Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Labor market

Employment Cost Index — Q2 2026

Released July 31, 2026 · Bureau of Labor Statistics · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Total compensation, all civilian workers rose 0.9% in Q2 2026 to 177.2, +3.4% from a year ago. Prior quarter: 175.6.
Total comp
177.2
▲ +0.9% m/m
· +3.4% y/y
Wages
179.0
▲ +0.9% m/m
· +3.1% y/y
Benefits
170.6
▲ +0.9% m/m
· +3.8% y/y

Revision check

Revision check clear. Prior periods were checked against the values in the last report — no revisions found. All changes below are computed on current-vintage data.

Key figures

Headline →Q2 2026Q1 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total compensation, all civilian workers
Dec 2005=100, SA — the Fed's cleanest read on labour costs
177.2175.6▲ +1.6▲ +0.9%▲ +5.8▲ +3.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wages and salaries, private industry179.0177.5▲ +1.5▲ +0.9%▲ +5.4▲ +3.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Benefits, private industry170.6169.0▲ +1.5▲ +0.9%▲ +6.2▲ +3.8%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Wages and salaries, private industry: up 3.1% from a year ago — the slowest pace since Q1 2021.
  • Total compensation, all civilian workers: up 3.4% from a year ago — the slowest pace since Q2 2021.
  • Benefits, private industry: up 3.8% from a year ago — the fastest pace since Q3 2023.
  • The 1.5% quarterly gain in Wages and salaries, private industry (constant composition) is the biggest since Q2 2022.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail →Q2 2026Q1 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Wages and salaries, private industry (constant composition)
strips out shifts in the mix of jobs — the underlying wage signal
174.3171.8▲ +2.5▲ +1.5%▲ +5.9▲ +3.5%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-08-05 12:29 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.