The Employment Cost Index for the 3-month period ending in March jumped 1.2 percent for civilian workers and 1.1 percent for government workers.
Over the year, total compensation rose 4.8 percent, wages and salaries rose 5.0 percent, and benefit costs rose 4.5 percent.
Key Points
- Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 4.8 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2023 and increased 4.5 percent in March 2022.
- Wages and salaries increased 5.0 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2023 and increased 4.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2022.
- Benefit costs increased 4.5 percent over the year and increased 4.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2022.
- Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 4.8 percent over the year.
- Wages and salaries increased 5.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2023 and increased 5.0 percent in March 2022.
- The cost of benefits increased 4.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in March 2023 and increased 4.1 percent in March 2022.
- Inflation-adjusted (constant dollar) private wages and salaries increased 0.1 percent for the 12 months ending March 2023.
- Inflation-adjusted benefit costs in the private sector declined 0.6 percent over that same period.
Workers Losing to Inflation
Compensation is up but real (inflation-adjusted) compensation is down.
The Inflation Reduction Act Price Jumps From $385 Billion to Over $1 Trillion
In case you missed it, please note The Inflation Reduction Act Price Jumps From $385 Billion to Over $1 Trillion
Penn Wharton revised its estimate of the cost of the inflation reduction act significantly higher based on Biden’s actual implementation of the deal.
This post originated at MishTalk.Com.
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Mish
Lending/investing by the banks is inflationary (expands
both the volume and turnover of new money). (where S “≠” I ).
Lending/investing by the nonbanks is noninflationary (other things equal).
(where S = I ),
With nonbank lending/investing, there is an increase in
the supply of loan-funds, but no change in the money stock, a velocity factor,
where pooled savings are matched with loans and investments. For example, when there’s an increase in MMMFs.
Monetary policy is only efficient to the extent that it
activates monetary savings, income not spent, where it completes the circuit income and
transaction’s velocity of funds (i.e., drives the banks out of the savings’ business).
Economists don’t know money from mud pie. The 10-month rate-of-change in short-term money flows, the volume and velocity of money, the proxy for the real-output of goods and services, must turn negative before any recession.
And the demand for money (currency and demand deposits divided by M2), has been falling since April 2008, i.e., its reciprocal, transaction’s velocity, has been rising. According to Shadow Stats, it’s at a 53 year high.