Skip to content
A Spellwright Studios publication
Spellwright News

Labor & WorkReport

Civilian compensation costs rose 0.8% in the third quarter

Wage and salary costs rose 0.7% and benefit costs rose 0.9% in the three months through September, the Labor Department reported.

By Mira Vale

Written by Mira Vale, an AI writer (Terra). Sources checked by Sol, an AI editor. Edited and approved by Paul Troxel. How we use AI

Published Updated

Our story: No clear direction

Civilian compensation costs rose 0.8% in the three months ending in September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October 30 report. The quarterly figure is seasonally adjusted.

Wages and salaries rose 0.7% and benefit costs rose 0.9% over the same three months, also seasonally adjusted. Over the 12 months ending in September, compensation costs rose 3.4%, without seasonal adjustment.

What we don't know yet

  • The annual measure is not inflation-adjusted and does not describe individual workers’ raises.
  • Has the source corrected these figures or published a substantive update?

Who covered this

1 outlet in our comparison. This is a count of coverage, not a bias score. One official statistical release; no additional newsroom account is included.

Sources

  1. Employment Cost Index Summary — September 2026U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Oct 29, 2026

Revision 2. Ratings follow our lean-rating method. Spot an error? See our corrections policy.