AP: Pay, benefits rise at slowest pace since 1982

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20091030/D9BLH4580.html

Oct 30, 12:19 PM (ET)

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Wages and benefits rose by the smallest amount on record in the 12 months ending in September, as high unemployment limits the income growth of workers still receiving paychecks.

With employers cutting costs to maintain profits, they are sharply reducing the rate of growth in total compensation, economists said.

The average cost of wages, health care and other benefits increased 1.5 percent in the year ending in September, the smallest gain since records began in June 1982, the Labor Department said Friday.

Annual increases in the department's Employment Cost Index have been more than cut in half since December 2007, when the recession began. That month, the index grew 3.3 percent over the previous year.

The index tracks the average cost to employers of each hour worked, so it doesn't reflect layoffs and other changes in the size of a company's work force.

FULL story at link.