National – According to data from the New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.5% in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, Mass.-R.I.-N.H.-Conn. metropolitan area for the 12-month period ending March 2019. Nationally, total compensation costs rose 2.8%.
The data are derived from the Employment Cost Index (ECI) program which is a quarterly measure of changes in labor costs. Some highlights are listed below.
- Wages and salaries, the largest component of total compensation costs, increased 2.4% in Boston from March 2018 to March of 2019. Nationwide, wages and salaries increased 3%.
- Total compensation costs in Boston (2.5%) was below that of New York (3.9%) but above that of Philadelphia (1.9%). Boston’s 2.4% gain in wages and salaries during March 2019 was also below that in New York (3.5%) but above that of Philadelphia (1.9%).
- Over-the-year growth rates in the cost of total compensation ranged from an increase of 3.9% in New York to a decrease of 0.2% in Seattle during March. Wage and salary annual growth rates ranged from 4.5% in Los Angeles to 1.4% in Houston.
In addition to the geographic data, a comprehensive national report is available that provides data by industry, occupational group and union status, as well as for both private and state and local government employees and is available at www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.toc.htm.
