Highlights
Wage growth is picking up based on employment-cost data where the headline index rose 0.4 percent in the first quarter. The gain is one tenth below the quarterly rate in the fourth quarter, but details show solid acceleration for the wage component, up 0.5 percent vs the fourth quarter's 0.3 percent rise. Growth in wages has been slow and flat the last several years and has been lagging growth in benefits which rose 0.5 percent following the fourth quarter's 0.7 percent surge. Year-on-year rates show how much benefits are ahead, at plus 2.7 percent for benefits vs plus 1.7 percent for wages.

But it's these year-on-year rates, at only plus 1.9 percent for the total ECI vs the fourth quarter's plus 2.0 percent, that underscore how soft pressures are. These rates compare with 3.0 percent rates for the consumer price index over the last year. Wages may be picking up but pressures from employment costs remain light, a factor that gives breathing room to Fed policy makers.

Market Consensus before announcement
The employment cost index rose 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, up from the third quarter's 0.3 percent rise. The index's wages & salaries component also firmed and by the same numbers as the overall index. For overall compensation, the year-on-year rate of plus 2.0 percent is unchanged from the prior quarter.

2012 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/31 4/27 7/31 10/31 Release For: Q4: Q1: Q2: Q3: