Newsroom

July 31, 2015

Labor costs growing at slowest pace in 30 years

Labor costs, including wages and benefits, grew at the slowest pace during the second quarter of 2015 in more than 30 years, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal Friday.

The employment-cost index grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent, which is the smallest gain since the Labor Department began keeping records in 1982.

Between April and June, wages and salaries grew by 0.2 percent, while benefits grew 0.1 percent.

NAFCU Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long noted that average hourly earnings have been flat for a while, but the employment-cost index is another important gauge of wage growth. Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee indicated it was still upbeat about labor market progress.

Credit unions can now track compensation trends for a wide variety of professions that are most common in the industry with NAFCU's new salary comparison report, which launched last week and is available as a free benefit for association members.