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Employment Cost Index · Total compensation, wages and salaries and benefits, not seasonally adjusted

How fast are the costs of employing workers rising in the US?

The quarter ended : of the 29 lines, the change over a year was largest for Private, union workers, up 4.3%, and smallest for Private, leisure and hospitality, up 2.5%.

Employment cost index, total compensation, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, total compensation, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Civilian, total compensation178.7127.5 to 178.7
  • Private, total compensation178.1126.8 to 178.1
  • State and local, total compensation181.6130.3 to 181.6

Employment cost index, wages and salaries, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, wages and salaries, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Civilian, wages and salaries178.4126.1 to 178.4
  • Private, wages and salaries180.6126.7 to 180.6
  • State and local, wages and salaries169.0123.6 to 169.0

Employment cost index, benefits, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, benefits, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Civilian, benefits179.6130.8 to 179.6
  • Private, benefits172.1127.0 to 172.1
  • State and local, benefits207.6144.3 to 207.6

Employment cost index, private industry, goods-producing industries, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, private industry, goods-producing industries, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Private, construction172.1124.9 to 172.1
  • Private, manufacturing171.1125.1 to 171.1

Each row is one line of the page over the last ten years, one quarter to a point, on a scale shared by the rows of the tab, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a quarter with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the quarter and the value.

Observed .

Employment cost index, private industry, service-providing industries, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, private industry, service-providing industries, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Private, trade, transportation and utilities184.5128.2 to 184.5
  • Private, information171.6125.0 to 171.6
  • Private, financial activities176.2127.0 to 176.2
  • Private, professional and business services176.3128.0 to 176.3
  • Private, education and health services179.9127.2 to 179.9
  • Private, leisure and hospitality187.9125.3 to 187.9
  • Private, other services182.4127.9 to 182.4

Employment cost index, private industry, occupation groups, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, private industry, occupation groups, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Private, management, professional and related172.9127.1 to 172.9
  • Private, sales and office180.4126.7 to 180.4
  • Private, service occupations191.5126.5 to 191.5
  • Private, natural resources, construction, maintenance176.6127.1 to 176.6
  • Private, production, transportation, moving183.3126.4 to 183.3

Employment cost index, private industry, census regions, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, private industry, census regions, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Private, Northeast178.6128.2 to 178.6
  • Private, South175.6126.2 to 175.6
  • Private, Midwest174.1125.3 to 174.1
  • Private, West185.0127.9 to 185.0

Employment cost index, private industry, union status, each quarter

the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026Not seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Employment cost index, private industry, union status, each quarter, one row for each measure
  • Private, union workers185.6130.4 to 185.6
  • Private, nonunion workers177.1126.3 to 177.1

Each row is one line of the page over the last ten years, one quarter to a point, on a scale shared by the rows of the tab, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a quarter with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the quarter and the value.

Observed .

Right now

Over a year to the third quarter of 2026, of the 29 lines on this page the change was largest for Private, union workers, up 4.3%, and smallest for Private, leisure and hospitality, up 2.5%.

Of these lines, 29 rose, 0 fell and 0 did not change over the year (ours, from the published values).

See every line with its value and rank

By lineOver a year, ours

Employment cost index, change over a year, by line

the third quarter of 2025 to the third quarter of 2026Percent, ours, from the published values

  • 1 Private, union workers +4.3% now 185.6
  • 2 Civilian, benefits +3.9% now 179.6
  • 2 Private, benefits +3.9% now 172.1
  • 2 Private, education and health services +3.9% now 179.9
  • 2 Private, West +3.9% now 185.0
  • 6 State and local, benefits +3.8% now 207.6
  • 7 Private, financial activities +3.7% now 176.2
  • 8 Private, management, professional and related +3.6% now 172.9
  • 9 Private, natural resources, construction, maintenance +3.5% now 176.6
  • 9 State and local, total compensation +3.5% now 181.6
  • 11 Civilian, total compensation +3.4% now 178.7
  • 11 Private, information +3.4% now 171.6
  • 11 Private, total compensation +3.4% now 178.1
  • 11 Private, trade, transportation and utilities +3.4% now 184.5
  • 15 Private, nonunion workers +3.3% now 177.1
  • 15 Private, production, transportation, moving +3.3% now 183.3
  • 15 Private, South +3.3% now 175.6
  • 18 Private, manufacturing +3.2% now 171.1
  • 18 Private, Midwest +3.2% now 174.1
  • 18 State and local, wages and salaries +3.2% now 169.0
  • 21 Civilian, wages and salaries +3.1% now 178.4
  • 21 Private, construction +3.1% now 172.1
  • 21 Private, service occupations +3.1% now 191.5
  • 21 Private, wages and salaries +3.1% now 180.6
  • 25 Private, Northeast +3.0% now 178.6
  • 25 Private, other services +3.0% now 182.4
  • 25 Private, professional and business services +3.0% now 176.3
  • 28 Private, sales and office +2.8% now 180.4
  • 29 Private, leisure and hospitality +2.5% now 187.9
  • Total compensation
  • Wages and salaries
  • Benefits
  • Private industry, goods-producing industries
  • Private industry, service-providing industries
  • Private industry, occupation groups
  • Private industry, census regions
  • Private industry, union status

