5 .8 .3

Construction ....................................................... 103.7 104.9 .8 1.0 .7 .8 .9 .9 1.0 1.2

Manufacturing ..................................................... 101.9 102.0 .8 .7 .5 -.2 .9 .5 .5 .1

Service-providing industries5 .................................. 103.5 104.3 .5 .6 .7 .8 .8 1.0 .8 .8

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................... 103.2 103.1 .3 1.0 .7 .7 .5 1.1 .8 -.1

Wholesale trade3 ............................................ 103.0 103.6 .0 1.6 .9 .1 .5 1.7 .6 .6

Retail trade ..................................................... 102.7 102.9 .6 .6 .7 .5 .5 .8 .8 .2

Information .......................................................... 103.5 104.3 .7 .4 .9 .6 1.0 1.1 .5 .8

Financial activities .............................................. 102.9 104.1 .8 .4 1.1 .7 .4 .7 .7 1.2

Professional and business services ................... 103.5 104.7 .4 .1 .4 1.1 1.1 .7 .6 1.2

Education and health services ............................ 104.2 105.0 .8 .8 .8 .8 1.0 1.2 1.1 .8

Education services ......................................... 104.0 104.5 .8 1.2 .6 1.0 1.2 .7 1.3 .5

Health care and social assistance6 ................ 104.3 105.1 .8 .7 .8 .9 .9 1.3 1.1 .8

Leisure and hospitality ........................................ 103.6 105.2 .6 .7 .4 .6 .9 1.0 1.2 1.5

Other services, except public administration ...... 104.2 105.8 .6 1.3 .2 .4 .9 1.1 1.7 1.5

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 103.8 105.1 .8 .9 1.1 .7 1.0 1.3 1.0 1.3

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

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

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

occupational series are first published estimates introduced with the 2007

seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are available

beginning with March 2002. 4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 5 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

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

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

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

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

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

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

shown separately.
 7

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

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

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

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2005

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 103.2 104.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.1

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 103.2 104.3 .5 .6 .7 .7 .8 .8 .8 1.1

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related2 ............... 103.8 104.9 .5 .4 .7 .9 .8 1.0 .9 1.1

Management, business, and financial2 .............. 103.3 104.7 .3 .0 .7 1.1 .7 .8 .5 1.4

Professional and related2 ................................... 104.1 105.1 .6 .7 .6 .8 .9 1.2 1.1 .9

Sales and office2 .................................................... 103.1 103.9 .4 .7 1.1 .4 .9 .6 1.0 .8

Sales and related2 .............................................. 102.8 103.2 .0 .9 1.6 .0 1.1 .2 1.3 .4

Office and administrative support2 ..................... 103.4 104.5 .7 .5 .7 .8 .9 .8 .8 1.1

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance2 ....................................................... 103.5 104.4 .6 .7 .8 .8 .8 .9 .9 .9

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry2 ............................................................ 103.8 104.8 .5 .8 .9 .7 1.1 1.0 .9 1.0

Installation, maintenance, and repair2 ................ 103.1 103.9 1.0 .3 .8 .8 .6 .9 .7 .8

Production, transportation, and material moving2 .. 102.4 103.2 .5 .6 .5 .6 .6 .6 .6 .8

Transportation and material moving2 ................. 102.6 103.3 .4 .6 .4 .5 .7 .7 .7 .7

Industry

Goods-producing industries3 .................................. 103.0 104.0 .6 .8 .7 .7 .9 .5 .8 1.0

Construction ....................................................... 103.8 105.1 .8 .9 .9 .7 1.2 .7 1.1 1.3

Manufacturing ..................................................... 102.5 103.3 .6 .8 .6 .5 .9 .2 .7 .8

Service-providing industries4 .................................. 103.3 104.4 .5 .5 .6 .8 .8 .9 .8 1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................... 102.7 103.3 .4 1.0 .6 .4 .5 1.1 .7 .6

Retail trade ..................................................... 102.8 103.1 .7 .7 .5 .5 .5 .8 1.0 .3

Information .......................................................... 102.5 103.8 .7 .2 .8 .9 .6 1.0 -.1 1.3

Financial activities .............................................. 103.2 104.7 .7 .2 .8 1.0 .6 .6 .7 1.5

Professional and business services ................... 103.5 104.8 .2 .0 .3 1.0 1.2 .7 .6 1.3

Education and health services ............................ 103.9 104.8 .7 .6 .8 .7 1.0 1.2 1.0 .9

Education services ......................................... 104.0 104.3 .8 1.0 .5 1.0 1.1 .8 1.3 .3

Health care and social assistance5 ................ 103.9 104.9 .7 .5 .8 .7 1.0 1.3 .9 1.0

Leisure and hospitality ........................................ 103.5 105.6 .7 1.0 .5 .6 .9 .9 1.2 2.0

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 103.3 104.2 .7 .5 1.0 .5 .9 1.3 .8 .9

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

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

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

occupational series are first published estimates introduced with the 2007

seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are available

beginning with March 2002. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. 4 Includes the following industries: wholesale trade; retail trade;

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

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

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

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

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

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

shown separately.
 8

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

(Seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

Indexes (Dec.

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

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

June

2005

Sep.

2005

Dec.

2005

Mar.

