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 Internet address:                           UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EDT),
      http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm    FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2005


                      EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-JUNE 2005

     Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7 percent
 from March to June 2005, seasonally adjusted, the same increase as
 occurred between December 2004 and March 2005, the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Benefit costs
 between March and June rose 0.8 percent, compared with the gain for wages
 and salaries of 0.6 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).

     Increases in benefit costs accounted for over 35 percent of the rise
 in compensation costs for civilian workers from March to June 2005.  Among
 private industry workers, benefit costs contributed nearly 35 percent of
 compensation gains during the quarter; compared with nearly 60 percent
 from December 2004 to March 2005.  Health insurance costs constituted
 about 10 percent of the compensation gains during the quarter.  Among
 State and local government workers, benefit costs comprised nearly one-
 half of compensation cost gains during the March to June period, virtually
 unchanged from the December to March quarter.  Health insurance costs
 represented nearly one-third of the gain in compensation costs from March
 to June 2005.

 Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

     Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.6 percent from March
 to June 2005, identical to the gain in the prior quarter.  For State and
 local government workers, compensation costs rose 0.7 percent in June,
 compared with a gain of 1.0 percent for the quarter ended in March.  (See
 tables A and 1.)

     Benefit costs advanced 0.8 percent for civilian workers in the June
 2005 quarter, moderating from the gain of 1.2 percent in the March
 quarter.  Private sector benefit costs rose 0.8 percent for the June
 quarter, following the 1.1 percent gain in the previous quarter.  Benefit
 costs for State and local government workers increased 1.2 percent in the
 June quarter, compared with a 1.5 percent gain in the prior quarter.


     NOTE: The Employment Cost Index 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, as well as the initiation of new employment weights and
seasonal adjustment factors.  See page 4 for details.


     Wages and salaries for civilian and private industry workers increased
 0.6 percent during the June 2005 quarter, the same as in the first quarter
 of the year.  Wages and salaries in State and local government advanced
 0.5 percent during the March to June 2005 period, following an increase of
 0.8 percent in the previous quarter.

 Table A.  3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, seasonally
 adjusted
                          Sep.  Dec.  Mar.  June  Sep.  Dec.   Mar.  June
 Compensation Component   2003  2003  2004  2004  2004  2004   2005  2005
 Civilian workers
 Compensation costs       1.0    0.8   1.1   0.9   0.9   0.8    0.7   0.7
   Wages and salaries     0.7    0.5   0.6   0.6   0.7   0.5    0.6   0.6
   Benefit costs          1.7    1.5   2.2   1.6   1.4   1.6    1.2   0.8
         Private industry
 Compensation costs       1.1    0.8   1.1   0.9   1.0   0.8    0.6   0.6
   Wages and salaries     0.8    0.6   0.6   0.6   0.7   0.4    0.6   0.6
   Benefit costs          1.7    1.5   2.2   1.7   1.3   1.6    1.1   0.8
         State and local government
 Compensation costs       0.8    0.7   0.9   0.9   0.8   0.9    1.0   0.7
   Wages and salaries     0.3    0.5   0.6   0.5   0.4   0.6    0.8   0.5
   Benefit costs          1.9    1.3   1.6   1.8   1.6   1.5    1.5   1.2

 Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

     Annual compensation cost increases slowed for civilian and private
 industry workers for the year ended June 2005 compared with over-the-year
 increases for June 2004.  Compensation costs for civilian and private
 industry workers each increased 3.2 percent for the year ended June 2005,
 compared with a 3.9 percent and 4.0 percent gain, respectively, for June
 2004.  Compensation costs increased 3.6 percent for State and local
 governments for the year ended June 2005, compared with an over-the-year
 gain of 3.4 percent in June 2004.  (See tables B, 2, and 3.)

     The components of compensation showed differences in the rate of
 change.  While increases in wages and salaries continued at a moderate
 pace, the sharp increases in benefit costs began to moderate.  For
 civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 2.4 percent in the year ended
 June 2005, nearly identical with a gain of 2.5 percent in June 2004.
 Benefit costs gained 5.1 percent for civilian workers for the period ended
 June 2005, slowing dramatically from an increase of 7.2 percent for the
 year ended June 2004.  (See tables B, 5, 6, and 8.)

 Table B.  12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, not
 seasonally adjusted
                         June  June  June  June  June  June
 Compensation Component  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005
 Civilian workers
 Compensation costs      4.4    3.9   4.0   3.7   3.9   3.2
   Wages and salaries    4.0    3.7   3.5   2.7   2.5   2.4
   Benefit costs         5.3    4.5   5.0   6.3   7.2   5.1
         Private industry
 Compensation costs      4.6    4.0   4.0   3.5   4.0   3.2
   Wages and salaries    4.1    3.8   3.6   2.6   2.6   2.4
   Benefit costs         5.7    4.8   5.1   6.1   7.3   4.9
         State and local government
 Compensation costs      3.5    3.6   3.6   4.1   3.4   3.6
   Wages and salaries    3.7    3.7   3.2   3.1   1.9   2.4
   Benefit costs         3.1    3.4   4.6   6.8   6.6   6.0

     Nonfarm private industry

     For the year ended June 2005, compensation costs in private industry
 increased 3.9 percent for goods-producing industries, compared with an
 advance of 4.4 percent for the year ended June 2004.  Compensation costs
 for manufacturing advanced 3.7 percent in June 2005, compared with the 4.7
 percent gain in June 2004.
 Compensation costs for construction rose 3.1 percent in June 2005, nearly
 identical to the 3.0 percent rise in June 2004.  (See table 3.)

     The over-the-year increase in compensation for service-producing
 industries was 2.8 percent, declining from the 3.8 percent gain for the
 year ended June 2004.  Among service-producing industries, compensation
 costs rose modestly for wholesale trade and transportation and public
 utilities, increasing 1.9 percent in June 2005.  (See table 3.)

     Over-the-year compensation cost increases were 3.4 percent for white-
 collar occupations, 2.9 percent for blue-collar occupations, and 2.2
 percent for service occupations for the year ended June 2005.  Among white-
 collar occupational groups, compensation cost changes ranged from 1.9
 percent for sales workers to 3.9 percent for professional specialty and
 technical employees.  Among blue-collar occupational groups, compensation
 cost increases ranged from 1.9 percent for machine operators, assemblers,
 and inspectors to 3.4 percent for precision production, craft, and repair
 occupations.  (See table 3.)

     Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.9 percent over the
 year ended June 2005, falling sharply from the 6.0 percent gain for the
 year ended June 2004.  For nonunion workers compensation costs rose 3.2
 percent for the year ended June 2005, compared with the gain of 3.5
 percent for June 2004.  Benefit costs for union workers rose 4.1 percent
 for the year ended June 2005, decelerating sharply compared with the gain
 of 11.3 percent in June 2004.  Benefit costs for nonunion workers advanced
 5.1 percent over the year ended June 2005, compared with an increase of
 6.3 percent in June 2004.  Wages and salaries for union workers rose 2.1
 percent for the 12 months ended in June 2005, compared with an over-the-
 year increase of 2.4 percent for nonunion workers.  (See tables C, 4, 7,
 and 8.)

     Among blue-collar workers, compensation costs advanced 3.2 percent for
 union workers, compared with the gain of 2.8 percent for nonunion workers
 for the 12 months ended in June 2005.  In manufacturing industries,
 compensation cost gains for union workers slowed sharply, rising 2.7
 percent for year ended June 2005, significantly less than the 8.1 percent
 increase for the year-ended June 2004.  For nonunion workers in
 manufacturing, compensation costs rose 4.1 percent for the year ended June
 2005, compared with an over-the year gain of 3.7 percent in June 2004.
 (See table 4.)

 Table C.  12-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, private
 industry workers,
 not seasonally adjusted
                         June  June   June  June  June   June
 Compensation Component  2000  2001   2002  2003  2004   2005
         Union workers
 Compensation costs      3.9    3.5    4.5   5.0   6.0    2.9
   Wages and salaries    2.8    3.8    4.2   3.0   2.9    2.1
   Benefit costs         5.9    3.0    5.0   8.7  11.3    4.1
      Nonunion workers
 Compensation costs      4.6    4.2    3.9   3.3   3.5    3.2
   Wages and salaries    4.3    3.7    3.5   2.5   2.5    2.4
   Benefit costs         5.7    5.3    5.1   5.5   6.3    5.1

     Among the four geographic regions, increases in compensation costs
 ranged from 2.7 percent in the Midwest to 3.7 percent in the West for the
 year ended June 2005.  Compensation costs rose 3.1 percent in the
 Northeast and 3.3 percent in the South.  In the Northeast, gains in wages
 and salaries slowed to 2.3 percent for the year ended June 2005,
 significantly less than the 3.3 percent gain for the year ended June 2004.
 Among the remaining regions, wages and salaries rose 2.1 percent in the
 Midwest, 2.4 percent in the West, and 2.7 percent in the South for the
 year ended June 2005.  (See tables 4 and 7.)

     State and local government

     Wages and salaries for State and local government workers rose 2.4
 percent in the year ended June 2005, greater than the gain of 1.9 percent
 for June 2004.  Benefit costs rose 6.0 percent for the year ended June
 2005, slower than the gain of 6.6 percent for the year ended June 2004.
 (See tables B, 5, and 8.)

     For the year ended June 2005, compensation costs increased 3.3 percent
 for educational services, compared with a 2.6 percent increase for the
 year ended June 2004.  Within educational services, compensation increases
 were 3.5 percent for elementary and secondary schools and 2.7 percent for
 colleges and universities.  Among occupational groups, compensation costs
 of service workers rose 4.4 percent for the year ended June 2005, compared
 with gains of 3.3 percent for white-collar workers and 3.8 percent for
 blue-collar workers.  (See table 2.)

 __________________________________________________________________________

                                   NOTE:

     The ECI for September 2005 is scheduled to be released Friday, October
 28, 2005, 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
 comparability criteria, 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.
 At the same time, an improved process for imputing costs for missing
 values will be introduced.

     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.

 __________________________________________________________________________



Table 1.  Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1), wages and salaries, and benefit costs by industry and
occupational group

(Seasonally adjusted data)


                                       Indexes (June                Percent changes for 3-months ended-
                                         1989=100)
   Industry and occupational group

                                        Mar.    Jun.    Sep.    Dec.    Mar.    Jun.    Sep.    Dec.    Mar.    Jun.
                                        2005    2005    2003    2003    2004    2004    2004    2004    2005    2005



         TOTAL COMPENSATION

Civilian workers.....................  176.7   177.9     1.0     0.8     1.1     0.9     0.9     0.8     0.7     0.7
 State and local government..........  174.3   175.6      .8      .7      .9      .9      .8      .9     1.0      .7
 Private industry....................  177.3   178.4     1.1      .8     1.1      .9     1.0      .8      .6      .6

              Industry

   Goods producing(2)................  177.1   178.9     1.1      .7     1.7     1.0     1.3     1.0      .5     1.0
     Construction....................  169.3   170.8      .8      .8      .8      .5      .7      .4     1.1      .9
     Manufacturing...................  177.3   179.1      .9     1.1     1.6     1.1     1.2     1.0      .4     1.0
       Durables......................  178.6   180.7     1.0     1.1     1.7     1.2     1.3     1.1      .4     1.2
       Nondurables...................  175.2   176.4      .9     1.0     1.3      .9     1.1      .9      .3      .7

   Service producing(3)..............  177.3   178.2     1.1      .9      .8      .9      .8      .7      .6      .5
     Transportation and public
      utilities......................  174.7   175.2      .8      .9     1.4     1.1      .8      .6      .2      .3
     Wholesale trade.................  179.3   178.5      .8      .6      .6      .6     1.4      .1     1.0     -.4
     Retail trade....................  166.1   167.1     1.6     1.1      .4      .9      .3      .7      .6      .6
     Finance, insurance, and real
      estate(4)......................  188.9   190.9     1.1      .4      .9      .6      .7      .6     1.6     1.1
     Services........................  179.6   180.6     1.1      .9      .9     1.0      .9     1.0      .7      .6

   Nonmanufacturing..................  176.4   177.4     1.0      .9      .8      .9      .8      .8      .7      .6

         Occupational group

   White collar......................  180.3   181.4     1.1      .9      .9      .8      .9      .9      .9      .6
   Blue collar.......................  172.0   173.3     1.0     1.0     1.5     1.0     1.0      .9      .2      .8
   Service...........................  170.8   171.9      .9      .9      .9      .9      .5      .7      .2      .6



