The National Compensation Survey produces quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs, Employment Cost Index (ECI), and quarterly data measuring level of average costs per hour worked, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC).

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ECT News Releases

Compensation costs up 0.6% Mar 2016-June 2016 and up 2.3% over the year ending June

07/29/2016

Compensation costs increased 0.6 percent for civilian workers, seasonally adjusted, from March 2016 to June 2016. Over the year, compensation rose 2.3 percent, wages and salaries are up 2.5 percent, and benefits rose 2.0 percent.
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Private employers spend $1.27 per hour worked for employee retirement benefits in June

09/08/2016

Private industry employer compensation costs averaged $32.29 per hour worked in June 2016. Wages and salaries costs were $22.52 and total benefit costs were $9.77. Retirement costs were $1.27, accounting for 3.9 percent of total compensation costs.
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Regional News Releases

Subscribe to the BLS News Service — receive the Employment Cost Index and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation news releases by e-mail.

ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASES

 

ECT Databases

Databases

Database Name Special
Notice		 Top
Picks		 Data
Finder		 One
Screen		 Multi-
Screen		 Tables Text Files
Pay & Cost of Benefits
Employment Cost Index
   Top Picks for ECI   One Screen Data Search for ECI Multi Screen Data Search for ECI Tables for ECI Text Files for ECI
Employer Cost for Employee Compensation
   Top Picks for ECEC   One Screen Data Search for ECEC Multi Screen Data Search for ECEC Tables for ECEC Text Files for ECEC

 

More Tools

  • Series Report — already know the series identifier for the statistic you want? Use this shortcut to retrieve your data.
  • Public data Application Programming Interface (API) — provides access to economic data from all BLS programs. For more information, see the Public Data API information and resources page.
  • Compensation Cost Trends Search — allows you to search through all the Employment Cost Index and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation publications that are currently available electronically.

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ECT Tables

Employment Cost Index

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC)

  • Historical Listings
    • UPDATED NAICS basis (TXT) (PDF) March 2004 - Present
    • SIC basis (TXT) (PDF) (quarterly) March 2002 - December 2003
    • SIC basis (TXT) (PDF) (annual) March 1986 - March 2001
  • UPDATED News Release Relative Standard Errors (TXT) (PDF) Current quarter
  • Supplemental Tables
    • NEW NAICS basis (TXT) (PDF) Current quarter
    • UPDATED Relative Standard Errors (TXT) (PDF) Current quarter
    • UPDATED NAICS basis (TXT) (PDF) December 2006 - Present

 

ECT Publications and Other Documentation

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ECT Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Is the ECI adjusted for inflation?
  2. What is the Employment Cost index for individual occupations in the U.S.?
  3. How can I get annualized ECI data?
  4. What's the average raise?
  5. Does the ECI publish indexes for individual areas?
  6. How do I calculate the percent change between two time periods?
  7. What impact can incentive paid workers have on the ECI?
  8. Once I have identified the series I want to use, how should I reference it to make sure it will not be confused with another series?
  9. Where can I get wage determinations data?
  10. Where can I obtain information on minimum wage and overtime laws and regulations?

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ECT Special Notices

ECT Related Links

Other BLS Resources

  • National Compensation Survey—comprehensive measures of occupational hourly wages; compensation cost trends; and benefit incidence and detail plan provisions.
  • Benefits—comprehensive data on incidence and provisions of selected employee benefit plans.
  • Work Stoppages—monthly and annual data and analysis of major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers.
  • Occupational Requirements Survey—job-related information regarding the requirements of work.
  • Modeled Wage Estimates—annual estimates of average hourly wages for occupations by selected job characteristics and within geographical location.
  • Compensation Research and Program Development Group—carries out research that addresses methodological, conceptual, and technical issues of concern to the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions (OCWC), which includes the National Compensation Survey, and the Workplace Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities Programs, and other Bureau programs.
  • Consumer Price Indexes—monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
  • Occupational Employment Statistics—data on employment and wages for over 800 occupations and for about 400 nonfarm industries for the nation, plus occupational data for States and metropolitan areas.
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook—data for 250 occupations, by nature of the work, working conditions, employment, job outlook and earnings, related occupations, sources of additional information, and training, other qualifications, and advancement.
  • Producer Price Indexes—monthly data on changes in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services.
  • Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages—comprehensive employment and wage data by industry and geographic area for workers covered by State Unemployment Insurance laws.
  • Monthly Labor Review—principal journal of fact, analysis, and research from the Bureau.
  • Occupational Classification System Manual—system used by the Bureau to classify workers into occupational categories prior to implementation of the Standard Occupational Classification.
  • Standard Occupational Classification—system used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.

Other Useful Links

 

Contact Us

Contacts

The Office of Compensation Levels and Trends, Branch of Survey Information and Publications, will be glad to assist you with questions about any of the components of the National Compensation Survey.

Ways to Contact BLS Directly

Email: Contact us

Telephone: (202) 691-6199 (Monday - Friday, 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.)

Information and assistance is also available from any BLS regional office.

TDD

Information voice phone: (202) 691-5200 The Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339

Write or Personal Visit

Bureau of Labor Statistics
OCLT/SI&P
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E. - Suite 4175
Washington, D.C. 20212-0001

Other Ways to Access our Data:

Libraries
Federal Depository Libraries provide free access to government documents. Many of these libraries receive BLS publications. Check with a location near you.