<H3>• U.S. Employment Cost Index — Q4 2014</H3>

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Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.2* percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014. In December 2013, the increase in compensation costs was 2.0 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014, compared with a 1.9-percent increase in December 2013. Benefit costs increased 2.6 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014, compared with a 2.2-percent increase for the 12-month period ending December 2013. Private Industry Workers: Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.3 percent over the year. In December 2013 the increase was 2.0 percent. Wages and salaries increased 2.2 percent for the current 12-month period ending December 2014, about the same as the December 2013 increase of 2.1 percent. The cost of benefits rose 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014, which was higher than December 2013, when the increase was 1.9 percent. Employer costs for health benefits increased 2.4 percent over the year. The 12-month percent change for December 2013 was an increase of 3.0 percent. State and Local Government Workers: Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 2.0 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014, compared with a 1.9-percent increase for December 2013. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2014, which was higher than the 1.1-percent increase in December 2013. Benefit costs increased 2.9 percent in December 2014. In December 2013, the increase was 3.3 percent. Please visit this link to read the full report: USDOL-BLS *Actual calculation of ECI is 122.7/120.0 = 1.0225 which rounds to 1.023. NOTE: This report is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in providing legal, financial, accounting or other professional advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Furthermore, while we do our best to ensure that these data are accurate, we suggest that any entity making decisions based on these numbers should verify the data at their source prior to making such decisions. © 2015 Connecticut Human Resource Reports, LLC URL: http://connecticuthumanresources.blogspot.com/

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