         WAGES AND SALARIES

Civilian workers.....................  167.2   168.2      .7      .5      .6      .6      .7      .5      .6      .6
 State and local government..........  166.4   167.3      .3      .5      .6      .5      .4      .6      .8      .5
 Private industry....................  167.4   168.4      .8      .6      .6      .6      .7      .4      .6      .6

              Industry

   Goods producing(2)(4).............  163.6   164.8      .6      .3      .8      .6      .9      .1      .7      .7
     Construction....................  157.8   159.1      .7      .6      .6      .4      .6      .3      .3      .8
     Manufacturing(4)................  165.3   166.4     0.4     0.3     0.7     0.7     0.9     0.1     0.8     0.7
       Durables(4)...................  165.9   167.1      .6      .2      .6      .6     1.0      .1      .7      .7
       Nondurables...................  164.3   165.1      .4      .6      .7      .7      .8      .4      .6      .5

   Service producing(3)..............  169.1   169.9      .9      .7      .5      .5      .7      .6      .5      .5
     Transportation and public
      utilities(4)...................  159.8   161.1      .3      .3      .7     1.0      .8      .1     -.4      .8
     Wholesale trade.................  169.6   168.5      .6      .7      .2      .4     1.6     -.8      .8     -.6
     Retail trade....................  160.4   161.3     1.6      .4      .4      .6      .1      .6      .6      .6
     Finance, insurance, and real
      estate(4)......................  179.2   181.2     1.0      .2      .4      .1      .7      .7      .8     1.1
     Services........................  173.4   174.3      .9      .8      .7      .8      .8      .8      .7      .5

   Nonmanufacturing..................  167.8   168.6      .9      .7      .6      .5      .7      .6      .5      .5
WAGES AND SALARIES-Continued

         Occupational group

   White collar......................  171.3   172.2     0.9     0.7     0.5     0.6     0.8     0.6     0.5     0.5
   Blue collar(4)....................  160.8   162.1      .6      .3      .7      .7      .8      .3      .6      .8
   Service(4)........................  161.4   162.3      .6      .4      .4      .6      .3      .5      .5      .6



            BENEFIT COSTS

Civilian workers.....................  200.3   202.0     1.7     1.5     2.2     1.6     1.4     1.6     1.2      .8
 State and local government..........  193.0   195.4     1.9     1.3     1.6     1.8     1.6     1.5     1.5     1.2
 Private industry....................  202.0   203.6     1.7     1.5     2.2     1.7     1.3     1.6     1.1      .8

              Industry

   Goods producing(2)................  205.3   208.2     2.0     1.5     3.4     1.5     2.0     2.3      .9     1.4
     Manufacturing...................  204.4   207.4     2.1     1.8     3.9     1.8     2.1     1.9      .4     1.5

   Service producing(3)..............  200.1   200.9     1.5     1.5     1.5     1.7      .9     1.2     1.2      .4

   Nonmanufacturing..................  201.1   202.3     1.5     1.4     1.5     1.7     1.0     1.5     1.2      .6

         Occupational group

   White collar......................  205.9   207.7     1.6     1.4     1.6     1.5     1.4     1.6     1.7      .9
   Blue collar.......................  196.7   198.3     1.9     1.6     3.1     1.9     1.6     1.6     -.1      .8
   Service...........................  199.5   201.2     1.5     2.0     2.2     1.7     1.2     1.2     -.3      .9

  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.



Table 2.  Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for civilian and State and local government workers
by industry and occupational group

(Not seasonally adjusted data)


                                      Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


   Industry and occupational group                                3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                        Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                        2004    2005    2005
                                                                Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                                2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005


Civilian workers.....................  172.2   176.6   177.7     0.9     1.1     0.6     3.9     3.5     3.2
    Excluding sales occupations......  172.3   176.9   178.0      .9     1.1      .6     3.9     3.6     3.3

              Industry

  Goods producing(2).................  171.9   177.0   178.5      .9     1.5      .8     4.4     3.9     3.8
    Manufacturing....................  173.2   178.2   179.6      .9     1.6      .8     4.7     3.8     3.7
  Service producing(3)...............  172.3   176.5   177.4      .9     1.0      .5     3.7     3.3     3.0
    Services.........................  172.3   177.0   177.8      .6      .9      .5     3.6     3.4     3.2
      Health services................  174.4   179.9   181.1      .8     1.2      .7     4.1     4.0     3.8
        Hospitals....................  178.2   184.3   185.5      .8     1.4      .7     4.3     4.2     4.1
      Educational services...........  168.9   173.9   174.5      .2      .6      .3     2.9     3.2     3.3
    Public administration(4).........  171.4   177.6   178.3      .8     1.3      .4     4.3     4.4     4.0

  Nonmanufacturing...................  171.8   176.1   177.1      .8     1.0      .6     3.6     3.3     3.1

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  174.0   178.8   179.9      .8     1.2      .6     3.6     3.5     3.4
      Excluding sales................  174.4   179.6   180.6      .8     1.2      .6     3.6     3.8     3.6
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  171.2   176.8   177.6      .6     1.2      .5     3.8     3.9     3.7
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  177.1   182.0   183.1      .7     1.4      .6     3.0     3.5     3.4
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  177.2   182.0   183.3     1.1     1.1      .7     4.2     3.8     3.4
  Blue collar........................  168.8   172.4   173.8     1.1      .9      .8     4.6     3.3     3.0
  Service............................  170.9   174.9   175.9      .7      .7      .6     3.6     3.1     2.9


State and local government...........  168.7   174.1   174.7      .4      .9      .3     3.4     3.6     3.6

              Industry

    Services.........................  166.8   171.8   172.4      .2      .6      .3     2.8     3.2     3.4
        Excluding schools............  170.1   175.6   176.4      .4     1.0      .5     3.6     3.7     3.7
      Health services................  172.9   178.9   179.6      .4     1.2      .4     3.7     3.9     3.9
        Hospitals....................  173.2   179.1   179.8      .5     1.0      .4     3.5     3.9     3.8
      Educational services...........  165.9   170.9   171.4      .1      .6      .3     2.6     3.1     3.3
        Schools......................  166.3   171.2   171.7      .2      .5      .3     2.7     3.1     3.2
          Elementary and secondary...  164.6   169.8   170.3      .1      .4      .3     2.9     3.3     3.5
          Colleges and
           universities..............  171.0   175.1   175.6     0.2     1.1     0.3     2.1     2.6     2.7
    Public administration(4).........  171.4   177.6   178.3      .8     1.3      .4     4.3     4.4     4.0

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  167.5   172.6   173.1      .4      .8      .3     3.3     3.5     3.3
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  165.6   170.4   171.1      .3      .6      .4     3.0     3.2     3.3
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  171.0   176.7   176.5      .5     1.4     -.1     3.2     3.9     3.2
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  171.8   177.2   177.7      .8     1.0      .3     4.5     4.0     3.4
  Blue collar........................  167.5   172.6   173.8      .5      .9      .7     3.6     3.5     3.8
  Service............................  175.3   182.0   183.0      .5      .8      .5     3.8     4.3     4.4

  1 Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits.
  2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance,
insurance, and real estate; service industries; and public administration.
  4 Includes executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities of State and local
governments, SICs 91 through 96.



