August 02, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Wages and salaries in constant dollars increase from June 2006 to June 2007

After adjusting for the changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, wages and salaries for private industry workers for the 12-month period ended June 2007 increased 0.7 percent, compared to a decrease of 1.5 percent for the previous year.

12-month percent changes in wages and salaries (ECI series), private industry and State and local government, constant dollars, June 2002-07
[Chart data—TXT]

State and local government registered a 1.0-percent increase for the year ended June 2007, compared to a decrease of 1.2 percent for the year ended June 2006.

Changes in wages and salaries are computed in terms of December 2005 dollars. The constant-dollar Employment Cost Index (ECI) series are calculated by converting the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to the same base as the ECI. The ECI for each quarter is then divided by the converted CPI-U for the same reference period.

These data on wages and salaries are from the BLS Compensation Cost Trends program. For more information, see "Employment Cost Index—June 2007" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-1151.

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