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- US: Employment Situation (May)
- Lithuania: Foreign Reserves (May-Prelim), Macroeconomic Projections (Q2)
- US: Establishment Survey Detail (May)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Continues to Decline
Cautious spending breeds less credit usage...
German Orders Plunge in April
Germany's orders plunged in April, falling by 25.8% m/m...
U.S. Trade Deficit Deepens; Exports & Imports Fall by Record Amounts in April
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $49.41 billion during April...
U.S. Productivity and Unit Labor Costs Revised Up for Q1'20
Output per hour revised up on weaker hours worked...
State & Pandemic Assistance Continuing Claims Total 32.5 Million
Initial jobless claims decreased to a still extremely-elevated 1.877 million in the week ending May 30...
Special Topics
by Tom Moeller October 28, 2005
The employment cost index for private industry workers rose 0.8% last quarter. The increase was up from the 0.6% 2Q gain and equaled Consensus expectations.Year to year, the ECI's gain of 3.0% was the slowest since early 1999.
Benefit costs increased 1.3%, up from the slow 0.8% 2Q gain and it was the quickest this year. Benefit costs in service occupations rose 1.1% (2.8% y/y) and benefit costs in manufacturing rose 1.6% (5.5% y/y).
The y/y gain in the cost of health benefits rose to 6.7% but that remained down from a 7.3% increase last year and a 10.5% gain in 2003.
Wage and salary growth was stable at 0.6% for the third straight quarter. Wages account for roughly 70% of the compensation index.
It's Who You Are and What You Do: Explaining the IT Industry Wage Premium from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is available here.
| ECI- Private Industry Workers | 3Q '05 | 2Q '05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation | 0.8% | 0.6% | 3.0% | 3.8% | 4.0% | 3.2% |
| Wages & Salaries | 0.6% | 0.6% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| Benefit Costs | 1.3% | 0.8% | 4.8% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 4.7% |