2006

June

2006

Sep.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 103.8 103.9 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.1

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 103.4 103.1 .8 .8 .7 .5 .7 1.0 .9 -.3

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related2 ............... 103.9 103.4 1.0 1.0 .7 .4 .7 1.2 1.1 -.5

Sales and office2 .................................................... 103.2 103.1 .8 1.2 1.0 .2 .7 .8 1.1 -.1

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance2 ....................................................... 104.5 103.5 .8 .9 .8 .6 1.1 1.2 1.1 -1.0

Production, transportation, and material moving2 .. 102.3 101.1 .5 .8 .4 -.3 .8 .7 .8 -1.2

Service occupations2 .............................................. 104.0 103.9 .9 .7 .9 .8 .9 .9 1.0 -.1

Industry

Goods-producing industries3 .................................. 101.9 100.9 1.3 .8 -.1 -.7 .8 .9 .7 -1.0

Manufacturing ..................................................... 101.0 99.5 1.2 .6 .1 -1.2 .8 .8 .5 -1.5

Service-providing industries4 .................................. 104.1 103.9 .5 .9 .9 1.0 .7 1.0 1.1 -.2

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 104.9 107.1 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.4 2.1

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

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

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

occupational series are first published estimates introduced with the 2007

seasonal adjustment revisions. Historical data for these series are available

beginning with March 2002. 3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.

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

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

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

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

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

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

public administration.
 9

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

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers2 ................................................................ 100.7 103.3 104.2 0.7 0.6 0.9 2.8 3.3 3.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations3 ............... 100.8 103.4 104.2 .8 .7 .8 – 3.4 3.4

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 100.9 103.7 104.7 .9 .7 1.0 3.0 3.7 3.8

Management, business, and financial ................ 101.3 103.2 104.4 1.3 .5 1.2 2.3 3.2 3.1

Professional and related ..................................... 100.7 104.0 104.9 .7 .8 .9 3.3 4.0 4.2

Sales and office ...................................................... 100.5 103.0 103.8 .5 .6 .8 2.9 3.0 3.3

Sales and related ................................................ 99.9 102.3 102.4 -.1 .6 .1 2.7 2.3 2.5

Office and administrative support ....................... 100.9 103.5 104.7 .9 .7 1.2 3.0 3.5 3.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 100.8 103.6 104.1 .8 .6 .5 3.1 3.6 3.3

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 100.7 103.7 104.3 .7 .7 .6 3.2 3.7 3.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 100.9 103.6 103.7 .9 .6 .1 3.0 3.6 2.8

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 100.4 102.4 102.7 .4 .6 .3 2.0 2.4 2.3

Production .......................................................... 100.4 102.0 102.1 .4 .4 .1 1.9 2.0 1.7

Transportation and material moving ................... 100.5 102.8 103.4 .5 .6 .6 2.3 2.8 2.9

Service occupations ............................................... 100.8 103.5 104.8 .8 1.0 1.3 3.1 3.5 4.0

Industry

Goods-producing industries4 .................................. 100.3 102.5 102.9 .3 .5 .4 2.3 2.5 2.6

Manufacturing ..................................................... 100.1 101.8 102.0 .1 .4 .2 1.9 1.8 1.9

Service-providing industries5 .................................. 100.9 103.5 104.4 .9 .6 .9 3.1 3.5 3.5

Education and health services ............................ 100.6 104.2 104.9 .6 .7 .7 3.5 4.2 4.3

Education services ......................................... 100.2 104.1 104.5 .2 .7 .4 3.6 4.1 4.3

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 100.2 104.2 104.6 .2 .7 .4 3.9 4.2 4.4

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools ...... 100.4 103.8 104.3 .4 .5 .5 3.1 3.8 3.9

Health care and social assistance6 ................ 101.1 104.3 105.4 1.1 .8 1.1 3.4 4.3 4.3

Hospitals ..................................................... 101.2 104.0 105.1 1.2 .8 1.1 3.8 4.0 3.9

Nursing and residential care facilities ......... 101.0 103.7 104.5 1.0 1.1 .8 3.6 3.7 3.5

Public administration .......................................... 100.6 103.8 105.6 .6 1.4 1.7 3.6 3.8 5.0

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

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

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

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

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

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

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

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

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; other

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

shown separately.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
 10

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

and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Private industry workers

All workers ...................................................................... 100.8 103.2 104.0 0.8 0.7 0.8 2.6 3.2 3.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ................... 100.9 103.2 104.0 .9 .7 .8 – 3.2 3.1

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ..................... 101.1 103.5 104.6 1.1 .6 1.1 2.6 3.5 3.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 101.1 103.5 104.5 1.1 .7 1.0 – 3.5 3.4

Management, business, and financial .................... 101.3 103.1 104.3 1.3 .4 1.2 2.2 3.1 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 101.2 103.1 104.1 1.2 .5 1.0 – 3.1 2.9

Professional and related ......................................... 101.0 103.9 104.9 1.0 .8 1.0 3.1 3.9 3.9

Sales and office .......................................................... 100.5 102.9 103.7 .5 .6 .8 2.8 2.9 3.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 100.9 103.2 104.2 .9 .7 1.0 – 3.2 3.3

Sales and related .................................................... 99.9 102.3 102.4 -.1 .6 .1 2.8 2.3 2.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 100.9 102.9 103.6 .9 .7 .7 – 2.9 2.7

Office and administrative support ........................... 100.9 103.4 104.5 .9 .7 1.1 2.9 3.4 3.6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance .... 100.8 103.6 104.0 .8 .6 .4 3.0 3.6 3.2

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .................................................................. 100.7 103.7 104.4 .7 .6 .7 3.1 3.7 3.7

