Employment Cost Index September 2026: Q3 Compensation Rises 0.8% as Benefit Costs Outpace Wages

The Employment Cost Index rose 0.8 percent in the three months ended September 2026, and the two halves of that bill moved in opposite directions. Wages and salaries for civilian workers added 0.7 percent in the quarter and 3.1 percent over the prior twelve months, a 40-basis-point slowdown from the 3.5 percent gain a year earlier. Benefit costs, by contrast, rose 3.9 percent over the year, with the health-benefit line up 6.4 percent. That spread, eight-tenths of a percentage point, is the quiet center of this release for anyone watching what a tight labor market now costs an employer.

Key Takeaways Civilian compensation rose 0.8 percent in the quarter ended September 2026, easing from 0.9 pe…