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 1.7% from December 2012 to December 2013, compared to the U.S. average of 2.0%
• Seattle tied for the 2nd largest total compensation % increase of the 4 large metro areas in the West (San Jose – 2.6%, Los Angeles – 1.7%, Seattle, 1.7% Phoenix – 1.5%)
• Local wages and salaries increased 1.8% over the year, below the U.S. average increase of 2.1%
• Since 2011 employer costs for employee compensation in the Seattle area have risen on average 2.5% annually