Installation, maintenance, and repair ...................... 100.9 103.4 103.5 .9 .4 .1 2.9 3.4 2.6

Production, transportation, and material moving ........ 100.4 102.3 102.5 .4 .6 .2 1.9 2.3 2.1

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 100.4 102.2 102.4 .4 .5 .2 – 2.2 2.0

Production .............................................................. 100.4 102.0 102.1 .4 .4 .1 1.8 2.0 1.7

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 100.4 102.0 102.0 .4 .5 .0 – 2.0 1.6

Transportation and material moving ....................... 100.4 102.6 103.1 .4 .6 .5 2.1 2.6 2.7

Service occupations ................................................... 100.8 103.1 104.5 .8 .8 1.4 2.3 3.1 3.7

Industry and occupational group

Goods-producing industries3 ...................................... 100.3 102.5 102.9 .3 .5 .4 2.3 2.5 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 100.4 102.5 102.9 .4 .5 .4 – 2.5 2.5

Management, professional, and related ............. 100.2 102.0 102.7 .2 .4 .7 2.2 2.0 2.5

Sales and office .................................................. 99.9 102.8 103.0 -.1 .7 .2 3.2 2.8 3.1

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 100.6 103.3 104.0 .6 .6 .7 2.8 3.3 3.4

Production, transportation, and material moving 100.3 102.0 102.1 .3 .4 .1 1.7 2.0 1.8

Construction ........................................................... 100.7 103.6 104.7 .7 .6 1.1 3.4 3.6 4.0

Manufacturing ......................................................... 100.1 101.8 102.0 .1 .4 .2 1.9 1.8 1.9

Management, professional, and related ......... 100.0 101.4 102.0 .0 .1 .6 2.5 1.4 2.0

Sales and office .............................................. 99.5 102.1 102.4 -.5 .8 .3 1.9 2.1 2.9

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ................................................. 100.1 102.1 101.7 .1 .6 -.4 1.8 2.1 1.6

Production, transportation, and material

moving .......................................................... 100.2 101.9 101.9 .2 .4 .0 1.5 1.9 1.7

Aircraft manufacturing ........................................ 90.9 93.2 89.2 -9.1 -.7 -4.3 -7.2 -6.8 -1.9

See footnotes at end of table.
 11

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

and industry — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Service-providing industries4 ...................................... 101.0 103.4 104.3 1.0 0.7 0.9 2.7 3.4 3.3

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ........... 101.1 103.5 104.4 1.1 .8 .9 – 3.5 3.3

Management, professional, and related ............. 101.3 103.8 105.0 1.3 .6 1.2 2.7 3.8 3.7

Sales and office .................................................. 100.6 102.9 103.7 .6 .6 .8 2.8 2.9 3.1

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 101.2 104.0 104.0 1.2 .4 .0 3.4 4.0 2.8

Production, transportation, and material moving 100.6 102.6 103.0 .6 .7 .4 2.3 2.6 2.4

Service occupations ........................................... 100.9 103.1 104.5 .9 .8 1.4 2.4 3.1 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities .......................... 100.8 103.0 103.1 .8 .6 .1 2.8 3.0 2.3

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 101.1 103.1 103.4 1.1 .6 .3 – 3.1 2.3

Wholesale trade .................................................. 100.3 102.9 103.7 .3 .5 .8 2.7 2.9 3.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 101.0 103.2 104.1 1.0 .7 .9 – 3.2 3.1

Retail trade ......................................................... 100.6 102.7 102.9 .6 .8 .2 2.5 2.7 2.3

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 100.8 102.6 103.3 .8 .5 .7 – 2.6 2.5

Transportation and warehousing ........................ 100.4 102.2 102.8 .4 .6 .6 2.0 2.2 2.4

Utilities ................................................................ 107.8 110.4 102.8 7.8 .3 -6.9 9.9 10.4 -4.6

Information .............................................................. 100.9 103.2 104.3 .9 .2 1.1 2.6 3.2 3.4

Financial activities .................................................. 101.2 102.5 104.2 1.2 .4 1.7 2.8 2.5 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 101.2 102.8 104.2 1.2 .5 1.4 – 2.8 3.0

Finance and insurance ....................................... 101.5 102.9 104.6 1.5 .3 1.7 2.8 2.9 3.1

Credit intermediation and related

activities ........................................................ 101.4 102.0 104.0 1.4 -.4 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 101.3 103.2 104.4 1.3 .5 1.2 – 3.2 3.1

Insurance carriers and related activities ......... 100.9 102.6 103.5 .9 .6 .9 3.0 2.6 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 100.8 102.4 103.4 .8 .4 1.0 – 2.4 2.6

Real estate and rental and leasing ..................... 99.8 100.8 102.2 -.2 .6 1.4 3.0 .8 2.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ....... 100.7 102.1 104.4 .7 .5 2.3 – 2.1 3.7

Professional and business services ....................... 101.1 103.5 104.7 1.1 .6 1.2 2.0 3.5 3.6

Professional, scientific, and technical services ... 101.5 104.4 106.0 1.5 .8 1.5 1.8 4.4 4.4

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services ............ 100.5 102.8 103.8 .5 .7 1.0 1.5 2.8 3.3

Education and health services ................................ 101.0 104.1 105.1 1.0 .9 1.0 3.4 4.1 4.1

Education services ............................................. 100.7 104.2 104.5 .7 1.0 .3 3.7 4.2 3.8

Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and

professional schools ..................................... 100.9 104.4 104.5 .9 .9 .1 3.8 4.4 3.6

Health care and social assistance5 .................... 101.1 104.1 105.2 1.1 .9 1.1 3.4 4.1 4.1

Hospitals ......................................................... 101.3 103.9 105.0 1.3 .7 1.1 3.9 3.9 3.7

Nursing and residential care facilities ............. 101.0 103.5 104.3 1.0 1.1 .8 3.6 3.5 3.3

Nursing care facilities2 ................................ 100.8 103.1 104.2 .8 1.1 1.1 – 3.1 3.4

Leisure and hospitality ............................................ 100.6 103.7 105.3 .6 1.3 1.5 2.1 3.7 4.7

Accommodation and food services ..................... 100.5 104.0 105.8 .5 1.5 1.7 1.8 4.0 5.3

Other services, except public administration .......... 101.4 104.0 105.7 1.4 .4 1.6 3.5 4.0 4.2

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

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

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

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

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

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

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

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

shown separately.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
 12

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

census region and division, and metropolitan area status

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Bargaining status, census region and division, and

metropolitan area status

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 100.5 103.0 102.7 0.5 0.6 -0.3 2.7 3.0 2.2

Goods-producing industries2 .............................. 99.9 102.2 101.5 -.1 .4 -.7 2.3 2.2 1.6

Manufacturing ................................................. 99.3 100.8 99.2 -.7 .3 -1.6 1.0 .8 -.1

Service-providing industries3 .............................. 101.0 103.6 103.7 1.0 .7 .1 3.0 3.6 2.7

Nonunion ................................................................ 100.9 103.2 104.2 .9 .6 1.0 2.6 3.2 3.3

Goods-producing industries2 .............................. 100.5 102.5 103.3 .5 .5 .8 2.4 2.5 2.8

Manufacturing ................................................. 100.3 102.1 102.8 .3 .4 .7 2.1 2.1 2.5

Service-providing industries3 .............................. 101.0 103.4 104.4 1.0 .7 1.0 2.7 3.4 3.4

Census region and division4

Northeast ................................................................ 100.9 103.3 104.0 .9 .8 .7 3.4 3.3 3.1

New England ...................................................... 100.7 103.1 103.6 .7 1.0 .5 – 3.1 2.9

Middle Atlantic .................................................... 100.9 103.3 104.2 .9 .7 .9 – 3.3 3.3

South ...................................................................... 101.0 103.5 104.3 1.0 .7 .8 2.1 3.5 3.3

South Atlantic ..................................................... 101.2 103.8 104.9 1.2 .7 1.1 – 3.8 3.7

East South Central ............................................. 100.7 102.3 103.3 .7 .8 1.0 – 2.3 2.6

West South Central ............................................ 100.7 103.4 103.7 .7 .7 .3 – 3.4 3.0

Midwest .................................................................. 100.7 102.8 103.3 .7 .5 .5 3.0 2.8 2.6

East North Central .............................................. 100.7 102.8 103.2 .7 .5 .4 – 2.8 2.5

West North Central ............................................. 100.6 102.7 103.5 .6 .3 .8 – 2.7 2.9

West ....................................................................... 100.6 103.0 104.2 .6 .5 1.2 2.2 3.0 3.6

Mountain ............................................................. 101.0 103.1 105.2 1.0 .4 2.0 – 3.1 4.2

Pacific ................................................................. 100.5 103.0 103.9 .5 .5 .9 – 3.0 3.4

Metropolitan area status

Metropolitan areas .................................................. 100.8 103.1 103.9 .8 .6 .8 – 3.1 3.1

Nonmetropolitan areas ........................................... 100.8 103.3 104.1 .8 .7 .8 – 3.3 3.3

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

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

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

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

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

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

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

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

note" for further information.) Dashes indicate data not available.
 13

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

occupational group and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 100.5 104.1 105.1 0.5 0.9 1.0 3.7 4.1 4.6

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 100.3 104.0 104.9 .3 .7 .9 3.4 4.0 4.6

Professional and related ..................................... 100.2 104.0 104.8 .2 .6 .8 3.5 4.0 4.6

Sales and office ...................................................... 100.9 104.1 105.6 .9 .8 1.4 3.5 4.1 4.7

Office and administrative support ....................... 101.0 104.2 105.7 1.0 .7 1.4 3.7 4.2 4.7

Service occupations ............................................... 100.6 104.5 105.4 .6 1.4 .9 4.6 4.5 4.8

Industry

Education and health services ................................ 100.3 104.3 104.8 .3 .6 .5 3.7 4.3 4.5

Education services ............................................. 100.2 104.1 104.6 .2 .6 .5 3.7 4.1 4.4

Schools2 ......................................................... 100.2 104.1 104.6 .2 .6 .5 3.7 4.1 4.4

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 100.2 104.2 104.7 .2 .6 .5 3.9 4.2 4.5

Health care and social assistance3 .................... 101.3 105.7 107.1 1.3 .6 1.3 3.8 5.7 5.7

Hospitals ......................................................... 100.9 104.3 105.6 .9 1.0 1.2 3.4 4.3 4.7

Public administration .............................................. 100.6 103.8 105.6 .6 1.4 1.7 3.6 3.8 5.0

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

colleges, universities, and professional schools.

