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The Employment Cost Index for December 2016 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 31,
<br /> 2017.
<br /> Technical Note
<br /> The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of
<br /> employment shifts among occupations and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages
<br /> and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits.
<br /> Wages and salaries are defined as straight-time average hourly earnings or, for workers not paid on an hourly
<br /> basis, straight-time earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates are total
<br /> earnings before payroll deductions, excluding premium pay for overtime, work on weekends and holidays,
<br /> and shift differentials. Production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living
<br /> adjustments are included in straight-time earnings, whereas nonproduction bonuses (such as Christmas or
<br /> year-end bonuses) are excluded.Also excluded are such items as payments-in-kind, free room and board, and
<br /> tips.
<br /> Based on available resources and the existing ECI sample, it was determined that estimates would be
<br /> published for 15 metropolitan areas. Since the ECI sample sizes by area are directly related to area
<br /> employment, the areas with the largest private industry employment as of the year 2000 were selected. For
<br /> each of these areas, 12-month percent changes and associated standard errors were computed for the periods
<br /> since December 2006.
<br /> The metropolitan area definitions of the 15 published localities are listed below.
<br /> • Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Ga.-Ala. Combined Statistical Area (CSA) includes Barrow,
<br /> Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth,
<br /> Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Newton, Paulding, Pickens,
<br /> Pike, Polk,Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Upson, and Walton Counties in Georgia; and Chambers County in
<br /> Alabama.
<br /> • Boston-Worcester-Manchester, Mass.-N.H. CSA includes Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth,
<br /> Suffolk, and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts; and Belknap, Hillsborough,Merrimack,Rockingham,
<br /> and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.
<br /> • Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,Ill.-Ind.-Wis.CSA includes Cook,DeKalb,DuPage,Grundy,Kane,
<br /> Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, and
<br /> Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
<br /> • Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas CSA includes Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood,
<br /> Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties in Texas.
<br /> • Detroit-Warren-Flint,Mich.CSA includes Genesee,Lapeer,Livingston,Macomb,Monroe,Oakland,St.
<br /> Clair,Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.
<br /> • Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas CSA includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston,
<br /> Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, and Waller Counties in Texas.
<br /> • Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif. CSA includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San
<br /> Bernardino, and Ventura Counties in California.
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