Recent Updates
- Israel: Average Housing Prices (Q2)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Housing Affordability Declines Further in June
The NAR Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index fell 3.6% in June...
EMU Output Makes Solid Gain in June
The European Monetary Union posted a 0.7% increase for industrial output in June...
U.S. Producer Prices Fall During July; Core Increase Weakens
The Producer Price Index for Final Demand fell 0.5% during July...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Continue on an Uptrend
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended August 6 rose 14,000 to 262,000...
RICS Survey Points to More U.K. Housing Sector Weakness
The survey of housing market conditions in the U.K. continues to show strength in prices versus weakness...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller January 31, 2007
The employment cost index for private industry workers increased 0.8% last quarter. That was less than the 1.0% rise expected by the Consensus, but during the latter part of 2006 the increases clearly accelerated versus the prior year.
For the full year 2006, the ECI grew 3.1% versus a 3.0% gain during 2005.
Wages & salaries grew 0.7% after a 0.8% 3Q rise. The full year saw an acceleration to 3.1% growth from 2.5% in 2005 and that was the fastest since 2001. Factory sector wages grew 0.7% (NSA, 2.3% y/y) and wages in the service-producing industries also grew 0.7% (3.3% y/y), the fastest in three years.
Benefit costs in private industry sustained the prior strong 3Q gain and grew 1.0% reflecting a 1.1% (3.7% y/y) surge in service industries.
The 12-month gain in health insurance benefits was stable at 4.9% but that was down from a 6.4% increase during 2005, a 7.3% rise during 2004 and a 10.5% 2003 rise.
To view the latest release with all the industry detail visit BLS site.
ECI- Private Industry Workers | 4Q '06 | 3Q '06 | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Compensation | 0.8% | 0.9% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.7% |
Wages & Salaries | 0.7% | 0.8% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
Benefit Costs | 1.0% | 1.0% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 6.6% |