US Employment Costs Rise the Least in 2-1/2 Years

2024-01-31 13:38 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

Compensation costs for civilian workers in the United States increased by 0.9% in the final quarter of 2023, easing from a 1.1% rise in the previous three-month period and falling short of the market consensus of a 1% growth.

Employment costs rose at the softest pace since the second quarter of 2021, as wages and salaries advanced by 0.9% (vs 1.2% in Q3) and benefits increased by 0.7% (vs 0.9% in Q3).

Compensation costs for private industry workers rose by 0.9% (vs 1.0% in Q3), and those for state and local government workers advanced by 1.0% (vs 1.5% in Q3).

Year-on-year, employment costs rose by 4.2% in the October to December period, down from a 4.3% increase in the third quarter.



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