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Private industry compensation costs up 2.7 percent from September 2018 to September 2019

November 07, 2019

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.7 percent from September 2018 to September 2019. That compares with an increase of 2.9 percent for the year ending in September 2018. Wages and salaries rose 3.0 percent for the year ending in September 2019, and the cost of benefits rose 2.0 percent. Among major industries, compensation cost increases ranged from 0.7 percent for information to 3.5 percent for construction for the year ending in September 2019.

12-month percent change in Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry workers by industry, not seasonally adjusted
Month All industries Construction Manufacturing Retail trade Wholesale trade Transportation and warehousing Utilities Information

Mar 2009

1.9% 1.8% 1.7% 1.6% 1.3% 1.7% 2.9% 1.5%

Jun 2009

1.5 1.0 1.5 1.1 -0.3 1.4 2.6 1.2

Sep 2009

1.2 0.8 1.1 1.4 -0.3 1.4 2.9 0.7

Dec 2009

1.2 0.7 1.0 1.8 0.2 1.2 2.8 0.8

Mar 2010

1.6 1.1 1.8 2.4 0.8 1.5 5.2 1.2

Jun 2010

1.9 1.0 2.2 2.8 1.9 1.9 5.5 2.1

Sep 2010

2.0 1.2 2.9 2.1 1.8 2.4 5.9 2.0

Dec 2010

2.1 0.9 2.8 1.8 2.3 2.9 4.9 1.6

Mar 2011

2.0 0.6 2.8 1.4 1.8 3.2 3.5 2.4

Jun 2011

2.3 1.2 3.3 1.4 2.3 2.8 3.3 2.3

Sep 2011

2.1 1.0 2.6 1.8 3.2 2.4 3.1 2.0

Dec 2011

2.2 1.6 2.8 2.1 3.0 2.1 3.5 2.3

Mar 2012

2.1 1.6 1.8 2.2 3.6 2.8 3.0 3.2

Jun 2012

1.8 1.4 1.2 2.0 2.7 2.9 3.6 3.7

Sep 2012

1.9 1.8 1.6 1.1 2.9 3.5 3.2 3.7

Dec 2012

1.8 1.6 1.6 1.0 1.9 4.0 3.4 3.9

Mar 2013

1.9 2.1 2.0 1.4 1.3 3.3 2.9 2.3

Jun 2013

1.9 2.1 2.0 1.4 2.1 2.8 1.8 1.9

Sep 2013

1.9 2.1 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.5 0.7 2.1

Dec 2013

2.0 2.0 1.8 2.4 3.7 2.3 1.0 0.8

Mar 2014

1.7 1.4 2.1 1.7 3.4 1.9 1.4 0.8

Jun 2014

2.0 1.3 2.1 1.7 3.7 2.6 1.5 4.6

Sep 2014

2.3 1.4 2.2 2.2 4.6 2.6 2.9 4.3

Dec 2014

2.3 1.8 2.4 2.2 3.4 2.3 2.4 5.6

Mar 2015

2.8 1.8 2.3 2.5 3.3 2.3 3.0 6.1

Jun 2015

1.9 2.1 2.5 3.1 1.4 2.4 3.1 -1.6

Sep 2015

1.9 2.1 2.3 3.1 1.2 2.3 3.3 -1.1

Dec 2015

1.9 2.2 2.5 3.0 0.1 2.2 3.3 -1.4

Mar 2016

1.8 2.3 2.4 4.1 1.0 3.0 2.8 -1.7

Jun 2016

2.4 2.5 2.3 3.9 2.0 2.7 2.6 1.8

Sep 2016

2.3 1.9 2.5 3.6 0.3 2.8 2.3 1.9

Dec 2016

2.2 1.9 2.2 3.7 1.1 3.5 2.6 2.2

Mar 2017

2.3 2.5 2.2 3.1 1.9 2.9 2.6 1.8

Jun 2017

2.4 2.2 2.1 2.7 1.7 2.9 2.5 2.7

Sep 2017

2.5 2.7 2.6 3.0 2.6 3.3 2.6 2.6

Dec 2017

2.6 2.4 2.7 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.4

Mar 2018

2.8 2.4 2.8 3.0 2.5 3.6 3.0 2.6

Jun 2018

2.9 3.0 2.9 3.7 2.1 3.5 2.9 4.5

Sep 2018

2.9 2.7 1.9 3.6 3.1 3.8 2.8 4.8

Dec 2018

3.0 2.8 2.1 3.4 3.4 3.5 2.7 4.6

Mar 2019

2.8 2.9 2.2 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.5 4.8

Jun 2019

2.6 2.7 2.3 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.7 1.0

Sep 2019

2.7 3.5 2.8 2.8 2.0 3.2 3.5 0.7
12-month percent change in Employment Cost Index for total compensation, private industry workers by industry, not seasonally adjusted
Month Financial activities Professional and business services Educational services Health care and social assistance Leisure and hospitality Other services

