US employment cost index for Q3 0.8% versus 0.9% estimate

• Prior quarter of 0.9%
• Employment cost index 0.8% versus 0.9% estimate.
• Employment benefits 0.8% versus 0.7% prior quarter
• Wages 0.8% versus 1.0% per quarter

YoY data shows:

• Civilian worker compensation: +3.5%

  • Wages & salaries: +3.5%

  • Benefits: +3.5%

• Private industry compensation: +3.5%

  • Wages & salaries: +3.6%

  • Benefits: +3.5%

  • Real (inflation-adjusted) wages: +0.6%

• State & local government compensation: +3.6%

  • Wages & salaries: +3.5%

  • Benefits: +3.8%

  • Real (inflation-adjusted) wages: +0.5%

Employment costs continued to rise steadily in the third quarter of 2025, with civilian compensation increasing 0.8% from June to September and up 3.5% over the past year. Wages, salaries, and benefits each rose at the same 0.8% quarterly pace. Year-over-year, compensation growth held at 3.5% for both civilian and private-sector workers, with private-sector wages up 3.6% and real wages improving modestly by 0.6%. State and local government compensation increased 3.6% over the year, supported by a 3.8% rise in benefits and a 0.5% gain in real wages. This release was delayed more than five weeks due to the federal government shutdown, which reduced survey response rates. The next ECI report, covering the December 2025 period, will be released on February 10, 2026.

The good news is the YoY Employment numbers are keeping ahead of the CPI inflation which is around 3.0%. So real wages are higher.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.