3 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
 14

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

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 100.7 103.2 104.3 0.7 0.6 1.1 2.7 3.2 3.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations2 ............... 100.7 103.2 104.2 .7 .7 1.0 – 3.2 3.5

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 100.8 103.6 104.7 .8 .7 1.1 2.5 3.6 3.9

Management, business, and financial ................ 101.2 103.1 104.7 1.2 .4 1.6 2.1 3.1 3.5

Professional and related ..................................... 100.6 103.8 104.7 .6 .7 .9 2.9 3.8 4.1

Sales and office ...................................................... 100.4 103.0 103.8 .4 .6 .8 2.7 3.0 3.4

Sales and related ................................................ 99.8 102.5 102.7 -.2 .5 .2 2.6 2.5 2.9

Office and administrative support ....................... 100.8 103.3 104.5 .8 .7 1.2 2.6 3.3 3.7

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 100.7 103.4 104.3 .7 .7 .9 3.0 3.4 3.6

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .............................................................. 100.7 103.7 104.6 .7 .8 .9 3.0 3.7 3.9

Installation, maintenance, and repair .................. 100.6 103.1 103.8 .6 .5 .7 2.9 3.1 3.2

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 100.6 102.5 103.2 .6 .6 .7 2.3 2.5 2.6

Production .......................................................... 100.7 102.3 103.2 .7 .5 .9 2.5 2.3 2.5

Transportation and material moving ................... 100.5 102.7 103.3 .5 .6 .6 2.1 2.7 2.8

Service occupations ............................................... 100.5 103.2 104.6 .5 1.0 1.4 2.3 3.2 4.1

Industry

Goods-producing industries3 .................................. 100.7 102.9 103.9 .7 .6 1.0 2.9 2.9 3.2

Manufacturing ..................................................... 100.7 102.3 103.3 .7 .4 1.0 2.5 2.3 2.6

Service-providing industries4 .................................. 100.7 103.3 104.3 .7 .6 1.0 2.5 3.3 3.6

Education and health services ............................ 100.4 103.8 104.4 .4 .7 .6 2.9 3.8 4.0

Education services ......................................... 100.2 103.5 103.7 .2 .5 .2 2.9 3.5 3.5

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 100.0 103.4 103.6 .0 .5 .2 3.0 3.4 3.6

Junior colleges, colleges, 

universities, and professional schools ...... 100.5 103.6 103.9 .5 .6 .3 2.6 3.6 3.4

Health care and social assistance5 ................ 100.8 104.1 105.1 .8 .9 1.0 2.9 4.1 4.3

Hospitals ..................................................... 100.9 103.8 104.8 .9 .9 1.0 3.4 3.8 3.9

Nursing and residential care facilities ......... 100.7 103.3 104.1 .7 1.1 .8 3.1 3.3 3.4

Public administration .......................................... 100.5 103.5 104.5 .5 1.5 1.0 2.7 3.5 4.0

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

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

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

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

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

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

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

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

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; other

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

shown separately.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
 15

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

industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Private industry workers

All workers ...................................................................... 100.7 103.2 104.3 0.7 0.7 1.1 2.4 3.2 3.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ................... 100.8 103.2 104.3 .8 .7 1.1 – 3.2 3.5

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ..................... 101.1 103.6 104.9 1.1 .6 1.3 2.5 3.6 3.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 101.0 103.6 104.8 1.0 .7 1.2 – 3.6 3.8

Management, business, and financial .................... 101.3 103.1 104.7 1.3 .3 1.6 2.1 3.1 3.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 101.1 103.2 104.6 1.1 .6 1.4 – 3.2 3.5

Professional and related ......................................... 100.9 104.0 105.1 .9 .9 1.1 2.7 4.0 4.2

Sales and office .......................................................... 100.4 103.0 103.8 .4 .6 .8 2.7 3.0 3.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.8 103.1 104.2 .8 .7 1.1 – 3.1 3.4

Sales and related .................................................... 99.8 102.6 102.8 -.2 .6 .2 2.6 2.6 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.9 102.8 103.7 .9 .6 .9 – 2.8 2.8

Office and administrative support ........................... 100.9 103.3 104.5 .9 .7 1.2 2.7 3.3 3.6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance .... 100.7 103.4 104.2 .7 .6 .8 3.0 3.4 3.5

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and

forestry .................................................................. 100.7 103.7 104.7 .7 .7 1.0 3.0 3.7 4.0

Installation, maintenance, and repair ...................... 100.7 103.0 103.7 .7 .4 .7 3.0 3.0 3.0

Production, transportation, and material moving ........ 100.6 102.4 103.1 .6 .6 .7 2.3 2.4 2.5

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.6 102.2 103.1 .6 .5 .9 – 2.2 2.5

Production .............................................................. 100.7 102.2 103.1 .7 .5 .9 2.4 2.2 2.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.6 102.2 103.0 .6 .5 .8 – 2.2 2.4

Transportation and material moving ....................... 100.4 102.6 103.2 .4 .6 .6 1.9 2.6 2.8

Service occupations ................................................... 100.6 102.9 104.6 .6 .9 1.7 2.0 2.9 4.0

Industry and occupational group

Goods-producing industries2 ...................................... 100.7 102.9 103.9 .7 .6 1.0 2.9 2.9 3.2

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.8 102.9 104.0 .8 .6 1.1 – 2.9 3.2

Management, professional, and related ............. 101.1 102.8 104.4 1.1 .4 1.6 3.2 2.8 3.3

Sales and office .................................................. 99.8 103.1 103.4 -.2 .9 .3 3.1 3.1 3.6

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 100.7 103.4 104.4 .7 .7 1.0 2.9 3.4 3.7