Mar 2009

0.0% 2.7% 3.5% 2.5% 2.9% 1.9%

Jun 2009

0.6 1.8 2.7 2.3 2.5 1.3

Sep 2009

0.8 1.1 1.6 2.2 1.9 1.7

Dec 2009

1.4 0.7 1.7 2.1 1.2 1.5

Mar 2010

2.8 1.0 1.2 1.6 1.1 1.2

Jun 2010

2.4 1.3 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.7

Sep 2010

2.1 1.8 1.3 1.5 1.1 1.3

Dec 2010

2.6 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.5

Mar 2011

2.8 2.2 1.8 1.5 1.0 2.1

Jun 2011

3.0 2.8 2.0 1.6 1.1 1.6

Sep 2011

3.3 2.4 1.8 1.4 1.1 1.5

Dec 2011

2.5 2.2 2.0 1.6 1.0 2.1

Mar 2012

1.3 2.1 2.1 2.3 1.0 1.9

Jun 2012

1.6 1.6 1.9 2.3 1.2 2.1

Sep 2012

1.5 1.7 1.8 2.3 0.8 2.3

Dec 2012

1.5 1.9 1.4 2.1 1.1 1.8

Mar 2013

2.2 1.8 1.4 1.5 0.9 1.9

Jun 2013

2.1 1.9 1.8 1.5 0.8 2.5

Sep 2013

2.2 1.9 2.0 1.7 1.1 2.2

Dec 2013

2.6 1.6 2.3 1.9 0.9 2.9

Mar 2014

2.1 1.4 1.9 1.7 1.3 1.9

Jun 2014

2.1 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.1 1.3

Sep 2014

1.9 2.4 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.7

Dec 2014

1.8 2.5 1.8 1.7 1.7 0.6

Mar 2015

2.3 3.6 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.9

Jun 2015

2.3 1.5 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.2

Sep 2015

2.1 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.5 2.2

Dec 2015

2.3 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.6

Mar 2016

1.6 1.1 1.4 1.7 2.2 1.7

Jun 2016

1.9 2.5 1.8 1.8 2.6 1.9

Sep 2016

3.1 1.7 1.8 1.9 3.6 2.3

Dec 2016

2.9 1.2 2.1 1.8 3.3 2.6

Mar 2017

2.9 1.5 2.3 2.1 4.3 2.9

Jun 2017

3.1 1.8 2.0 2.1 3.9 2.7

Sep 2017

2.3 2.7 2.1 1.9 3.4 2.5

Dec 2017

2.0 3.0 1.9 2.0 3.6 2.4

Mar 2018

3.3 3.0 1.9 2.3 3.2 2.9

Jun 2018

3.2 2.7 2.2 2.2 3.1 2.9

Sep 2018

3.1 2.5 2.5 2.9 3.4 2.2

Dec 2018

3.3 2.5 2.5 3.0 4.1 2.8

Mar 2019

2.7 2.3 2.4 2.6 3.3 2.8

Jun 2019

2.2 2.7 2.3 2.6 3.6 3.1

Sep 2019

3.1 2.6 2.6 2.4 3.3 3.0

Compensation costs rose 2.8 percent in both manufacturing and retail trade from September 2018 to September 2019. The increase in health care and social assistance was 2.4 percent.

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program. They are not seasonally adjusted and not adjusted for changes in consumer prices. To learn more, see “Employment Cost Index — September 2019.” We have historical data on compensation cost changes adjusted for changes in consumer prices. We also have more charts on the Employment Cost Index. Compensation cost includes wages and salaries and benefits. Private industry workers exclude employees of state and local government.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Private industry compensation costs up 2.7 percent from September 2018 to September 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/private-industry-compensation-costs-up-2-point-7-percent-from-september-2018-to-september-2019.htm (visited December 13, 2024).

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