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- Singapore: Survey of Professional Forecasters (Q4)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Post Another Strong Increase
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index rose 1.6% (-13.2% y/y) during the week ended December 7...
EMU-Area IP Is Slowing But Still Growing; IP Makes Modest Rebound
EMU IP gained 0.2% in October after a 0.6% decrease...
U.S. Producer Prices Edge Higher
The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index using new methodology ticked 0.1% higher (2.5 % y/y) during November...
U.S. Financial Accounts Show Moderate Borrowing, Average Ratio to GDP
rowing in U.S. financial markets slowed in Q2 2018, according to the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts data...
U.S. Small Business Optimism Diminishes
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined to 104.8 during November...
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% |
