April 03, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Compensation stats for the new century

For the first time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will provide interrelated statistics on wage levels, benefit costs, rates of change in employer costs for compensation, benefit plan incidence, and detailed benefit provisions.

[Chart data—TXT]

The National Compensation Survey (NCS) has evolved from several existing programs, but takes those programs in new directions. There had been a lack of coordination among these programs that can limit their usefulness for certain types of analysis.

The NCS coordinates four basic products: occupational wage estimates, employer compensation cost trends and levels, benefit availability, and benefit details. (See chart for an example of such data elements.) Occupational wages are published for local areas, geographic regions, and the nation as a whole.

These data are from the BLS National Compensation Survey and Employment Cost Trends program. Compensation costs (also known as employment costs) include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. Learn more in "The National Compensation Survey: Compensation Statistics for the 21st Century" (PDF 82K), by William J. Wiatrowski, Compensation and Working Conditions, Winter 2000.