Table 3.  Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for private industry workers, by industry and
occupational group

(Not seasonally adjusted data)


                                      Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


   Industry and occupational group                                3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                        Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                        2004    2005    2005
                                                                Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                                2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005


Private industry workers.............  173.0   177.2   178.5     0.9     1.1     0.7     4.0     3.4     3.2
    Excluding sales occupations......  173.2   177.7   178.9      .9     1.2      .7     4.0     3.6     3.3

              Industry

  Goods producing(2).................  171.8   176.9   178.5      .9     1.5      .9     4.4     3.9     3.9
      Excluding sales................  171.2   176.3   177.9      .8     1.5      .9     4.5     3.8     3.9
    White collar.....................  174.7   182.2   184.2      .7     2.5     1.1     3.3     5.0     5.4
      Excluding sales................  173.3   180.9   183.0      .6     2.6     1.2     3.5     5.1     5.6
    Blue collar......................  169.8   173.4   174.7     1.0      .8      .7     5.1     3.2     2.9

    Construction.....................  165.9   169.1   171.0      .8     1.1     1.1     3.0     2.7     3.1

    Manufacturing....................  173.2   178.2   179.6      .9     1.6      .8     4.7     3.8     3.7
      White collar...................  174.6   181.4   183.4      .8     2.7     1.1     3.5     4.7     5.0
        Excluding sales..............  172.6   179.4   181.5      .8     2.7     1.2     3.7     4.7     5.2
      Blue collar....................  172.0   175.8   176.7      .9      .9      .5     5.7     3.2     2.7
      Durables.......................  174.0   179.5   181.2      .9     1.8      .9     5.1     4.1     4.1
        Aircraft manufacturing (SIC
         3721).......................  200.9   234.1   234.5     1.0    15.9      .2     9.4    17.7    16.7
          White collar...............  194.9   227.8   228.4      .5    16.6      .3     9.9    17.5    17.2
          Blue collar................  208.3   242.5   242.6     1.9    14.5      .0     8.3    18.6    16.5
      Nondurables....................  171.7   175.8   176.8      .8     1.3      .6     4.1     3.2     3.0


  Service producing(3)...............  173.3   177.1   178.1     1.0     1.0      .6     3.8     3.2     2.8
      Excluding sales................  174.2   178.4   179.4     1.0     1.1      .6     3.7     3.4     3.0
    White collar.....................  175.7   179.7   180.7      .9     1.1      .6     3.8     3.2     2.8
      Excluding sales................  177.8   182.4   183.2      .9     1.1      .4     3.8     3.5     3.0
    Blue collar......................  166.4   169.9   171.5     1.4     1.1      .9     3.5     3.5     3.1
    Service..........................  167.4   170.1   171.1      .8      .7      .6     3.3     2.4     2.2

    Transportation and public
     utilities.......................  172.5   174.5   175.8     1.6      .6      .7     4.3     2.8     1.9
      Transportation.................  164.7   165.5   166.1     1.7     -.4      .4     3.7     2.2      .9
      Public utilities...............  183.1   186.9   189.2     1.5     1.9     1.2     5.1     3.6     3.3
        Communications...............  183.6   186.0   188.4      .8     1.4     1.3     4.6     2.1     2.6
        Electric, gas, and sanitary
         services....................  182.4   188.0   190.2     2.4     2.6     1.2     5.7     5.5     4.3

    Wholesale and retail trade.......  168.1   170.9   171.7     1.1     1.1      .5     3.4     2.8     2.1
        Excluding sales..............  168.6   172.3   173.1      .7     1.1      .5     3.6     2.9     2.7
      Wholesale trade................  175.9   179.1   179.3     1.2     1.4     0.1     2.7     3.0     1.9
        Excluding sales..............  174.0   179.2   179.5      .2     1.6      .2     2.4     3.2     3.2
      Retail trade...................  163.7   166.2   167.3     1.0      .9      .7     4.0     2.5     2.2
        General merchandise stores...  166.2   172.3   172.1      .2     1.7     -.1     4.4     3.9     3.5
        Food stores..................  163.5   165.0   165.9      .9      .6      .5     3.1     1.8     1.5

    Finance, insurance, and real
     estate..........................  183.6   188.9   190.9      .6     1.6     1.1     3.0     3.5     4.0
        Excluding sales..............  188.7   194.3   196.1     1.1     1.6      .9     2.6     4.1     3.9
      Banking, savings and loan, and
       other credit agencies.........  208.9   213.7   217.3      .8      .7     1.7     1.3     3.1     4.0
      Insurance......................  180.5   186.3   188.8     1.5     1.5     1.3     3.8     4.8     4.6
        Excluding sales..............  178.1   183.0   185.0     1.5     1.5     1.1     3.7     4.3     3.9

    Services.........................  175.1   179.7   180.6      .9     1.0      .5     4.0     3.6     3.1
      Business services..............  176.9   180.1   181.0     1.2      .6      .5     4.6     3.0     2.3
      Health services................  174.8   180.3   181.5      .9     1.3      .7     4.1     4.0     3.8
        Hospitals....................  179.7   185.8   187.3      .9     1.4      .8     4.5     4.3     4.2
        Nursing homes................    -       -       -        .7      .6      .9     3.3     2.4     2.6
      Educational services...........  184.2   190.0   190.9      .6      .8      .5     4.0     3.8     3.6
        Colleges and universities....  182.5   187.6   188.6      .7      .8      .5     4.0     3.5     3.3
Industry-Continued