Each bar is the change in one line over a year, the largest first, with its rank at the left and its newest value under the figure. A line with its own page links it from its name. A change below zero runs to the left of the zero line. The colour says which section of the page a line is in.

Observed .

Employment cost index, change over a year in each quarter

Percent, ours, from the published values

Line
Civilian, total compensation+3.8+3.6+3.6+3.5+3.4+3.4+3.4+3.4
Private, total compensation+3.6+3.4+3.5+3.5+3.4+3.4+3.3+3.4
State and local, total compensation+4.7+4.3+4.0+3.6+3.4+3.5+3.6+3.5
Civilian, wages and salaries+3.8+3.5+3.6+3.5+3.3+3.4+3.2+3.1
Private, wages and salaries+3.7+3.4+3.5+3.6+3.3+3.4+3.1+3.1
State and local, wages and salaries+4.5+4.1+3.9+3.5+3.3+3.4+3.4+3.2
Civilian, benefits+3.6+3.8+3.5+3.5+3.4+3.6+3.8+3.9
Private, benefits+3.3+3.5+3.4+3.5+3.4+3.6+3.8+3.9
State and local, benefits+4.9+4.8+4.1+3.8+3.5+3.6+4.0+3.8
Private, construction+2.4+2.9+3.8+3.8+4.0+3.2+3.5+3.1
Private, manufacturing+3.6+3.2+3.3+3.4+3.1+3.4+3.3+3.2
Private, trade, transportation and utilities+3.3+3.2+3.2+3.5+3.2+3.6+3.5+3.4
Private, information+2.6+2.0+3.5+2.9+2.9+3.9+3.2+3.4
Private, financial activities+3.4+4.4+4.2+4.1+3.6+3.7+3.5+3.7
Private, professional and business services+3.7+2.9+3.0+3.2+2.8+2.7+2.7+3.0
Private, education and health services+4.0+4.2+4.2+3.9+4.2+4.0+3.9+3.9
Private, leisure and hospitality+3.6+3.8+2.8+2.7+2.7+2.6+2.6+2.5
Private, other services+4.7+3.4+3.0+3.7+4.2+4.0+3.8+3.0
Private, management, professional and related+3.4+3.4+3.4+3.4+3.3+3.4+3.5+3.6
Private, sales and office+3.0+2.7+3.7+3.7+3.3+3.3+2.8+2.8
Private, service occupations+4.2+4.1+3.6+3.6+3.5+3.4+3.4+3.1
Private, natural resources, construction, maintenance+3.7+3.6+3.7+3.8+3.7+3.8+3.7+3.5
Private, production, transportation, moving+4.2+3.9+3.5+3.4+3.4+3.2+3.2+3.3
Private, Northeast+3.3+3.3+3.6+3.6+3.5+3.4+3.0+3.0
Private, South+3.3+3.3+3.5+3.6+3.5+3.4+3.5+3.3
Private, Midwest+3.3+3.3+3.5+3.4+3.4+3.3+3.0+3.2
Private, West+4.3+3.7+3.5+3.5+3.2+3.6+3.6+3.9
Private, union workers+5.1+4.6+4.3+4.5+4.0+3.8+3.6+4.3
Private, nonunion workers+3.4+3.3+3.4+3.5+3.3+3.4+3.3+3.3

Each chip is one quarter's change from the same quarter a year earlier. The mark in its middle is zero: a fill to the right of it is a rise and a fill to the left a fall. A longer, brighter fill is a larger change, in five steps up to 4.1 and over. Every chip prints its figure and sign.

Observed .

Understanding employment cost index

Where it stands today

The largest change over a year was Private, union workers, up 4.3%, in the third quarter of 2026.

What do the lines of this page measure?

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures how much the cost of an hour of work changes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects pay and benefits from a sample of employers each quarter and holds the jobs fixed, so the index moves with what employers pay for the same work and not with a change in which jobs exist. BLS publishes it about a month after each quarter ends.

Read more

The first nine lines are total compensation (wages and salaries plus benefits), wages and salaries, and benefits, for all civilian workers, for private industry workers and for state and local government workers. Civilian workers are the workers of private industry and of state and local governments together. The others are the total compensation of private industry workers by industry group, by occupation group, by census region and by union status. A line with a link has a page of its own with the index since the series begins.

What 500metrics adds: the change over a year of every line, ranked across the page; the last ten years of every line as rows of small charts; and a table of the change over a year in each of the last eight quarters.

The numbers behind the chart

What is the latest value of each line?29 lines, in the sections of the page
Employment cost index: the newest quarter of each line, its change over a year (ours) and its rank by that change; equal changes share a rank
LineSectionQuarterValueChange over a yearRank
Civilian, total compensationTotal compensation178.7+3.4%11
Private, total compensationTotal compensation178.1+3.4%11
State and local, total compensationTotal compensation181.6+3.5%9
Civilian, wages and salariesWages and salaries178.4+3.1%21
Private, wages and salariesWages and salaries180.6+3.1%21
State and local, wages and salariesWages and salaries169.0+3.2%18
Civilian, benefitsBenefits179.6+3.9%2
Private, benefitsBenefits172.1+3.9%2
State and local, benefitsBenefits207.6+3.8%6
Private, constructionPrivate industry, goods-producing industries172.1+3.1%21
Private, manufacturingPrivate industry, goods-producing industries171.1+3.2%18
Private, trade, transportation and utilitiesPrivate industry, service-providing industries184.5+3.4%11
Private, informationPrivate industry, service-providing industries171.6+3.4%11
Private, financial activitiesPrivate industry, service-providing industries176.2+3.7%7
Private, professional and business servicesPrivate industry, service-providing industries176.3+3.0%25
Private, education and health servicesPrivate industry, service-providing industries179.9+3.9%2
Private, leisure and hospitalityPrivate industry, service-providing industries187.9+2.5%29
Private, other servicesPrivate industry, service-providing industries182.4+3.0%25
Private, management, professional and relatedPrivate industry, occupation groups172.9+3.6%8
Private, sales and officePrivate industry, occupation groups180.4+2.8%28
Private, service occupationsPrivate industry, occupation groups191.5+3.1%21
Private, natural resources, construction, maintenancePrivate industry, occupation groups176.6+3.5%9
Private, production, transportation, movingPrivate industry, occupation groups183.3+3.3%15
Private, NortheastPrivate industry, census regions178.6+3.0%25
Private, SouthPrivate industry, census regions175.6+3.3%15
Private, MidwestPrivate industry, census regions174.1+3.2%18
Private, WestPrivate industry, census regions185.0+3.9%2
Private, union workersPrivate industry, union status185.6+4.3%1
Private, nonunion workersPrivate industry, union status177.1+3.3%15

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • Every index is 100 in December 2005, so a higher value than another line's means a larger rise since then, not a higher cost of labor. The index follows the cost to the employer of an hour of work for a fixed set of jobs, and is not an average pay.
  • BLS collects the index from a sample of employers, so each value carries sampling error.
  • The lines are not seasonally adjusted. BLS also publishes the change over three months of seasonally adjusted values, which can differ from the change over a quarter on this page.
  • The page ranks the lines by the change over a year in the newest quarter.
  • The index is shown to one decimal, but the changes and the ranks are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes, which have up to three. A change can therefore differ by 0.1 from the one BLS prints; a change is in percent.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index, Total compensation, wages and salaries and benefits, not seasonally adjusted, through the third quarter of 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How fast are the costs of employing workers rising in the US?", https://500metrics.com/employment-cost-index.

Can the data be downloaded?employment-cost-index.csv

Download the last ten years of every line as CSV: 1,189 rows, to , 98,668 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

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