Employment Cost Index (ECI)

Definition:

The ECI is designed to measure the change in the cost of labor, including wages and salaries as well as benefits.

Importance:

It's useful in evaluating wage trends and the risk of wage inflation. If wage inflation threatens, it's likely that interest rates will rise, then bond and stock prices will fall.

Source:

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Availability:

Last business day of January, April, July and October at 8:30am ET.Data for quarter prior.

Frequency:

Quarterly.

Revisions:

New seasonal adjustment factors are introduced every year. This revision affects at least five years worth of data. The significance of this revision can be substantial.

Raw Data:

http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/eci.toc.htm

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