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Employment costs at record lows Related stories
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The cost of employing a worker in the United States fell to a record-low level in the third quarter, the Labor Department reported Friday.

For the past year, the Employment Cost Index increased 1.5%, the slowest pace since the government began tracking the data in 1982. The ECI increased at a 1.8% annual rate in the second quarter.

Wages increased 1.5% in the past four quarters, down from 1.8% in the previous quarter. Benefit costs rose 1.6% compared with a 1.8% rise in the second quarter. These are both record lows.

Ron Blackwell, the chief economist at the AFL-CIO, said the weakness in compensation was no surprise given the severity of the recession.

"Employers...are negotiating hard on wages and benefit cuts," Blackwell said.

In the three months ended in September, employment costs rose 0.4%, matching the pace set in the second quarter and just above the record low 0.3% gain in the first three months of the year. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/employment-costs-at-record-lows-in-q3-2009-10-30