  Nonmanufacturing industries........  172.5   176.5   177.6     0.9     1.0     0.6     3.7     3.3     3.0
    White collar.....................  175.7   180.0   181.0      .9     1.1      .6     3.8     3.4     3.0
      Excluding sales................  177.7   182.7   183.6      .9     1.2      .5     3.7     3.7     3.3
    Blue collar......................  165.5   168.8   170.6     1.3      .9     1.1     3.6     3.3     3.1
    Service..........................  167.3   170.1   171.0      .8      .7      .5     3.3     2.5     2.2

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  175.7   180.4   181.6      .9     1.3      .7     3.7     3.6     3.4
      Excluding sales................  176.7   182.0   183.2      .8     1.4      .7     3.7     3.8     3.7
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  174.7   180.8   181.6      .7     1.5      .4     4.2     4.3     3.9
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  178.1   183.0   184.2      .7     1.6      .7     2.9     3.5     3.4
    Sales............................  171.2   173.1   174.4     1.2     1.0      .8     3.7     2.3     1.9
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  178.1   182.8   184.3     1.1     1.2      .8     4.2     3.8     3.5

  Blue collar........................  168.8   172.3   173.7     1.1      .9      .8     4.6     3.2     2.9
    Precision production, craft, and
     repair..........................  169.1   173.1   174.9     1.2     1.1     1.0     4.4     3.6     3.4
    Machine operators, assemblers,
     and inspectors..................  170.5   173.3   173.8     1.1      .5      .3     5.8     2.7     1.9
    Transportation and material
     moving..........................  160.6   163.7   165.7     1.3      .9     1.2     3.5     3.3     3.2
    Handlers, equipment cleaners,
     helpers,
     and laborers....................  173.2   176.9   177.9      .9      .9      .6     3.8     3.0     2.7

  Service............................  168.2   170.9   171.9      .8      .7      .6     3.4     2.4     2.2

  Production and nonsupervisory
   occupations(4)....................  171.0   174.6   175.8     1.0      .9      .7     4.2     3.1     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.



Table 4.  Employment Cost Index for total compensation(1) for private industry workers, by bargaining
status, region, and area

(Not seasonally adjusted data)


                                     Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


Bargaining status, region, and area                              3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                       Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                       2004    2005    2005
                                                               Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                               2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005



         Bargaining status

Union...............................  173.9   177.5   179.0     1.5     0.7     0.8     6.0     3.6     2.9
    Blue-collar occupations.........  171.2   174.9   176.6     1.3      .8     1.0     6.1     3.5     3.2

  Goods-producing industries(2).....  174.6   178.2   179.8     1.3      .8      .9     6.9     3.4     3.0
  Service-producing industries(3)...  172.9   176.6   177.9     1.6      .7      .7     5.0     3.8     2.9

  Manufacturing.....................  177.0   180.6   181.7     1.1     1.0      .6     8.1     3.2     2.7
    Blue-collar occupations.........  175.9   178.6   179.5     1.2      .4      .5     8.2     2.8     2.0
  Nonmanufacturing..................  171.6   175.2   176.9     1.7      .6     1.0     4.8     3.8     3.1

Nonunion............................  172.7   177.1   178.3      .8     1.3      .7     3.5     3.4     3.2
    Blue-collar occupations.........  167.4   170.8   172.1     1.0      .9      .8     3.8     3.1     2.8

  Goods-producing industries(2).....  170.9   176.5   178.0      .7     1.7      .8     3.6     4.0     4.2
  Service-producing industries(3)...  173.2   177.0   178.0      .9     1.1      .6     3.6     3.1     2.8

  Manufacturing.....................  172.0   177.5   179.0      .8     1.8      .8     3.7     4.0     4.1
    Blue-collar occupations.........  169.3   173.8   174.7      .7     1.1      .5     4.1     3.4     3.2
  Nonmanufacturing..................  172.6   176.6   177.7      .9     1.1      .6     3.5     3.2     3.0

             Region(4)

Northeast...........................  172.3   176.1   177.6     1.2     1.1      .9     4.3     3.5     3.1
South...............................  167.9   172.5   173.4      .9     1.1      .5     3.9     3.7     3.3
Midwest.............................  176.2   180.0   180.9      .9     1.2      .5     3.4     3.0     2.7
West................................  176.8   181.4   183.3      .9     1.3     1.0     4.3     3.5     3.7

                Area

Metropolitan........................  173.1   177.4   178.6      .9     1.2      .7     3.9     3.4     3.2
Other...............................  172.1   176.4   177.3     1.1     1.2      .5     4.3     3.6     3.0

  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.



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)


                                      Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


   Industry and occupational group                                3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                        Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                        2004    2005    2005
                                                                Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                                2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005


Civilian workers.....................  164.3   167.3   168.2     0.6     0.7     0.5     2.5     2.4     2.4
    Excluding sales occupations......  164.2   167.4   168.3      .6      .7      .5     2.4     2.5     2.5

              Industry

  Goods producing(1).................  161.0   163.6   164.9      .7      .7      .8     2.2     2.3     2.4
    Manufacturing....................  162.4   165.3   166.4      .7      .8      .7     2.1     2.5     2.5
  Service producing(2)...............  165.5   168.6   169.5      .5      .7      .5     2.5     2.4     2.4
    Services.........................  167.4   171.2   171.9      .5      .6      .4     2.8     2.8     2.7
      Health services................  168.6   173.2   174.3      .5      .9      .6     3.3     3.3     3.4
        Hospitals....................  169.9   174.7   175.7      .5      .9      .6     3.3     3.4     3.4
      Educational services...........  163.8   167.5   167.9      .1      .4      .2     1.9     2.4     2.5
    Public administration(3).........  161.4   165.0   165.6      .2      .9      .4     2.2     2.4     2.6

  Nonmanufacturing...................  164.6   167.6   168.5      .5      .7      .5     2.6     2.4     2.4

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  167.1   170.3   171.1      .6      .7      .5     2.6     2.5     2.4
      Excluding sales................  167.6   171.1   172.0      .5      .7      .5     2.5     2.6     2.6
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  164.4   168.1   168.7      .4      .7      .4     2.7     2.6     2.6
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  172.4   175.9   176.9      .6      .9      .6     2.0     2.6     2.6
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  167.5   170.9   172.0      .7      .7      .6     2.7     2.8     2.7
  Blue collar........................  158.4   161.0   162.2      .7      .6      .7     2.3     2.4     2.4
  Service............................  161.9   164.4   165.3      .4      .5      .5     2.0     2.0     2.1


