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

Wages, benefit costs for State and local government workers both up 1.1 percent in past 3 months

Wages and salaries for State and local government workers increased 1.1 percent in the quarter ended in June; in the March 2001 quarter, the increase was 1.0 percent.

3-month percent changes in Employment Cost Index, benefits costs for State and local government, seasonally adjusted, Sep. 1999-June 2001
[Chart data—TXT]

Benefit costs for State and local government employees also rose 1.1 percent in the June quarter. In the December 2000-March 2001 period, benefit costs increased 1.2 percent.

The June 2001 over-the-year increase in wages and salaries in State and local government was 3.7 percent, identical with that recorded for June 2000. The 12-month gain in benefit costs for June 2001 was 3.4 percent; in June 2000, the gain was 3.1 percent.

These data are from the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Learn more in "Employment Cost Index—June 2001," news release USDL 01-236.