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CCH® BENEFITS — 8/13/08

Benefits Costs Rise More Slowly Than Wages For Second Consecutive Quarter

From Spencer's Benefits Reports: Benefits costs rose at 0.6% and compensation increased 0.7% for the period from March 2008 to June 2008, according to the most recent Employment Cost Index from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In the last quarter’s BLS statistics, benefits costs also rose at a slightly slower pace than salaries.

For the period from March 2008 to June 2008, benefits cost increases were 0.7% lower than in the March 2007 to June 2007 period.

Benefits costs for private industry rose 0.5%, compared with an increase of 0.6% in the previous quarter. For state and local governments, however, benefits costs increased 1.1%, compared with only 0.3% in the previous quarter. In the June 2008 period, wages and salaries rose 0.9% for state and local government workers.

June 2007 To June 2008

In the year ended June 2008, wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 3.2%, slightly lower than the 3.4% increase in the year ended June 2007. Benefits costs gained 2.9% for civilian workers for the year ended June 2008, less than the increase of 3.4% for the year ended June 2007. Private industry benefits costs increased 2.6%, less than the state and local government increase of 3.5% for the 12-month period ended June 2008.

Wages and salaries for union workers rose 2.9% for the 12 months ended in June 2008, more than the 2.5% increase in the year ended June 2007. Wages and salaries for nonunion workers rose 3.2% for the 12 months ended in June 2008, less than the 3.4% gain in the year ended June 2007. Benefits costs for union workers rose 2.4%, compared with a 2.7% increase for nonunion workers in the year ended June 2008.

The Employment Cost Index covers the following benefits:

For additional technical information on the Employment Cost Index, contact the BLS at (202) 691-6199.

Compensation Component June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 June 2006 June 2007 June 2008
Civilian workers            
Compensation costs 3.7% 3.8% 3.2% 3.8% 3.3% 3.1%
Wages and salaries 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.8 3.4 3.2
Benefits costs 5.9 7.1 5.0 3.4 3.4 2.9
Private industry            
Compensation costs 3.5 3.9 3.1 2.8 3.1 3.0
Wages and salaries 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.8 3.3 3.1
Benefits costs 5.8 7.3 4.7 2.7 2.6 2.6
State and local government            
Compensation costs 4.3 3.5 3.5 3.8 4.8 3.5
Wages and salaries 3.1 2.1 2.3 3.1 3.8 3.4
Benefits costs 6.8 6.6 6.3 5.5 6.6 3.5

 

 

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.

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