Employment Cost Index

Data Employment

Source: BLS
Source Link: https://www.bls.gov/
Frequency: Quarterly
Next Release(s): April 30th, 2026 8:30 AM

Latest Updates

The Employment Cost Index, measuring civilian worker compensation, rose +0.7% QoQ and +3.4% YoY in Q4 2025, indicating steady and broadly balanced wage and benefit growth.
- Total civilian compensation increased +0.7% QoQ (SA), with wages and salaries up +0.7% and benefit costs also up +0.7%, showing uniform quarterly growth across pay components.
- On a YoY basis, civilian compensation rose +3.4%, with wages and salaries up +3.3% YoY and benefits up +3.4% YoY, pointing to stable overall cost pressures.
- Private industry compensation increased +0.7% QoQ and +3.4% YoY, matching the headline trend and indicating similar cost dynamics between private employers and the broader labor market.
- Inflation-adjusted private-sector wages rose +0.7% YoY, suggesting modest real income gains over the past year.
- Union worker compensation increased +4.0% YoY, compared with +3.3% YoY for non-union workers, reflecting faster cost growth among unionized employees.
- State and local government compensation rose +0.8% QoQ and +3.4% YoY, with real wages up +0.6% YoY, broadly in line with private-sector trends.
- Across sectors, benefit cost growth closely tracked wage growth, reinforcing the pattern of balanced compensation increases seen through 2025.
Source
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.8% QoQ in Q3 2025, with wages, salaries, and benefits all increasing 0.8%, indicating steady but moderate compensation growth.
- Civilian worker compensation increased 3.5% YoY, with wages and salaries up 3.5% YoY and benefits also up 3.5% YoY, showing broad stability in cost pressures across pay components.
- Private industry compensation rose 3.5% YoY, driven by a 3.6% rise in wages and salaries and a 3.5% increase in benefits; in real terms, inflation-adjusted wages increased 0.6% YoY, suggesting modest gains in purchasing power.
- State and local government compensation increased 3.6% YoY, supported by a 3.5% rise in wages and a 3.8% gain in benefits; real wages rose 0.5% YoY, slightly lagging private-sector gains.
- Over the quarter, private industry compensation increased 0.8% QoQ, with similar 0.8% gains in wages and 0.7% in benefits, reflecting continued but easing growth from earlier in the year.
- State and local government compensation rose 0.8% QoQ, with wages up 0.7% and benefits up 0.8%, maintaining steady cost growth across public-sector employers.
- Across all groups, benefit cost growth remained closely aligned with wage growth, marking a continuation of the balanced compensation pattern seen throughout 2025.
- The BLS noted that data collection was disrupted by the federal government shutdown, lowering September response rates, though reviewed self-reported data were included in final estimates.
The US Employment Cost Index (ECI) rose 0.9% QoQ and 3.6% YoY for civilian workers in Q2 2025, with wage growth picking up slightly but benefit cost gains slowing.
- Wages and salaries were up 1.0% QoQ and 3.6% YoY, while benefit costs rose 0.7% QoQ and 3.5% YoY.
- For private industry workers, compensation rose 1.0% QoQ and 3.5% YoY, with wages and salaries also up 3.5% YoY and benefits up 3.4%.
- State and local government compensation rose 0.8% QoQ and 4.0% YoY, while benefits increased 4.1% YoY, down from 4.8% a year ago.
- In inflation-adjusted terms, real compensation gains slowed to 0.9% YoY from 1.2% in Q1; real wages and benefits both rose 0.9% YoY.
- Among private sector workers, union compensation rose 4.3% YoY (vs 3.4% for non-union), with union wage gains at 4.6% vs 3.5% for non-union.
The US Employment Cost Index increased 0.9% QoQ and 3.6% YoY in Q1 2025, down from 3.8% YoY in Q4 2024 and in line with expectations of an 0.9% QoQ increase.
- Wages and salaries increased 0.8% QoQ and 3.5% YoY, down from 3.8% YoY and the lowest since Q2 2021, while benefits were up 1.2% QoQ and 3.8% YoY.
- The private ECI increased 0.8% QoQ, and the public ECI grew 0.9% QoQ. Both private and public wages grew 0.8% QoQ.
- The goods sector ECI was up 1.0% QoQ and 3.2% YoY (lowest since Q2 2021) with manufacturing ECI up 0.7% QoQ.
- The service sector ECP increased 0.9% QoQ and 3.6% YoY (lowest since Q2 2021).
The Employment Cost Index for total compensation was up 0.9% QoQ and 3.8% YoY in Q4 2024, in line with expectations of a 0.9% QoQ increase. Private sector compensation was up just 0.8% QoQ and 3.6% YoY (unchanged from 3.6% YoY previously) with wages and salaries growing 0.9% QoQ and 3.7% YoY, a slight deceleration from 3.8% YoY in Q3 2024.