MW: U.S. employment costs at record low levels in Q3
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. employment cost index, a broad measure of wage and benefit costs in private industry, rose at the smallest annual rate on record in the third quarter, the Labor Department reported Friday. On a year-on-year basis, the employment cost index rose 1.5%, the smallest gain since the government began tracking the information in 1982. Wages increased 1.5% over the prior year and benefits costs rose 1.6%, both record lows. In the three months ended September, employment costs increased 0.4%, the same rate as in the prior quarter. The increase in the employment cost index in the third quarter was in line with expectations of Wall Street economists, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. It is just above the record low 0.3% gain set in the first quarter. Benefit costs rose 0.4% in the third quarter, while wages and salaries rose 0.4
