US employment costs slow by more than expected at the end of 2023

(Sharecast News) - Increases in the cost of hiring workers in the U.S. reached their slowest pace for two and a half years at the end of 2023. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the Employment Cost Index increased at a quarter-on-quarter pace of 0.9% (consensus: 1.0%) over the three months ending in December.

During the previous quarter the index had risen by 1.1%.

Wage and salary growth experienced the largest slowdown, from 1.2% in the third quarter to 0.9% in the fourth.

The quarterly rate of increase in benefits meanwhile slipped by two tenths of a percentage point to 0.7%.

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