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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Declines in January
Consumers reduced credit balances further in January...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $68.2 Billion in January
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $68.2 billion in January...
German Order Growth Gets Back in Gear Despite the Headwinds
German order growth is back in gear with total orders rising by 1.4% m/m in January...
U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Rise Again in January
Manufacturing activity is strengthening. Factory orders rose 2.6% (2.8% y/y) in January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 9,000
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly by 9,000 to 745,000 in the week ended February 27...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
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% |