Employer compensation costs rose 0.8% in third quarter, BLS Employment Cost Index shows
Civilian compensation costs rose 0.8%, seasonally adjusted, in the three months ending in September 2026, after 0.9% in the June quarter. Over 12 months they rose 3.4%, while inflation-adjusted wages and salaries fell 0.6% in private industry and 0.5% in state and local government.
SignalData ·
Compensation costs for civilian workers rose 0.8%, seasonally adjusted, in the three months ending in September 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Employment Cost Index release on Friday, Oct. 30. Wages and salaries rose 0.7% and benefit costs rose 0.9% from June 2026.1
In the previous quarter, the three months ending in June 2026, civilian compensation costs rose 0.9%, with wages and salaries up 0.9% and benefits up 1.0%, seasonally adjusted, according to the release's tables.2
The index tracks employers' costs for wages and salaries and for benefits. The bureau reports it for civilian workers and separately for private industry workers and for state and local government workers.1
Over the year
For the 12 months ending in September 2026, civilian compensation costs rose 3.4%, not seasonally adjusted. Wages and salaries rose 3.1% and benefit costs rose 3.9% over that period.1
Private industry and state and local government
- Private industry, three months ending September 2026 (seasonally adjusted): compensation up 0.8%, wages and salaries up 0.8%, benefits up 0.9%.
- Private industry, 12 months ending September 2026 (not seasonally adjusted): compensation up 3.4%, wages and salaries up 3.1%, benefits up 3.9%.
- State and local government, three months ending September 2026 (seasonally adjusted): compensation up 0.6%, wages and salaries up 0.6%, benefits up 0.7%.
- State and local government, 12 months ending September 2026 (not seasonally adjusted): compensation up 3.5%, wages and salaries up 3.2%, benefits up 3.8%.1
Adjusted for inflation
The release gives inflation-adjusted figures for wages and salaries. In private industry, "inflation-adjusted (constant dollar) wages and salaries decreased 0.6 percent over the year" ending in September 2026, the bureau said. In state and local government, the same measure decreased 0.5% over the year.1
Upcoming changes
The bureau said that beginning with December 2026 data, the index will introduce updated fixed employment weights and will no longer include workers' compensation costs. The December 2026 release is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 29, 2027, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.1
What the records do not show
- The release's text does not name the price index used to compute the constant-dollar figures.1
- The narrative gives inflation-adjusted figures only for wages and salaries in private industry and in state and local government, not a headline figure for all civilian workers.1
- The release reports percent changes in employer costs, measured with fixed employment weights. Its tables do not give dollar pay levels or counts of workers.2
Sources
Records are the government documents themselves. Reporting is other newsrooms’ work, credited here; we write our own account and do not reuse their words.
- RecordEmployment Cost Index – September 2026 (news release text). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oct. 30, 2026.
- RecordEmployment Cost Index – September 2026 (news release with tables). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oct. 30, 2026.
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