Compensation Costs Up for Employees

 

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.2 percent, the smallest percent change published since the series began in 1980. -Courtesy of Industry Queensland Government

For the 3-month period ending September 2009, compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted. Both components of compensation--wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation) and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation)--increased the same amount, 0.4 percent.

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.5 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. This was smaller than the 2.9 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in September 2008. Wages and salaries increased 1.5 percent for the current 12-month period, slowing from a 3.1 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in September 2008. Benefit costs rose 1.6 percent, down from a 2.6 percent increase for the 12-month period ending September
2008.

Private industry workers had their compensation costs, wages and salaries, and benefit costs decelerated for the 12-month period ending September 2009. This registered the smallest increases since each series began, but the differences were not statistically different from last quarter. 

The wage and salary series, which began in 1975, increased 1.4 percent for the current 12-month period.  The cost of benefits, which have been measured since 1980, increased 1.1 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. Employer costs for health benefits increased 4.7 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. In September 2008, the 12-month percent change was 3.9 percent.

Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending September 2009 ranged from 0.8 percent for sales and office workers to 2.1 percent for service occupations.