Production, transportation, and material moving 100.7 102.4 103.2 .7 .5 .8 2.5 2.4 2.5

Construction ........................................................... 100.6 103.7 104.9 .6 .8 1.2 3.4 3.7 4.3

Manufacturing ......................................................... 100.7 102.3 103.3 .7 .4 1.0 2.5 2.3 2.6

Management, professional, and related ......... 101.1 102.3 103.8 1.1 .1 1.5 3.0 2.3 2.7

Sales and office .............................................. 99.5 102.0 102.4 -.5 .9 .4 1.6 2.0 2.9

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ................................................. 100.9 103.0 103.8 .9 .7 .8 3.2 3.0 2.9

Production, transportation, and material

moving .......................................................... 100.7 102.3 103.1 .7 .5 .8 2.4 2.3 2.4

Aircraft manufacturing ........................................ 101.9 102.7 104.7 1.9 -.2 1.9 3.1 2.7 2.7

See footnotes at end of table.
 16

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

industry — Continued

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Service-providing industries3 ...................................... 100.8 103.3 104.4 0.8 0.7 1.1 2.4 3.3 3.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ........... 100.9 103.3 104.4 .9 .8 1.1 – 3.3 3.5

Management, professional, and related ............. 101.1 103.7 105.0 1.1 .6 1.3 2.4 3.7 3.9

Sales and office .................................................. 100.5 102.9 103.8 .5 .5 .9 2.7 2.9 3.3

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ..................................................... 100.7 103.4 103.9 .7 .4 .5 3.0 3.4 3.2

Production, transportation, and material moving 100.4 102.4 103.0 .4 .7 .6 1.9 2.4 2.6

Service occupations ........................................... 100.6 102.9 104.6 .6 .9 1.7 2.0 2.9 4.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities .......................... 100.4 102.7 103.2 .4 .6 .5 2.6 2.7 2.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 100.7 102.7 103.6 .7 .6 .9 – 2.7 2.9

Wholesale trade .................................................. 100.2 103.0 103.8 .2 .3 .8 2.8 3.0 3.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 101.1 103.3 104.4 1.1 .6 1.1 – 3.3 3.3

Retail trade ......................................................... 100.5 102.8 103.1 .5 .9 .3 2.6 2.8 2.6

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 100.7 102.6 103.5 .7 .6 .9 – 2.6 2.8

Transportation and warehousing ........................ 100.1 101.9 102.5 .1 .5 .6 1.9 1.9 2.4

Utilities ................................................................ 100.8 103.5 104.3 .8 .5 .8 2.4 3.5 3.5

Information .............................................................. 101.0 102.4 103.8 1.0 -.2 1.4 2.6 2.4 2.8

Financial activities .................................................. 101.3 102.8 104.7 1.3 .3 1.8 2.6 2.8 3.4

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 101.2 103.1 104.6 1.2 .5 1.5 – 3.1 3.4

Finance and insurance ....................................... 101.6 103.2 105.4 1.6 .3 2.1 2.5 3.2 3.7

Credit intermediation and related

activities ........................................................ 101.5 101.7 104.5 1.5 -1.0 2.8 1.7 1.7 3.0

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 101.3 103.2 104.9 1.3 .3 1.6 – 3.2 3.6

Insurance carriers and related activities ......... 101.0 103.0 104.1 1.0 .7 1.1 2.6 3.0 3.1

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 100.9 102.6 103.9 .9 .4 1.3 – 2.6 3.0

Real estate and rental and leasing ..................... 99.8 101.4 101.6 -.2 .6 .2 3.1 1.4 1.8

Excluding incentive paid occupations1 ....... 100.9 103.0 104.3 .9 .5 1.3 – 3.0 3.4

Professional and business services ....................... 101.0 103.5 104.8 1.0 .5 1.3 1.5 3.5 3.8

Professional, scientific, and technical services ... 101.3 104.3 105.9 1.3 .6 1.5 1.3 4.3 4.5

Administrative and support and waste

management and remediation services ............ 100.5 102.7 103.7 .5 .7 1.0 1.1 2.7 3.2

Education and health services ................................ 100.7 104.0 104.8 .7 1.0 .8 2.9 4.0 4.1

Education services ............................................. 100.7 104.1 104.2 .7 1.0 .1 3.4 4.1 3.5

Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and

professional schools ..................................... 100.9 104.4 104.1 .9 1.0 -.3 3.7 4.4 3.2

Health care and social assistance4 .................... 100.7 103.9 104.9 .7 .9 1.0 2.9 3.9 4.2

Hospitals ......................................................... 100.9 103.7 104.6 .9 .8 .9 3.6 3.7 3.7

Nursing and residential care facilities ............. 100.7 103.4 104.2 .7 1.2 .8 3.1 3.4 3.5

Nursing care facilities1 ................................ 100.7 103.1 104.2 .7 1.0 1.1 – 3.1 3.5

Leisure and hospitality ............................................ 100.6 103.7 105.7 .6 1.4 1.9 2.3 3.7 5.1

Accommodation and food services ..................... 100.5 103.8 106.0 .5 1.6 2.1 2.7 3.8 5.5

Other services, except public administration .......... 101.3 103.8 105.7 1.3 .4 1.8 3.6 3.8 4.3

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

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

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

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

services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

support and waste management and remediation services; education

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

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

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

shown separately.