State and local government...........  162.8   166.3   166.7      .2      .6      .2     1.9     2.3     2.4

              Industry

    Services.........................  162.7   166.2   166.6      .1      .4      .2     1.8     2.2     2.4
        Excluding schools............  165.6   169.4   170.1      .3      .7      .4     2.3     2.6     2.7
      Health services................  167.8   171.9   172.6      .2      .7      .4     2.6     2.7     2.9
        Hospitals....................  167.9   172.0   172.5      .3      .6      .3     2.5     2.7     2.7
      Educational services...........  162.1   165.5   165.8      .1      .4      .2     1.8     2.2     2.3
        Schools......................  162.3   165.6   166.0      .1      .4      .2     1.8     2.2     2.3
          Elementary and secondary...  161.5   164.8   165.1      .1      .2      .2     1.9     2.2     2.2
          Colleges and
           universities..............  164.4   167.9   168.2     0.1     1.0     0.2     1.4     2.2     2.3
    Public administration(3).........  161.4   165.0   165.6      .2      .9      .4     2.2     2.4     2.6

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  162.4   165.9   166.2      .2      .6      .2     2.0     2.3     2.3
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  162.3   165.7   166.2      .1      .4      .3     2.0     2.2     2.4
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  163.8   168.2   168.0      .2     1.3     -.1     1.7     2.9     2.6
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  160.8   163.9   164.0      .2      .6      .1     2.3     2.2     2.0
  Blue collar........................  159.2   162.4   163.2      .2      .6      .5     1.7     2.2     2.5
  Service............................  167.0   170.4   171.2      .2      .6      .5     2.0     2.2     2.5

  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.



Table 6.  Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by industry and
occupational group

(Not seasonally adjusted data)


                                      Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


   Industry and occupational group                                3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                        Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                        2004    2005    2005
                                                                Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                                2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005


Private industry workers.............  164.5   167.4   168.4     0.7     0.7     0.6     2.6     2.4     2.4
    Excluding sales occupations......  164.5   167.6   168.7      .6      .7      .7     2.5     2.5     2.6

              Industry

  Goods producing(1).................  160.9   163.6   164.8      .6      .7      .7     2.2     2.3     2.4
      Excluding sales................  160.2   162.8   164.0      .6      .7      .7     2.4     2.3     2.4
    White collar.....................  164.5   167.3   168.5      .8      .8      .7     1.9     2.5     2.4
      Excluding sales................  162.7   165.3   166.7      .7      .7      .8     2.2     2.4     2.5
    Blue collar......................  158.6   161.2   162.4      .6      .7      .7     2.5     2.2     2.4

    Construction.....................  155.9   157.7   159.2      .5      .4     1.0     2.3     1.7     2.1

    Manufacturing....................  162.4   165.3   166.4      .7      .8      .7     2.1     2.5     2.5
      White collar...................  164.7   167.6   168.7      .9      .9      .7     1.9     2.6     2.4
        Excluding sales..............  162.5   165.1   166.5      .8      .7      .8     2.3     2.4     2.5
      Blue collar....................  160.6   163.6   164.7      .5      .7      .7     2.4     2.4     2.6
      Durables.......................  162.9   165.9   167.1      .6      .7      .7     2.0     2.5     2.6
        Aircraft manufacturing (SIC
         3721).......................  171.9   175.6   176.1      .8     1.7      .3     3.0     2.9     2.4
          White collar...............  165.5   170.1   170.4      .5     2.5      .2     3.3     3.3     3.0
          Blue collar................  180.7   183.9   184.8     1.3      .3      .5     2.4     3.1     2.3
      Nondurables....................  161.6   164.5   165.3      .7     1.0      .5     2.4     2.6     2.3


  Service producing(2)...............  166.1   169.0   170.0      .7      .7      .6     2.7     2.4     2.3
      Excluding sales................  167.1   170.4   171.4      .7      .6      .6     2.6     2.7     2.6
    White collar.....................  168.9   172.1   173.0      .7      .8      .5     2.9     2.6     2.4
      Excluding sales................  171.2   175.0   175.9      .6      .8      .5     2.8     2.8     2.7
    Blue collar......................  157.8   160.1   161.5     1.0      .4      .9     2.3     2.5     2.3
    Service..........................  158.8   160.9   161.8      .5      .4      .6     2.1     1.8     1.9

    Transportation and public
     utilities.......................  159.1   159.8   161.1     1.0     -.4      .8     2.2     1.4     1.3
      Transportation.................  153.4   153.4   154.6     1.1    -1.1      .8     1.9     1.1      .8
      Public utilities...............  166.4   168.2   169.9      .7      .4     1.0     2.7     1.8     2.1
        Communications...............  167.5   168.4   170.3      .3      .1     1.1     2.5      .8     1.7
        Electric, gas, and sanitary
         services....................  165.1   167.9   169.2     1.1      .8      .8     2.9     2.8     2.5

    Wholesale and retail trade.......  161.6   163.4   164.1      .8      .8      .4     2.6     1.9     1.5
        Excluding sales..............  162.9   165.5   166.3      .4      .9      .5     2.6     2.0     2.1
      Wholesale trade................  167.8   169.5   169.4     1.0     1.2    -0.1     1.9     2.0     1.0
        Excluding sales..............  167.6   171.5   171.5     -.1     1.5      .0     1.5     2.2     2.3
      Retail trade...................  158.4   160.3   161.4      .7      .6      .7     3.0     1.9     1.9
        General merchandise stores...  154.9   159.3   159.0      .5      .8     -.2     1.9     3.4     2.6
        Food stores..................  154.3   155.8   156.7      .3      .5      .6     1.8     1.3     1.6

    Finance, insurance, and real
     estate..........................  175.3   179.2   181.2      .1      .8     1.1     1.7     2.3     3.4
        Excluding sales..............  180.5   184.6   186.5      .7      .9     1.0     1.1     3.0     3.3
      Banking, savings and loan, and
       other credit agencies.........  207.6   210.7   215.4      .4     -.3     2.2     -.5     1.9     3.8
      Insurance......................  167.2   171.7   173.7     1.3      .8     1.2     2.6     4.0     3.9
        Excluding sales..............  163.7   167.1   168.5     1.2     1.0      .8     2.6     3.3     2.9

