Global| Jul 30 2010U.S. Employment Cost Index Gains Moderate As Benefits Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The employment cost index for private industry workers gave back some its recent improvement with a 0.5% gain last quarter. Nevertheless, the increase remained improved from the 0.2% low early last year. (The series dates back to [...]
The employment cost index for private industry workers gave back some its
recent improvement with a 0.5% gain last quarter. Nevertheless, the increase
remained improved from the 0.2% low early last year. (The series dates back to
1980). The increase matched Consensus expectations for a 0.5% gain.
Growth in benefit costs in the private sector slowed to 0.5% during 2Q following the strong 1.4% 1Q pop. The quarterly pullback included sales and office workers (2.8% y/y), production & material handling employees (3.7% y/y) and management & professional workers (1.5% y/y). The cost of health benefits rose further to 5.0% in the latest 12 months, up from the 3.5% low in 2008.
Growth in wages & salaries held steady at 0.4%. Management, professional & related worker wages held steady (1.6% y/y) while sales & office worker wages improved to 4% (2.1% y/y). Production & material handling worker wages gained an improved 0.4% (1.4% y/y) but was still near the least on record. Factory sector wages grew 0.5% (1.5% y/y) while workers in service occupation saw a rise of 0.5% (1.7% y/y).
The employment cost index figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| ECI - Private Industry Workers (%) | Q2 '10 | Q1 '10 | Q4 '09 | Q2 Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Wages & Salaries | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
| Benefit Costs | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
More Economy in Brief
