WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Compensation for private-industry workers rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in the third quarter, a U.S. federal agency said Tuesday.
Salaries, which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs, rose 0.3 percent, while benefits costs, including healthcare, rose 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, compared to a 0.4 percent gain in the second quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
For government employees, including state and local governments, compensation rose 1.7 percent in 12 months in September, slightly slower than a year earlier. Pay rose 0.9 percent while benefits costs rose 2.9 percent, the bureau said.
The report said the cost of health benefits for private industry workers rose 2.7 percent on an annual basis, a steeper climb than the annual rate of September 2012, which was 2.3 percent.
