Employment cost in US rises 0.9% in 2nd quarter

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The employment cost index in the US, which measures the change in the price businesses and the government pay for civilian labor, rose 0.9% in the second quarter, according to data released on Wednesday.

This increase was slightly below market estimates of a 1% gain and followed a 1.2% rise in the first quarter of this year.

Over the 12-month period ending in June, compensation costs for civilian workers increased by 4.1%, down from a 4.5% rise in June 2023, as reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wages and salaries saw an annual increase of 4.2% for the same period.

The data also indicated that compensation costs for state and local government workers experienced an annual increase of 4.9% in June.