Private industry compensation costs up 2.7 percent from December 2018 to December 2019

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.7 percent in 2019, compared with a gain of 3.0 percent in 2018. Wages and salaries increased 3.0 percent for the year ending in December 2019, while employers’ costs for benefits rose 1.9 percent.

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Chart Data 12-month percent change compensation costs in private industry Month Total compensation Wages and salaries Benefits Mar 2006 2.6% 2.4% 3.0% Jun 2006 2.8 2.8 2.7 Sep 2006 3.0 3.0 2.8 Dec 2006 3.2 3.2 3.1 Mar 2007 3.2 3.6 2.2 Jun 2007 3.1 3.3 2.6 Sep 2007 3.1 3.4 2.4 Dec 2007 3.0 3.3 2.4 Mar 2008 3.2 3.2 3.2 Jun 2008 3.0 3.1 2.6 Sep 2008 2.8 2.9 2.4 Dec 2008 2.4 2.6 2.0 Mar 2009 1.9 2.0 1.6 Jun 2009 1.5 1.6 1.3 Sep 2009 1.2 1.4 1.1 Dec 2009 1.2 1.3 0.9 Mar 2010 1.6 1.5 2.0 Jun 2010 1.9 1.6 2.4 Sep 2010 2.0 1.6 2.8 Dec 2010 2.1 1.8 2.9 Mar 2011 2.0 1.6 3.0 Jun 2011 2.3 1.7 4.0 Sep 2011 2.1 1.7 3.3 Dec 2011 2.2 1.6 3.6 Mar 2012 2.1 1.9 2.8 Jun 2012 1.8 1.8 1.9 Sep 2012 1.9 1.8 2.2 Dec 2012 1.8 1.7 2.0 Mar 2013 1.9 1.7 2.0 Jun 2013 1.9 1.9 1.9 Sep 2013 1.9 1.8 2.0 Dec 2013 2.0 2.1 1.9 Mar 2014 1.7 1.7 1.8 Jun 2014 2.0 1.9 2.4 Sep 2014 2.3 2.3 2.3 Dec 2014 2.3 2.2 2.5 Mar 2015 2.8 2.8 2.6 Jun 2015 1.9 2.2 1.4 Sep 2015 1.9 2.1 1.4 Dec 2015 1.9 2.1 1.3 Mar 2016 1.8 2.0 1.2 Jun 2016 2.4 2.6 1.7 Sep 2016 2.3 2.4 1.8 Dec 2016 2.2 2.3 1.8 Mar 2017 2.3 2.6 1.9 Jun 2017 2.4 2.4 2.2 Sep 2017 2.5 2.6 2.4 Dec 2017 2.6 2.8 2.3 Mar 2018 2.8 2.9 2.5 Jun 2018 2.9 2.9 2.8 Sep 2018 2.9 3.1 2.5 Dec 2018 3.0 3.1 2.6 Mar 2019 2.8 3.0 2.4 Jun 2019 2.6 3.0 1.8 Sep 2019 2.7 3.0 2.0 Dec 2019 2.7 3.0 1.9

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program. They are not seasonally adjusted and not adjusted for changes in consumer prices. To learn more, see “Employment Cost Index — December 2019.” We have historical data on compensation cost changes adjusted for changes in consumer prices. We also have more charts on the Employment Cost Index. Compensation cost includes wages and salaries and benefits. Private industry workers exclude employees of state and local government.