NOTE: Dashes indicate data not available.
 17

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

census region and division, and metropolitan area status

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Bargaining status, census region and division, and

metropolitan area status

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 100.3 102.3 102.8 0.3 0.6 0.5 2.5 2.3 2.5

Goods-producing industries1 .............................. 100.5 102.3 102.7 .5 .4 .4 3.1 2.3 2.2

Manufacturing ................................................. 100.6 101.7 102.0 .6 .3 .3 3.1 1.7 1.4

Service-providing industries2 .............................. 100.1 102.2 102.9 .1 .6 .7 1.9 2.2 2.8

Nonunion ................................................................ 100.8 103.3 104.5 .8 .6 1.2 2.5 3.3 3.7

Goods-producing industries1 .............................. 100.7 103.0 104.2 .7 .6 1.2 2.8 3.0 3.5

Manufacturing ................................................. 100.7 102.5 103.6 .7 .5 1.1 2.3 2.5 2.9

Service-providing industries2 .............................. 100.8 103.4 104.6 .8 .7 1.2 2.4 3.4 3.8

Census region and division3

Northeast ................................................................ 100.8 103.1 104.0 .8 .6 .9 3.1 3.1 3.2

New England ...................................................... 100.7 103.1 103.6 .7 .8 .5 – 3.1 2.9

Middle Atlantic .................................................... 100.8 103.1 104.2 .8 .6 1.1 – 3.1 3.4

South ...................................................................... 101.0 103.6 104.6 1.0 .7 1.0 2.1 3.6 3.6

South Atlantic ..................................................... 101.3 103.9 105.0 1.3 .7 1.1 – 3.9 3.7

East South Central ............................................. 100.7 103.1 104.2 .7 1.0 1.1 – 3.1 3.5

West South Central ............................................ 100.6 103.4 104.1 .6 .7 .7 – 3.4 3.5

Midwest .................................................................. 100.4 102.6 103.6 .4 .6 1.0 2.7 2.6 3.2

East North Central .............................................. 100.3 102.5 103.6 .3 .6 1.1 – 2.5 3.3

West North Central ............................................. 100.6 102.7 103.8 .6 .3 1.1 – 2.7 3.2

West ....................................................................... 100.7 103.2 104.8 .7 .5 1.6 2.3 3.2 4.1

Mountain ............................................................. 100.6 103.2 105.3 .6 .4 2.0 – 3.2 4.7

Pacific ................................................................. 100.8 103.3 104.6 .8 .6 1.3 – 3.3 3.8

Metropolitan area status

Metropolitan areas .................................................. 100.7 103.1 104.3 .7 .6 1.2 – 3.1 3.6

Nonmetropolitan areas ........................................... 100.9 103.5 104.4 .9 .9 .9 – 3.5 3.5

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

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

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

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

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

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

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

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

note" for further information.) Dashes indicate data not available.
 18

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

occupational group and industry

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group and industry

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 100.3 103.5 104.1 0.3 0.7 0.6 2.8 3.5 3.8

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 100.2 103.5 104.0 .2 .6 .5 2.8 3.5 3.8

Professional and related ..................................... 100.2 103.6 103.9 .2 .6 .3 2.9 3.6 3.7

Sales and office ...................................................... 100.6 103.2 104.5 .6 .6 1.3 2.5 3.2 3.9

Office and administrative support ....................... 100.7 103.4 104.7 .7 .7 1.3 2.8 3.4 4.0

Service occupations ............................................... 100.3 103.9 104.5 .3 1.5 .6 3.1 3.9 4.2

Industry

Education and health services ................................ 100.2 103.6 104.0 .2 .5 .4 2.9 3.6 3.8

Education services ............................................. 100.1 103.4 103.7 .1 .4 .3 2.9 3.4 3.6

Schools1 ......................................................... 100.1 103.4 103.6 .1 .4 .2 2.9 3.4 3.5

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 100.0 103.4 103.6 .0 .4 .2 3.0 3.4 3.6

Health care and social assistance2 .................... 101.0 105.5 106.6 1.0 .7 1.0 3.0 5.5 5.5

Hospitals ......................................................... 100.9 104.4 105.7 .9 1.3 1.2 2.6 4.4 4.8

Public administration .............................................. 100.5 103.5 104.5 .5 1.5 1.0 2.7 3.5 4.0

1 Includes elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges;

colleges, universities, and professional schools.

2 Includes ambulatory health care services and social assistance, not

shown separately.
 19

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

(Not seasonally adjusted)

Occupational group, industry, and bargaining status

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

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

3-months ended– 12-months ended–

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Mar.

2006

Dec.

2006

Mar.

2007

Civilian workers

All workers1 ................................................................ 100.9 103.6 104.0 0.9 0.8 0.4 3.4 3.6 3.1

Private industry workers

All workers .................................................................. 101.0 103.1 103.2 1.0 .6 .1 3.0 3.1 2.2

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ................. 101.3 103.4 103.8 1.3 .6 .4 3.2 3.4 2.5

Sales and office ...................................................... 100.8 102.9 103.4 .8 .9 .5 3.3 2.9 2.6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 101.1 104.0 103.4 1.1 .5 -.6 3.2 4.0 2.3

Production, transportation, and material moving .... 100.1 102.0 101.2 .1 .4 -.8 1.4 2.0 1.1

Service occupations ............................................... 101.5 103.6 104.2 1.5 .6 .6 3.3 3.6 2.7

Industry

Goods-producing industries2 .................................. 99.6 101.7 100.9 -.4 .4 -.8 1.3 1.7 1.3

