Internet: www.bls.gov/ro2 For Release: February 24, 2009 Media Contact: Michael L. Dolfman (212) 337-2500 Information: Martin Kohli, (646) 264-3620
Changing Compensation Costs in the New York Metropolitan Area: December 2008
Total compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.9
percent in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. metropolitan
area for the year ended in December 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Michael L. Dolfman, the
Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that one year ago, New York
experienced an annual gain of 3.5 percent in total compensation costs.
Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of total compensation
costs, advanced at a 1.8-percent pace for the 12-month period ended
December 2008. Nationwide, total compensation costs rose 2.4 percent and
wages and salaries, 2.6 percent over the same period. (See chart A and
table 1.)
Chart A. Twelve-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index
for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry
workers, United States and the New York area, not seasonally adjusted,
December 2006 to December 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The "Employment Cost Index for the Regions" news releases have been |
| discontinued. However, the estimates that appeared in those releases are |
| available in table 6 (www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.t06.htm) and table 10 |
| (www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.t10.htm) of the "Employment Cost Index" news |
| release issued by the BLS National Office. Historical estimates for these |
| series can be found at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/regionaleci.htm. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York is 1 of 14 metropolitan areas in the United States, and 1 of
3 areas in the Northeast region of the country, for which locality
compensation cost data are now available. Among these 14 largest areas,
Boston and Philadelphia each registered the highest percent change in total
compensation costs; Boston also had the highest percent change in wages and
salaries from December 2007 to December 2008. Over-the-year growth rates
in the cost of total compensation ranged from 4.0 percent in Boston and
Philadelphia to 1.7 percent in Detroit in December 2008; for wages and
salaries, annual advances ranged from 4.5 percent in Boston to 1.8 percent
in New York. (See chart B.)
The annual increase in total compensation costs in New York in
December 2008, at 1.9 percent, compared to gains of 4.0 percent in Boston
and Philadelphia, the two other metropolitan areas in the Northeast.
Similarly, New York's 1.8-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-
month period compared to advances of 4.5 percent in Boston and 4.1 percent
in Philadelphia. (See table 2.)
Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost
Index (ECI) which measures quarterly changes in total compensation costs,
which include wages, salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. In
addition to the 14 locality estimates provided in this release, ECI data
for the nation, 4 geographical regions, and 9 geographical divisions are
available. (Geographical definitions for the metropolitan areas mentioned
in this release are included in the Technical Note.)
Chart B. Percent change in the Employment Cost Index
for total compensation and for wages and salaries,
private industry workers, United States and localities,
not seasonally adjusted, December 2007 to December 2008
In addition to the geographic data, a comprehensive national report is
available that provides data by industry, occupational group, and union
status, as well as for both private, and state and local government
employees. The report on the Employment Cost Index and further technical
information may be obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, New
York-New Jersey Regional Office by calling 646-264-3600. The report is
also available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.toc.htm.
Current and historical information from other Bureau programs may be accessed
via our regional homepage at www.bls.gov/ro2/. The ECI for March 2009 will be
released on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. (ET). Information from the
Employment Cost Index program is available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 1-800-
877-8339.
Technical Note
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a measure of the change in the cost
of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations
and industries. The total compensation series includes changes in wages
and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits.
Wages and salaries are defined as straight-time average hourly
earnings or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time
earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary
rates are total earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay
for overtime, work on weekends and holidays, and shift differentials.
Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-
living adjustments are included in straight-time earnings, whereas
nonproduction bonuses (such as Christmas or year-end bonuses) are excluded.
Also excluded are such items as payments-in-kind, free room and board, and
tips.
Selection of areas
Based on available resources and the existing ECI sample, it was
determined that estimates would be published for 14 metropolitan areas.
Since the ECI sample sizes by area are directly related to area employment,
the areas with the largest private industry employment as of the year 2000
were selected. For each of these areas, 12-month percent changes and
associated standard errors were computed for the periods since December
2006.
The metropolitan area definitions of the 14 published localities are listed
below.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Ga.-Ala. Combined Statistical Area (CSA)
includes Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb,
Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett,
Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Newton,
Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Upson, and
Walton Counties in Georgia; and Chambers County in Alabama.
