Compensation costs in the private sector climbed by 4.4% year over year

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting a marginal increase in the compensation costs for American civilian workers climbed, which went up 1.0 per cent for the three months ending in December 2021.

From September 2021, wages and salaries climbed by 1.1 per cent, whereas benefit costs increased by 0.9 per cent. Compensation costs for civilian workers grew by 4.0 per cent in the year ending in December 2021 and 2.5 per cent in the year ending in December 2020.

For the 12-month period ending in December 2021, wages and salaries climbed 4.5 per cent, while for the 12-month period ending in December 2020, wages and salaries increased 2.6 per cent. Benefit costs rose 2.8 per cent year over year, and 2.3 per cent in the 12-month period ending in December 2020.

Compensation costs climbed higher in private sector

Compensation costs in the private sector climbed by 4.4 per cent year over year. The rise was 2.6 per cent in December 2020. Wages and salaries climbed 5.0 per cent in the year ending December 2021 and 2.8 per cent in the year ending December 2020.

The cost of benefits grew by 2.9 per cent in the 12-month period ending in December 2021, and by 2.1 per cent in the 12-month period ending in December 2020. For the 12 months ending in December 2021, inflation-adjusted (constant dollar) private wages and salaries fell by 1.9 per cent. Inflation-adjusted benefit costs fell 3.8 per cent in the private sector.

Increases in compensation cost in private industry occupational groups ranged from 3.5 per cent for management, professional, and related occupations to 7.1 per cent for service occupations over the 12-month period ending in December 2021. Compensation cost increases across industry super-sectors varied from 3.3 per cent for financial activities to 8.0 per cent for leisure and hospitality.

Compensation costs for state and local government workers climbed 2.6 per cent for the year ending in December 2021, compared to 2.3 per cent for the year ending in December 2020. For the 12-month period ending in December 2021, wages and salaries grew 2.7 per cent, compared to 1.8 per cent a year ago.

For the 12-month period ending in December 2021, benefit costs increased by 2.5 per cent. The rise over the previous year was 3.1 per cent.