U.S. Employment Costs Rise 0.8 Percent

U.S. employment costs rose 0.8 percent as the growth in benefits expenditures slowed 0.5 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday.

The third-quarter compensation costs for wages, salaries and benefits were slightly below the 0.9 percent growth most economists had forecast.

Wages and salaries rose 0.8 percent in the third quarter, the same growth rate as in the second quarter, the department said.

Benefits also rose 0.8 percent, down from the second quarter’s 1.3 percent growth rate.

For private industry, compensation costs rose 0.8 percent, down from 0.9 percent the prior quarter, while state and local government costs increased 0.8 percent, down from 1.1 percent for the quarter that ended in June, the department said.