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, Mass.-N.H. CSA includes Essex, Middlesex,
Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts and
Belknap, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford Counties in
New Hampshire.
Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. CSA includes Cook, DeKalb,
DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will
Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, and Porter Counties
in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas CSA includes Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton,
Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Palo Pinto, Parker,
Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties in Texas.
Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich. CSA includes Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston,
Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in
Michigan.
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas CSA includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers,
Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, San
Jacinto, Walker, and Waller Counties in Texas.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif. CSA includes Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties in California.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) includes Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties in Florida.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, Minn.-Wis. CSA includes Anoka, Benton,
Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Goodhue, Hennepin, Isanti, McLeod, Ramsey,
Rice, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington, and Wright Counties in
Minnesota; and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. CSA includes Bronx,
Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond,
Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen,
Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean,
Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield,
Litchfield, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in
Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. CSA includes Bucks,
Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in
Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem
Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County
in Maryland.
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. MSA includes Maricopa and Pinal Counties in
Arizona.
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif. CSA includes Alameda, Contra Costa,
Marin, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa
Cruz, Sonoma, and Solano Counties in California.
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va. CSA includes the
District of Columbia; Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore,
Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery,
Prince George's, Queen Anne's, and St. Mary's Counties in Maryland;
Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas
Park, and Winchester Cities and Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier,
Frederick, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren
Counties in Virginia; and Hampshire and Jefferson Counties in West
Virginia.
NYLS - 7363 Labor - New York
02/18/09
Table 1. Employment Cost Index for compensation and for wages and salaries,
private industry workers, United States, Northeast region, and the New York area,
not seasonally adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total compensation Wages and salaries
-------------------------------------------------------------------
12-month percent changes 12-month percent changes
Area for period ended- for period ended-
-------------------------------------------------------------------
March June September December March June September December
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States
2006 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 2.4 2.8 3.0 3.2
2007 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.3
2008 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.4 3.2 3.1 2.9 2.6
Northeast
2006 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.1
2007 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.4
2008 3.3 2.9 2.4 2.5 3.4 3.0 2.5 2.8
New York-Newark-Bridgeport
2006 3.3 3.2
2007 3.2 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.5
2008 3.2 3.0 2.4 1.9 3.0 3.0 2.3 1.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2. Employment Cost Index for compensation and for wages and salaries,
private industry workers, United States, geographical regions, and localities,
not seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total compensation Wages and salaries
--------------------------------------------------
12-month percent changes 12-month percent changes
Area for period ended- for period ended-
--------------------------------------------------
Dec. Sep. Dec. Dec. Sep. Dec.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States 3.0 2.8 2.4 3.3 2.9 2.6
Northeast 3.4 2.4 2.5 3.4 2.5 2.8
Boston-Worcester-Manchester 3.2 2.4 4.0 3.6 2.5 4.5
New York-Newark-Bridgeport 3.5 2.4 1.9 3.5 2.3 1.8
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland 3.0 4.6 4.0 3.5 4.7 4.1
South 3.1 2.8 2.4 3.3 3.1 2.8
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville 3.3 2.1 2.1 2.7 2.0 2.1
Dallas-Fort Worth 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.9 3.2
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville 2.6 2.4 2.5 3.2 2.5 3.0
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 3.8 2.8 2.1 3.1 4.4 4.0
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia 2.7 3.0 3.1 2.8 2.8 3.0
Midwest 2.4 2.7 2.2 2.9 2.8 2.3
Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City 2.5 3.3 2.5 3.6 3.1 2.1
Detroit-Warren-Flint 0.9 1.8 1.7 1.0 1.9 1.9
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud 2.3 2.8 2.5 2.1 2.9 2.7
West 3.4 3.4 2.7 3.7 3.5 2.9
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside 3.6 2.5 2.3 3.7 2.1 2.4
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale 3.6 4.5 3.5 3.6 4.4 3.5
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland 3.8 3.5 2.7 4.5 3.2 2.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Modified Date: February 26, 2009
