Employment Cost Index

The Employment Cost Index (ECI), released by US Bureau of Labour Statistics, is a quarterly measure of the change in the price of labor, defined as compensation per employee hour worked. Closely watched by many economists, the ECI is an indicator of cost pressures within companies that could lead to price inflation for finished goods and services. The index measures changes in the cost of compensation not only for wages and salaries, but also for an extensive list of benefits.

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Most recent - Thursday 31 July 2025 12:30

0.9%

Revised

Forecast

0.8%

Actual

0.9%

Higher numbers than forecast tend to be bullish for USD/xxx pairs and bearish for xxx/USD pairs.

Trading range

Forecast history

The most recent announced value for Employment Cost Index was 0.9% against a forecast of 0.8%.

Past events

Date

Forecast

Actual

Thursday 31 July 2025 12:30

0.8%

0.9%

Wednesday 30 April 2025 12:30

0.9%

Friday 31 January 2025 13:30

0.9%

Thursday 31 October 2024 12:30

0.9%

0.8%

Wednesday 31 July 2024 12:30

0.9%

Tuesday 30 April 2024 12:30

1.2%

Wednesday 31 January 2024 13:30

0.9%

Tuesday 31 October 2023 12:30

1.1%

Friday 28 July 2023 12:30

1.1%

Friday 28 April 2023 12:30

1.1%

1.2%

Tuesday 31 January 2023 13:30

1.1%

Friday 28 October 2022 12:30

1.2%

Economic context

Recent economic data has been broadly neutral for USD. Other recent announcements which may affect the market's interpretation of the next Employment Cost Index result:

		Previous	Latest
Existing Home Sales Change (MoM)	Bullish change	-2.7%	2%
S&P Global Composite PMI	Bullish change	55.1	55.4
S&P Global Manufacturing PMI	Bullish change	49.8	53.3
S&P Global Services PMI	Bearish change	55.7	55.4
Initial Jobless Claims	Bearish change	224K	235K
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey	Bearish change	15.9	-0.3
Building Permits (MoM)	Bearish change	1.393M	1.354M
Housing Starts (MoM)	Bullish change	1.321M	1.428M
UoM 1-year Consumer Inflation Expectations	Bullish change	4.5%	4.9%
UoM 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectation	Bullish change	3.4%	3.9%
Michigan Consumer Expectations Index	Bearish change	57.7	57.2
Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index	Bearish change	61.7	58.6
Industrial Production (MoM)	Bearish change	0.4%	-0.1%
NY Empire State Manufacturing Index	Bullish change	5.5	11.9
Retail Sales (MoM)	Bearish change	0.9%	0.5%
Retail Sales Control Group	Bearish change	0.8%	0.5%
Retail Sales ex Autos (MoM)	Bearish change	0.8%	0.3%
Initial Jobless Claims	Bullish change	227K	224K
Producer Price Index (MoM)	Bullish change	0%	0.9%
Producer Price Index (YoY)	Bullish change	2.4%	3.3%
Producer Price Index ex Food & Energy (MoM)	Bullish change	0%	0.9%
Producer Price Index ex Food & Energy (YoY)	Bullish change	2.6%	3.7%
Monthly Budget Statement	Bearish change	$27B	$-291B
Consumer Price Index (MoM)	Bearish change	0.3%	0.2%
Consumer Price Index (YoY)	(no change)	2.7%	2.7%
Consumer Price Index ex Food & Energy (MoM)	Bullish change	0.2%	0.3%
Consumer Price Index ex Food & Energy (YoY)	Bullish change	2.9%	3.1%

About Employment Cost Index

Country:	United States
Currency:	USD
Source:	US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Category:	Labor Market
Frequency:	Quarterly

Related events

	Australia		Unemployment Rate s.a.
	Australia		Employment Change s.a.
	Canada		Unemployment Rate
	Canada		Net Change in Employment
	New Zealand		Unemployment Rate
	New Zealand		Employment Change
	United Kingdom		Employment Change
	United Kingdom		ILO Unemployment Rate (3M)
	United Kingdom		Claimant Count Change
	United States		Nonfarm Payrolls
	United States		ADP Employment Change
	United States		Average Hourly Earnings (MoM)
	United States		Average Hourly Earnings (YoY)
	Australia		Wage Price Index (QoQ)
	Australia		Part-Time Employment
	Australia		Participation Rate
	Australia		Full-Time Employment
	Canada		Average Hourly Wages (YoY)
	Germany		Unemployment Change
	Germany		Unemployment Rate s.a.
	Eurozone		Unemployment Rate
	Eurozone		Employment Change (QoQ)
	Japan		Labor Cash Earnings (YoY)
	Japan		Unemployment Rate
	New Zealand		Participation Rate
	New Zealand		Labour Cost Index (QoQ)
	United Kingdom		Claimant Count Rate
	United Kingdom		Average Earnings Including Bonus (3Mo/Yr)
	United Kingdom		Average Earnings Excluding Bonus (3Mo/Yr)
	United States		ISM Manufacturing Employment Index
	United States		Unit Labor Costs
	United States		Personal Income (MoM)
	United States		Nonfarm Payrolls Benchmark Revision
	United States		ISM Services Employment Index
	United States		Unemployment Rate
	United States		Nonfarm Productivity
	United States		JOLTS Job Openings
	United States		Initial Jobless Claims
	United States		Challenger Job Cuts
	United States		Labor Force Participation Rate
	United States		U6 Underemployment Rate

Calendar - Employment Cost Index - United States

Employment Cost Index

Most recent - Thursday 31 July 2025 12:30

Trading range

Trading range after each Employment Cost Index event

Forecast history

Past events

Economic context

About Employment Cost Index

Related events