May 01, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employment costs up 0.6 percent from December to March

Compensation costs for private sector workers rose 0.6 percent from December 2005 to March 2006 (seasonally adjusted), after advancing 0.7 percent in the prior quarter.

[Chart data—TXT]

Private industry workers wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent during the March 2006 quarter, compared with a 0.6-percent gain in the previous quarter.

Private sector benefit costs rose 0.4 percent for the March quarter, following a 0.7-percent gain in the previous quarter.

These data are from the BLS Compensation Cost Trends program. Compensation costs (also known as employment costs) include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. Data are subject to revision. Learn more in " Employment Cost Index—March 2006 " (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-732. 

Note on Employment Cost Index: Beginning with the release of March 2006 data, the Employment Cost Index has introduced a number of changes. Among the most significant, data are based on new industry and occupational classifications: the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See the news release for details.