October 30, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Benefit costs for State and local government workers up sharply in past 3 months

Benefit costs for State and local government workers rose 2.4 percent during the June-September 2001 period, greatly exceeding the 1.1-percent increase in the previous 3-month period. The increase in benefit costs was largely due to increases in employment costs for health insurance and retirement benefits.

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Wages and salaries for State and local government workers rose 1.0 percent in the quarter ended in September, following a 1.1-percent increase the previous quarter. Increases in wages and salaries have ranged between 0.8 and 1.1 percent since December 1999.

The 12-month gain in benefit costs for September 2001 was 5.6 percent, double the gain of 2.8 percent in September 2000 and the highest yearly increase in nearly a decade. The increase in wages and salaries was 3.9 percent, compared with a gain of 3.5 percent recorded for September 2000.

These data are from the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. The 3-month changes in this article are seasonally adjusted, while the 12-months changes are not seasonally adjusted. Learn more in "Employment Cost Index—September 2001," news release USDL 01-369.