Employment Cost Index (CIU2010000000000I) · Total compensation, private industry workers, not seasonally adjusted
How fast are the costs of employing workers in private industry rising?
The employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers was 178.1 in the quarter ended , up 3.4% from a year earlier.
Employment cost index, total compensation, private industry workers, not seasonally adjusted, each quarter
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Employment cost index, total compensation, private industry workers, change from a year earlier, each quarter (ours)
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Each point is one quarter of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the quarter and the value.
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Inspect and compare dates
The newest quarter beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".
| Measure | Latest | The quarter before | A year earlier | Five years earlier | Ten years earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter | |||||
| Employment cost index, total compensation, private industry workers | 178.1 | 176.9 | 172.3 | 146.4 | 126.8 |
| Change over a year | +3.4% | +3.3% | +3.5% | +4.1% | +2.3% |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Observed .
Right now
The employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers was 178.1 in the third quarter of 2026, the highest since our record begins in the first quarter of 2001.
Over a year it is up 3.4% (ours).
ChangeOurs
| Period | Then | Change |
|---|---|---|
| One quarter | 176.9 in | +0.7% |
| Four quarters | 172.3 in | +3.4% |
| Five years | 146.4 in | +21.6% |
| Ten years | 126.8 in | +40.4% |
In historyOurs
The employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers of 178.1 in was higher than in 102 of the 102 other quarters since , the same in 0 and lower in 0.
Highest since : 178.1 in . Lowest since : 85.0 in .
AverageOurs
Average since : 123.86 (ours, a plain mean of the 103 quarters).
ComparedOurs
Over a year the employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers is up 3.4%, which ranks 11 of the 29 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.
The table sets the employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers beside the lines of the employment cost index page, by the change over a year in each one's newest quarter.
Understanding the employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers
Where it stands today
The employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers was 178.1 in the third quarter of 2026.
What does the employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers 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 sets the index to 100 in December 2005.
Read more
Total compensation is what an employer pays for an hour of work in wages and salaries plus the cost of benefits (paid leave, insurance, retirement and savings, bonuses and overtime, and the taxes an employer must pay such as Social Security and workers' compensation). This line is total compensation for private industry workers: the employees of private businesses, farms and private households excepted.
What 500metrics adds: the change over one quarter, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, and how the change over a year ranks among the lines of the employment cost index page.
The numbers behind the chart
What was the employment cost index for total compensation of private industry workers in each quarter?The last ten years, 40 quarters, newest first; the chart and the file have every quarter since 2001 Q1
| Quarter | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 178.1 | +3.4% | |
| 176.9 | +3.3% | |
| 175.2 | +3.4% | |
| 173.0 | +3.4% | |
| 172.3 | +3.5% | |
| 171.2 | +3.5% | |
| 169.4 | +3.4% | |
| 167.4 | +3.6% | |
| 166.4 | +3.6% | |
| 165.4 | +3.9% | |
| 163.8 | +4.1% | |
| 161.6 | +4.1% | |
| 160.6 | +4.3% | |
| 159.2 | +4.5% | |
| 157.4 | +4.8% | |
| 155.3 | +5.1% | |
| 154.0 | +5.2% | |
| 152.4 | +5.5% | |
| 150.2 | +4.8% | |
| 147.8 | +4.4% | |
| 146.4 | +4.1% | |
| 144.4 | +3.1% | |
| 143.3 | +2.8% | |
| 141.6 | +2.6% |
Show 16 more rows
| Quarter | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 140.7 | +2.4% | |
| 140.1 | +2.7% | |
| 139.4 | +2.8% | |
| 138.0 | +2.7% | |
| 137.4 | +2.7% | |
| 136.4 | +2.6% | |
| 135.6 | +2.8% | |
| 134.4 | +3.0% | |
| 133.8 | +2.9% | |
| 132.9 | +2.9% | |
| 131.9 | +2.8% | |
| 130.5 | +2.6% | |
| 130.0 | +2.5% | |
| 129.2 | +2.4% | |
| 128.3 | +2.3% | |
| 127.2 | +2.2% |
How does it compare with the lines of the employment cost index page?Ranked by the change over a year
| Series | Quarter | Value | Change over a year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private, union workers | 185.6 | +4.3% | 1 | |
| Civilian, benefits | 179.6 | +3.9% | 2 | |
| Private, West | 185.0 | +3.9% | 2 | |
| Private, benefits | 172.1 | +3.9% | 2 | |
| Private, education and health services | 179.9 | +3.9% | 2 | |
| State and local, benefits | 207.6 | +3.8% | 6 | |
| Private, financial activities | 176.2 | +3.7% | 7 | |
| Private, management, professional and related | 172.9 | +3.6% | 8 | |
| Private, natural resources, construction, maintenance | 176.6 | +3.5% | 9 | |
| State and local, total compensation | 181.6 | +3.5% | 9 | |
| Civilian, total compensation | 178.7 | +3.4% | 11 | |
| Private, information | 171.6 | +3.4% | 11 | |
| Private, total compensation (this page) | 178.1 | +3.4% | 11 | |
| Private, trade, transportation and utilities | 184.5 | +3.4% | 11 | |
| Private, South | 175.6 | +3.3% | 15 | |
| Private, nonunion workers | 177.1 | +3.3% | 15 | |
| Private, production, transportation, moving | 183.3 | +3.3% | 15 | |
| Private, Midwest | 174.1 | +3.2% | 18 | |
| Private, manufacturing | 171.1 | +3.2% | 18 | |
| State and local, wages and salaries | 169.0 | +3.2% | 18 | |
| Civilian, wages and salaries | 178.4 | +3.1% | 21 | |
| Private, construction | 172.1 | +3.1% | 21 | |
| Private, service occupations | 191.5 | +3.1% | 21 | |
| Private, wages and salaries | 180.6 | +3.1% | 21 | |
| Private, Northeast | 178.6 | +3.0% | 25 | |
| Private, other services | 182.4 | +3.0% | 25 | |
| Private, professional and business services | 176.3 | +3.0% | 25 | |
| Private, sales and office | 180.4 | +2.8% | 28 | |
| Private, leisure and hospitality | 187.9 | +2.5% | 29 |
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
- The index follows the cost to the employer of an hour of work for a fixed set of jobs. It is not an average pay, and it does not show what any one worker earns.
- The 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.
- BLS collects the index from a sample of employers, so each value carries sampling error.
- This line is 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 index is shown to one decimal, but the changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values 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, private industry workers, not seasonally adjusted, through the third quarter of 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How fast are the costs of employing workers in private industry rising?", https://500metrics.com/employment-cost-index/private-industry.
Can the data be downloaded?employment-cost-index-private-industry.csv
Download the full history as CSV: 103 rows, to , 1,865 bytes.
Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.
Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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