The Employment Cost Index released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that compensation costs for civilian workers rose by 3.5% for the twelve months ending September 2025. This increase included a 3.5% rise in wages and salaries, alongside a similar rise in benefit costs.

Quarterly, compensation costs recorded a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.8% during the three months ending September 2025, with a balanced rise in both wages and benefits by the same percentage compared to June 2025.

In the private sector, compensation costs increased by 3.5% year-over-year, while inflation-adjusted wages and salaries (in constant dollars) saw a slight increase of 0.6% during the same year.

It is noted that the release of September 2025 data was delayed by more than five weeks due to a federal government shutdown, which hindered data collection prior to the closure, and response rates to the survey decreased during that period.