Q1 Employment Cost Index
Updated: 30-Apr-26 10:09 ET

Highlights

• The Q1 Employment Cost Index increased 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus: 0.8%) on the heels of a 0.7% increase in Q4, with wages and salaries up 0.8% and benefit costs up 1.2%.

Key Factors

• Compensation costs for civilian workers rose 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.6% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Wages and salaries increased 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.5% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Benefit costs increased 3.6% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.8% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025.
• Compensation costs for private industry workers rose 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Wages and salaries increased 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Benefit costs increased 3.6% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 3.5% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025.
• Compensation costs for state and local government workers rose 3.5% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 4.3% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Wages and salaries increased 3.4% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 4.1% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025. Benefit costs increased 3.6% for the 12-month period ending in March 2026 versus 4.8% for the 12-month period ending in March 2025.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that the increase in wages and salaries for civilian workers over the last 12 months (3.4%) is barely running ahead of inflation.

Category	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2	Q1
Quarterly Changes
Total ECI	0.9%	0.7%	0.8%	0.9%	0.9%
Wages and Salaries	0.8%	0.7%	0.8%	1.0%	0.8%
Benefits	1.2%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%	1.1%
Year/Year Changes
Total ECI	3.4%	3.4%	3.5%	3.6%	3.6%
Wages and Salaries	3.4%	3.3%	3.5%	3.6%	3.5%
Benefits	3.6%	3.4%	3.5%	3.5%	3.8%