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Economy in Brief
U.S. New Home Sales Almost Unchanged Since August
New single-family home sales around the country changed very little in October and also in September...
U.S. Q3 Growth GDP Unrevised at 33.1%; Corporate Profits Rebound
The second estimate of Q3 U.S. real GDP indicated that economic activity rose an unrevised 33.1% q/q...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise Further in October
Manufacturers’ orders for durable goods increased 1.3% m/m (-0.3% y/y) in October...
U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Deepens During October
The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods deepened to $80.29 billion during October...
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise for a Second Week
Initial claims for regular state unemployment insurance rose again this past week ending November 21 to 778,000...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller July 29, 2005
The employment cost index for private industry workers rose the same 0.6% last quarter as during 1Q05 and contrasted to Consensus expectations for a 0.8% increase.
The 0.8% increase in benefit costs was the slowest since early 2002 and reflected slower growth in the service sector while benefit costs grew more rapidly in manufacturing. The y/y gain in the cost of health benefits fell to 6.3%, the slowest since 1999.
Wage and salary growth was stable at 0.6%. Wages account for roughly 70% of the compensation index.
Labor Market Developments in the United States and Canada since 2000 from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is available here.
| ECI- Private Industry Workers | 2Q '05 | 1Q '05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation | 0.6% | 0.6% | 3.2% | 3.8% | 4.0% | 3.2% |
| Wages & Salaries | 0.6% | 0.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| Benefit Costs | 0.8% | 1.1% | 4.9% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 4.7% |
