Compensation costs increase slightly in 2009

SBJ Staff

Posted online February 2, 2010 | 8:54 am

Compensation costs and wages and salaries increased in all four regions of the United States in 2009, according to information released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the uptick was a historic low.

The Employment Cost Index showed a 0.9 percent increase in total compensation costs for private industry workers in the Midwest in 2009 compared to 2008. The ECI, a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in wages, salaries and employer costs for employee benefits.

Nationally, the index was up 1.2 percent, with increases of 1.2 percent in the West region, 1.3 percent in the South and 1.4 percent in the Northeast. The 1.2 percent national increase is the smallest year-to-year growth rate since the series began in 1979.

Wages were up 1.1 percent in the Midwest during the 12-month period, and wages increased 1.4 percent for the country as a whole – also the smallest increase since the survey's beginning.

Only one metropolitan area saw a decrease in costs. The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., metropolitan statistical area posted a 2.4 percent decrease in total compensation costs and a 2.5 percent decrease in wages.

The complete results of the survey are available here.

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