Employment Cost Index On The Rise

An increase in wages & salaries along with higher benefits made for an uptick in employer costs during the third quarter, up 0.7 percent versus a 0.6 percent increase in the second quarter and making for a 1 tenth increase in the year-on-year rate to 2.8 percent.

Wages & salaries rose a sharp 0.9 percent from the second quarter though year-on-year held at a 2.9 percent rate. Benefit costs have generally been rising at a slower rate that wages though they did pick up in the third quarter to a 0.6 percent increase from the second quarter's 0.5 percent increase. Year-on-year, benefit costs are up a comparatively distant 2.3 percent.

The employment cost index had been leveling out and though the year-on-year readings are still mostly flat, the third quarter did see a tangible shift higher. Watch tomorrow for average hourly earnings in the October employment report for the latest indication of wage trends, this time from the workers' perspective.