    Services.........................  169.3   173.4   174.2      .7      .8      .5     3.2     3.2     2.9
      Business services..............  172.7   175.5   176.5     1.0      .3      .6     3.8     2.6     2.2
      Health services................  168.8   173.4   174.6      .6      .9      .7     3.4     3.3     3.4
        Hospitals....................  170.5   175.4   176.7      .6      .9      .7     3.6     3.5     3.6
        Nursing homes................    -       -       -        .6      .8      .9     2.6     2.5     2.8
      Educational services...........  172.6   177.9   178.6      .4      .6      .4     2.9     3.5     3.5
        Colleges and universities....  170.0   174.6   175.5      .3      .6      .5     3.0     3.0     3.2
Industry-Continued

  Nonmanufacturing industries........  164.8   167.7   168.7     0.7     0.7     0.6     2.7     2.4     2.4
    White collar.....................  168.6   171.7   172.7      .7      .7      .6     2.9     2.5     2.4
      Excluding sales................  170.7   174.4   175.4      .6      .8      .6     2.8     2.8     2.8
    Blue collar......................  156.1   158.2   159.7      .9      .4      .9     2.4     2.3     2.3
    Service..........................  158.7   160.8   161.7      .5      .4      .6     2.1     1.8     1.9

         Occupational group

  White collar.......................  168.2   171.3   172.3      .7      .8      .6     2.7     2.5     2.4
      Excluding sales................  169.2   172.7   173.7      .7      .8      .6     2.7     2.7     2.7
    Professional specialty and
     technical.......................  165.5   169.4   170.0      .5      .8      .4     3.1     2.9     2.7
    Executive, administrative, and
     managerial......................  173.9   177.2   178.4      .7      .9      .7     2.1     2.6     2.6
    Sales............................  163.9   164.9   166.0      .8      .5      .7     2.9     1.4     1.3
    Administrative support, including
     clerical........................  168.6   172.0   173.3      .8      .7      .8     2.8     2.9     2.8

  Blue collar........................  158.3   160.8   162.1      .7      .6      .8     2.4     2.3     2.4
    Precision production, craft, and
     repair..........................  158.3   160.4   162.0      .8      .4     1.0     2.3     2.1     2.3
    Machine operators, assemblers,
     and inspectors..................  159.8   162.6   163.7      .8      .6      .7     2.9     2.5     2.4
    Transportation and material
     moving..........................  151.8   154.4   156.0      .9      .7     1.0     1.9     2.7     2.8
    Handlers, equipment cleaners,
     helpers,
     and laborers....................  162.7   165.6   165.9      .6      .7      .2     2.3     2.3     2.0

  Service............................  159.3   161.4   162.3      .6      .5      .6     2.0     1.9     1.9

  Production and nonsupervisory
   occupations(3)....................  161.7   164.5   165.5      .6      .7      .6     2.7     2.4     2.4

  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.



Table 7.  Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for private industry workers by bargaining status,
region, and area

(Not seasonally adjusted data)


                                     Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


Bargaining status, region, and area                              3 months ended-         12 months ended-
                                       Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                       2004    2005    2005
                                                               Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                               2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005



         Bargaining status

Union...............................  158.7   160.8   162.1     1.0     0.1     0.8     2.9     2.3     2.1
    Blue-collar occupations.........  155.5   157.8   159.3      .8      .4     1.0     2.6     2.3     2.4

  Goods-producing industries(1).....  157.5   159.6   161.1      .8      .4      .9     2.3     2.1     2.3
  Service-producing industries(2)...  160.3   162.3   163.6     1.1     -.2      .8     3.4     2.4     2.1

  Manufacturing.....................  159.2   161.5   162.8      .7      .5      .8     2.1     2.2     2.3
    Blue-collar occupations.........  157.8   160.0   161.3      .7      .5      .8     2.2     2.1     2.2
  Nonmanufacturing..................  158.4   160.3   161.7     1.1     -.1      .9     3.2     2.4     2.1

Nonunion............................  165.6   168.6   169.6      .6      .8      .6     2.5     2.4     2.4
    Blue-collar occupations.........  160.2   162.7   164.0      .8      .6      .8     2.4     2.3     2.4

  Goods-producing industries(1).....  162.4   165.2   166.4      .6      .8      .7     2.2     2.4     2.5
  Service-producing industries(2)...  166.6   169.7   170.7      .6      .8      .6     2.6     2.5     2.5

  Manufacturing.....................  163.7   166.8   167.8      .7      .9      .6     2.2     2.6     2.5
    Blue-collar occupations.........  162.6   166.0   166.9      .4      .9      .5     2.5     2.5     2.6
  Nonmanufacturing..................  165.7   168.7   169.7      .6      .7      .6     2.6     2.4     2.4

             Region(3)

Northeast...........................  163.6   166.0   167.3     1.0      .6      .8     3.3     2.5     2.3
South...............................  160.1   163.6   164.4      .6      .8      .5     2.6     2.8     2.7
Midwest.............................  167.7   170.6   171.3      .5      .8      .4     1.6     2.2     2.1
West................................  167.9   170.3   171.9      .7      .5      .9     2.9     2.1     2.4

                Area

Metropolitan........................  164.9   167.7   168.8      .7      .7      .7     2.6     2.4     2.4
Other...............................  162.1   165.1   166.3      .8      .8      .7     2.6     2.7     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.



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)


                                     Indexes (June 1989=100)               Percent changes for-


 Industry, occupational group, and                               3 months ended-         12 months ended-
         bargaining status             Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                       2004    2005    2005
                                                               Jun.    Mar.    Jun.    Jun.    Mar.    Jun.
                                                               2004    2005    2005    2004    2005    2005


Civilian workers....................  192.9   201.3   202.8     1.5     2.2     0.7     7.2     5.9     5.1
 State and local government.........  183.0   193.0   194.0     1.0     1.4      .5     6.6     6.6     6.0
 Private industry...................  195.3   203.3   204.9     1.6     2.3      .8     7.3     5.8     4.9

              Industry

   Goods producing(1)...............  196.2   207.0   209.4     1.3     2.9     1.2     8.9     6.9     6.7
   Service producing(2).............  194.1   200.5   201.6     1.8     2.0      .5     6.5     5.2     3.9