Manufacturing ..................................................... 99.0 100.8 99.6 -1.0 .3 -1.2 .7 .8 .6

Aircraft manufacturing .................................... 79.1 83.2 72.6 -20.9 -1.3 -12.7 -18.5 -16.8 -8.2

Service-providing industries3 .................................. 101.5 103.7 104.1 1.5 .7 .4 3.5 3.7 2.6

Bargaining status

Union ...................................................................... 100.8 104.2 102.4 .8 .8 -1.7 2.9 4.2 1.6

Nonunion ................................................................ 101.0 102.9 103.4 1.0 .6 .5 2.9 2.9 2.4

State and local government workers

All workers .................................................................. 100.7 105.2 107.0 .7 1.1 1.7 5.4 5.2 6.3

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in

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

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

transportation and warehousing; utilities; information; finance and

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

technical services; management of companies and enterprises;

administrative and support and waste management and remediation

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

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration.
 20

TECHNICAL NOTE

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

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

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

provide the changes for the two components of compensation. 

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

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

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

holidays, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses 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 attendance 

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

benefits—defined benefit and defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits—Social Security, 

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

The collection of severance pay and supplemental unemployment insurance benefits was discontinued and 

new industry and occupational definitions were introduced with the release of the March 2006 estimates. For 

more information on the impact of changes on the definition of compensation measures used in the ECI, the 

comparability of old with new series, and an assessment of the statistical reliability of specific ECI series, see 

the article, “Employment Cost Index publication plans” in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. 

Additional series on “excluding incentive paid occupations” were introduced with the release of the 

March 2006 estimates. These series allow users to better understand underlying trends in compensation by 

removing quarter-to-quarter variability that is related to the way workers are paid. For more information, see 

the article, “The Role of Incentive Pay in the Volatility of the Employment Cost Index” in the Summer 2001 

issue of Compensation and Working Conditions. 

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

excluding private households, and the public sector excluding the federal government. The private industry 

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

Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2002 North American Industry 

Classification system (NAICS), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Within a sample 

establishment, specific job categories are selected and classified into about 800 occupational classifications 

according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are 

combined to represent one of ten intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or one 

of five higher-level aggregations such as management, professional, and related occupations. For more detailed 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. citizens working overseas. 

Data for the March 2007 quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 58,700 

occupational observations within about 12,400 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. 
 21

When respondents do not provide all the data needed, a procedure for assigning missing values is applied 

in the ECI. An article in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review, “Accounting for missing data in the 

Employment Cost Index” describes the methodological changes in the imputation procedure that were 

implemented with the publication of the March 2006 index. 

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

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

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

Occupational Employment Statistics survey were introduced. From March 1995 to December 2005, 1990 

employment counts were used. For more information on these topics, see the article, “Introducing 2002 weights 

in the Employment Cost Index” in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

rounding. More information on rebasing is included in the article, “Changes affecting the Employment Cost 

Index” in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. 

The ECI sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation’s 

326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in 1994 and the 

remaining portions of the 50 states. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or 

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

geographic designations that do not fit the metropolitan area definition. 

Seasonally adjusted data for selected ECI series began with the December 1990 ECI release. Seasonal 

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

make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. Several new seasonally adjusted indexes and 3-month percent 

changes of occupational series have been added this quarter, with historical data available beginning with March 

2002. In addition, seasonally adjusted data for the series discontinued with this release will no longer be 

available, except for the historical data ending with December 2006. An explanation of how the ECI applies the 

standard BLS practice in developing seasonally adjusted series, the changes made to accommodate the 

conversion to NAICS and SOC, and improvements in the seasonal adjustment methodology introduced in 

March 2006 is available in an article, “Seasonal adjustment in the Employment Cost Index” in the April 2006 

issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once per year. The March 

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

five years are then revised based on the newly estimated factors. The seasonal factors for 2007 and revised 

seasonally adjusted indexes for the past 5 years are available on the BLS Web site at 

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

The ECI private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years, which makes the sample more 

representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. The sample is replaced on a cross-area, crossindustry 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 
 22

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

the web site: http://www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm. 

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

“National Compensation Measures,” (http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf) from the BLS Handbook 

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

Conditions. The articles and other descriptive pieces are available on the BLS Web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm, by calling (202) 691-6199, or sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov. 

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

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

from the first publication of each series to December 2005. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification 

(SOC) beginning in March 2001, using December 2005 = 100 as the base period. These historical data series 

from the ECI are available upon request or froms: http://www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf, 

http://www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistry.txt, and 

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistrynaics.txt. 

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

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

ECI. The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period. The CPIU U.S. City Average All Items is used to compute all series except for the regional estimates, which use 

corresponding CPI regional data. Historical data, using industry categories based on the SIC and classifying 

occupations according to the Census of Population, are available dating from the first publication of each series 

to December 2005. Data are also available for series based on the 2002 NAICS and the 2000 SOC beginning in 

March 2001, and using the December 2005 = 100 base period. These data are available at the BLS Web sites: 

http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf, http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconstnaics.pdf,

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconst.txt, and ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.ecconstnaics.txt, or upon request. 

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. 

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

separate news release titled "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation." The release is available by e-mail 

request at NCSinfo@bls.gov, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, or by telephone at (202) 

691-6199. Also available are historical data in a summary document from March 1986 through March 2002 on 

the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. Data on a quarterly basis beginning 

with June 2002 also are available. The cost levels are calculated with current employment weights rather than 

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

from those in the ECI.