BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
21/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 22/11/2024 17:19
Changing Compensation Costs in the Washington Metropolitan Area — September 2024
News Release Information
24-2445-PHI
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Contacts Technical information:
- (215) 597-3282
- [email protected]
- www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic
- (215) 861-5600
- [email protected]
Changing Compensation Costs in the Washington Metropolitan Area - September 2024
Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.6 percent in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ended September 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that one year ago, Washington experienced an annual gain of 5.2 percent in compensation costs. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Nationwide, compensation costs also rose 3.6 percent in September 2024.
View Chart Data
Chart 1. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation for private industry workers in the United States and Washington, not seasonally adjusted
| Quarter | United States | Washington |
|
Sep 2022 |
5.2 | 4.4 |
|
Dec |
5.1 | 4.3 |
|
Mar |
4.8 | 5.5 |
|
Jun |
4.5 | 5.2 |
|
Sep 2023 |
4.3 | 5.2 |
|
Dec |
4.1 | 4.4 |
|
Mar |
4.1 | 4.5 |
|
Jun |
3.9 | 4.3 |
|
Sep 2024 |
3.6 | 3.6 |
Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced at a 4.0-percent pace for the 12-month period ended September 2024. (See chart 2.) Nationwide, wages and salaries rose 3.8 percent over the same period.
View Chart Data
Chart 2. Twelve-month percent changes in wages and salaries for private industry workers in the United States and Washington, not seasonally adjusted
| Quarter | United States | Washington |
|
Sep 2022 |
5.2 | 4.1 |
|
Dec |
5.1 | 4.3 |
|
Mar |
5.1 | 5.7 |
|
Jun |
4.6 | 5.7 |
|
Sep 2023 |
4.5 | 5.5 |
|
Dec |
4.3 | 4.9 |
|
Mar |
4.3 | 5.1 |
|
Jun |
4.1 | 4.9 |
|
Sep 2024 |
3.8 | 4.0 |
Washington is 1 of 15 metropolitan areas in the United States and 1 of 5 areas in the South region of the country for which locality compensation cost data are available. Among these 15 largest areas, over-the-year percentage changes in compensation costs ranged from 5.3 percent in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland to 1.7 percent in Boston-Worcester-Providence in September 2024; for wages and salaries, Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs registered the largest increase (5.6 percent), and Boston registered the smallest (1.6 percent). (See chart 3.)
View Chart Data
Chart 3. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation and wages and salaries for private industry workers by area, not seasonally adjusted, September 2024
| Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries |
|
Boston |
1.7 | 1.6 |
|
Miami |
2.2 | 2.4 |
|
New York |
3.0 | 3.0 |
|
Chicago |
3.1 | 3.1 |
|
Philadelphia |
3.2 | 3.4 |
|
Phoenix |
3.3 | 3.4 |
|
United States |
3.6 | 3.8 |
|
Washington |
3.6 | 4.0 |
|
Dallas |
3.8 | 3.7 |
|
Minneapolis |
4.1 | 4.2 |
|
Seattle |
4.4 | 4.7 |
|
Houston |
4.6 | 4.4 |
|
Los Angeles |
4.6 | 4.8 |
|
Atlanta |
4.8 | 5.6 |
|
Detroit |
5.0 | 4.3 |
|
San Jose |
5.3 | 5.4 |
The annual increase in compensation costs in Washington was 3.6 percent in September 2024, compared to advances that ranged from 4.8 percent to 2.2 percent in the four other metropolitan areas in the South (Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-The Woodlands, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie). Washington's 4.0-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to rates ranging from 5.6 percent to 2.4 percent in the four other southern localities. (See table 2.)
The Employment Cost Index for December 2024 is scheduled to be released on January 31, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Changes to ECI Index Rounding
Effective with the release of the June 2025 ECI, BLS plans to publish index levels to three decimal places. Percent changes based on these more precise indexes will continue to be published to one decimal place, see www.bls.gov/eci/notices/2024/changes-to-index-rounding.htm.
Technical Note
Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures quarterly changes in compensation costs (wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits) free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. More information can be found in the national Employment Cost Index Technical Note. For information on survey concepts, coverage, methods, nonresponse adjustment, and imputation see the National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods.
In addition to the data presented here, ECI national data by industry, occupational group, and union status, as well as data for civilian, private, and state and local government employees, are available on the Employment Cost Index website. The national Employment Cost Index Summary is also available online. Additional information for regions, states, and local areas may be accessed via our Mid-Atlantic Information Office regional homepage.
The substate area data published in this news release reflect the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01, dated February 28, 2013. See the Classification Systems Used by the National Compensation Survey for more information on available geographies.
The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA includes the District of Columbia; Baltimore city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Talbot, and Washington Counties in Maryland; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester cities and Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; Berkeley, Hampshire, and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia; and Franklin County in Pennsylvania.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Table 1. Employment Cost Index for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry workers, United States, South Census region, and the Washington area, not seasonally adjusted| Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | ||||||
| 12-month percent changes for period ended- | 12-month percent changes for period ended- | |||||||
| Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. | Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. | |
|
United States |
||||||||
|
2020 |
2.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
|
2021 |
2.8 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
|
2022 |
4.8 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
|
2023 |
4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
|
2024 |
4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | ||
|
South |
||||||||
|
2020 |
2.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
|
2021 |
3.1 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
|
2022 |
4.6 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 5.1 |
|
2023 |
5.2 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.6 |
|
2024 |
4.3 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | ||
|
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington |
||||||||
|
2020 |
3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
|
2021 |
3.9 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
|
2022 |
3.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
|
2023 |
5.5 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.9 |
|
2024 |
4.5 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.0 |
| Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | ||||
| 12-month percent changes for period ended- | 12-month percent changes for period ended- | |||||
| Sep. 2023 | Jun. 2024 | Sep. 2024 | Sep. 2023 | Jun. 2024 | Sep. 2024 | |
|
United States |
4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
|
Northeast |
4.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
|
Boston-Worcester-Providence |
4.1 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 1.6 |
|
New York-Newark |
4.7 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
|
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden |
5.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
|
South |
4.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
|
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs |
4.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
|
Dallas-Fort Worth |
3.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
|
Houston-The Woodlands |
4.3 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 4.4 |
|
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie |
5.2 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 6.6 | 2.4 |
|
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington |
5.2 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.0 |
|
Midwest |
3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
|
Chicago-Naperville |
4.2 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
|
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor |
3.7 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.3 |
|
Minneapolis-St. Paul |
3.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
|
West |
4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
|
Los Angeles-Long Beach |
4.6 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
|
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale |
3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
|
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland |
3.3 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 5.4 |
|
Seattle-Tacoma |
4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.7 |