   Manufacturing....................  196.9   206.7   208.8     1.3     3.1     1.0    10.0     6.3     6.0
     Aircraft manufacturing (SIC
      3721).........................  264.0   361.9   362.1     1.3    36.1      .1    19.8    38.9    37.2
       White collar.................  265.3   367.0   368.3      .5    38.0      .4    21.5    39.0    38.8
       Blue collar..................  259.9   351.8   350.5     2.7    32.8     -.4    17.2    39.0    34.9
   Nonmanufacturing.................  194.3   201.6   203.0     1.8     2.0      .7     6.3     5.6     4.5

         Occupational group

   White collar.....................  197.4   206.8   208.5     1.5     2.8      .8     6.4     6.4     5.6
   Blue collar......................  191.8   197.8   199.4     1.9     1.5      .8     8.9     5.0     4.0
   Service..........................  196.1   200.9   202.0     1.4     1.4      .5     7.7     3.9     3.0

         Bargaining status

   Union............................  203.3   210.0   211.7     2.3     1.7      .8    11.3     5.6     4.1
   Nonunion.........................  193.0   201.3   202.9     1.5     2.4      .8     6.3     5.8     5.1

  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.


                             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 lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases); insurance
 benefits-life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability;
 retirement and savings benefits-defined benefit and defined contribution
 plans; legally required benefits-Social Security, Medicare, Federal and
 State unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation; and other
 benefits-severance pay and supplemental unemployment plans.

     The ECI provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the
 total private nonfarm economy excluding households and the public sector
 excluding the Federal government.  The private industry series and the
 State and local government series provide data for the two sectors
 separately.

     Data for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of
 approximately 41,000 occupational observations within about 9,500 sample
 establishments in private industry and approximately 3,500 occupations
 within about 800 sample establishments in State and local governments.
 Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey
 months of March, June, September, and December.

     The sampled establishments are classified by industry categories based
 on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), as defined by the
 U.S. Office of Management and Budget.  Details on the sample design are
 included in the bulletin, Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin
 2532).  Within an establishment, specific job categories are selected and
 classified into about 500 occupational classifications according to the
 1990 Census of Population.  Individual occupations are combined into
 broader occupational groups.  Fixed employment weights are used each
 quarter to calculate the most aggregate series-civilian, private, and
 State and local government.  These fixed weights are also used to derive
 all of the industry and occupation series indexes.  Since March 1995, 1990
 employment counts, primarily from the Bureau's Occupational Employment
 Statistics survey, have been used.  For more information on these topics,
 see the articles, "Introducing New Weights for the Employment Cost Index,"
 in the June 1985 issue of the Monthly Labor Review and "Introducing 1990
 Weights for the Employment Cost Index" in the June 1995 issue of
 Compensation and Working Conditions.

     For the series based on bargaining status, region, and area size,
 employment data are not available.  The employment weights are reallocated
 within these series each quarter based on the current ECI sample.  The
 indexes for these series, consequently, are not strictly comparable to
 those for the aggregate, industry, and occupation series.  A fuller
 explanation of the calculation of index numbers appears in an article,
 "Estimation Procedures for the Employment Cost Index," in the May 1982
 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.  Beginning with the March 1990 ECI
 release, indexes were rebased to June 1989=100.  A description of the
 rebasing is included in the article "Employment Cost Index Rebased to June
 1989," in the April 1990 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.

     Beginning with the December 1990 ECI release, seasonally adjusted data
 are available for selected ECI series.  Seasonal adjustment removes the
 effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year.
 These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify.  For more
 information on the methodology used to seasonally adjust ECI series, see
 the bulletin, Employment Cost Indexes, 1975-99, (Bulletin 2532).  The
 seasonal adjustment factors are recalculated once a year.  The March
 release contains data reflecting the newly updated seasonal adjustment
 factors.  The historical data for the last five years are then revised
 based on 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 five-year
 moving average of standard errors for all estimates (excluding seasonally
 adjusted series) will be available on the Internet site
 (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) shortly after publication of the
 news release.

     When determining data to be used in contract negotiations, it is
 important to note that differences by bargaining status may be due to
 factors other than union status, such as occupational and industry mix.
 For example, union occupations tend to be concentrated in blue-collar
 occupations within manufacturing industries.  Thus, differences between
 blue-collar and white-collar pay or differences in manufacturing versus
 nonmanufacturing industries could explain such differences.  An important
 consideration when choosing a series for escalation is the number of
 workers covered.  Series with smaller numbers of workers may have larger
 sampling errors or be dominated by a smaller number of employers.  For
 more information, see the web site:
 (http://www.bls.gov/ect/escalator.htm).

     More detailed information on the ECI is available from several
 sources.  These include an historical bulletin-Employment Cost Indexes,
 1975-99, (Bulletin 2532), a chapter, "National Compensation Measures," in
 the BLS Handbook of Methods (Bulletin 2490), and several articles
 published in the Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and Working
 Conditions.  Orders for bulletins should be made to the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics, Publication Sales Center, Room 960, 230 South Dearborn Street,
 Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-1880.  Reprints of the articles and other
 descriptive pieces are available upon request by calling (202) 691-6199 or
 sending e-mail to (ocltinfo@bls.gov).

     Historical data series are available, beginning with some wage and
 salary series begun in 1975.  In addition, constant-dollar ECI series
 derived from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) are
 available.  Supplemental data from the ECI, providing 12-month percent
 changes in employer costs for health insurance in private industry
 beginning with June 1982 are also available.  This information is
 available at the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm) or upon
 request.

     The costs per hour worked of compensation components, based on data
 from the ECI, were recently published in a separate news release titled
 "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation-March 2005."  Beginning with the
 March 2004 estimates, industry estimates are based on the 2002 North
 American Industry Classification (NAICS) system and the occupational
 categories are classified according to the 2000 Standard Occupational
 (SOC) system.  These systems replace the 1987 Standard Industrial
 Classification System (SIC) and the Occupational Classification System
 (OCS).  The release and information on the transition to the new industry
 and occupational classification systems are available by e-mail request at
 ocltinfo@bls.gov, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect/home.htm, or
 by telephone (202) 691-6199.  Historical data and related articles are
 included in the bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-
 99, (Bulletin 2526).  Also available on the Internet site
 (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) or upon request is an annual
 historical summary from March 1986 through March 2002.  Data on a
 quarterly basis beginning with June 2002 are also available.  The cost
 levels are calculated with current employment weights, rather than the
 fixed 1990 weights used in computing the ECI.  Therefore, year-to-year
 changes in the cost levels usually differ from those in the ECI.