Employment Cost Index Up 0.7% in Second Quarter

WASHINGTON — The employment cost index rose 0.7% for the second quarter of 2011 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The first-quarter ECI was unrevised at a 0.6% increase.

Wages and salaries, which account for about 70% of compensation, rose 0.4%, but benefits, about 30% of the cost, rose 1.3%. First-quarter wages were unrevised at a 0.4% rise and benefits were revised up, to a 1.3% increase.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 0.5% increase.

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