WASHINGTON -- Worker pay in the U.S. increased 0.6 percent in the second quarter, matching the gain in the previous three months, the Labor Department said Friday in its release of the employment cost index.
The advance in the index matched the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of 55 economists. Forecasts ranged from increases of 0.4 percent to 1.1 percent. The gauge measures employer-paid taxes such as Social Security and Medicare in addition to the costs of wages and benefits.
Total compensation, which includes wages and benefits, climbed 2.3 percent from the same quarter last year, the largest year-over-year increase in the past 12 months.