The U.S. second-quarter employment cost index rose 0.7% for overall compensation costs to civilian workers, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted a 0.7% rise in the index.
For civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 0.7% in the quarter, while the benefits components grew 0.6%. In the private sector, compensation rose 0.6% in the quarter, as wages and salaries rose 0.7% in the quarter, while the benefits components grew 0.5%.
In the first quarter, the civilian index was up 0.7%, with wages up 0.8% and benefits up 0.6%.
