The latest BLS News Release showing total compensation costs for private industry workers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia metropolitan area is now available online at http://www.bls.gov/ro9/eciseat.pdf.

This release covers data from the Employment Cost Index, a quarterly survey which measures changes in labor costs (employee wages and employee benefits) over time.  Items of note include:

• Local total compensation costs (wages + benefits) for private industry workers increased 4.2% from June 2012 to June 2013, compared to the U.S. average of 1.9%
• Seattle had the largest total compensation % increase of the 4 large metro areas in the West (Seattle – 4.2%, San Jose – 2.4%, Los Angeles – 2.3%, Phoenix – 1.7%)
• Local wages and salaries increased 3.2% over the year, above the U.S. average increase of 1.9%
• Since 2011 employer costs for employee compensation in the Seattle area have risen on average 2.6% annually