Employment Cost Index: Wages Up 3.2% in the Year to June 2026. What It Means for Your Raise
- Wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 3.2% in the 12 months ending June 2026, and total compensation rose 3.4%.
- For private industry, inflation-adjusted wages and salaries fell 0.4% over the year.
- The next ECI, for September 2026, is scheduled for Friday, October 30, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is the government’s cleanest measure of how fast pay is rising, because it tracks the cost of the same jobs over time instead of being pushed around by changes in who is working. That makes it a good yardstick for your own raise.
The 12-month numbers
| Group (12 months to June 2026) | Total compensation | Wages and salaries | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civilian workers | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.8% |
| Private industry | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.8% |
| State and local government | 3.6% | 3.4% | 4.0% |
Over the three months from March to June 2026, seasonally adjusted compensation for civilian workers rose 0.9%, with wages and salaries up 0.9% and benefits up 1.0% (BLS Employment Cost Index, June 2026).
Inflation ate the gains
BLS reported that inflation-adjusted (constant dollar) wages and salaries fell 0.4% over the year for private industry workers and 0.1% for state and local government workers. In plain terms, the typical raise over the year didn’t keep up with prices.
Health benefits are rising faster
The cost of health benefits in private industry rose 6.0% over the 12 months to June 2026, according to the release’s summary table. That helps explain why benefit costs outpaced wages and why employers point to benefits when budgets are tight.
How to use this in a raise conversation
- A 3% raise roughly matches the market; it is not a merit reward.
- If your raise is below 3.2%, your pay fell behind the typical wage trend.
- If prices rose faster than your raise, your real pay fell, which is a fair, data-based point to make.
- Check the October 30 release for updated numbers before your review.
Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original graphic by JobPayRaise.com.
Comments (1)
Another way to see what benefits cost your employer: in June 2026, private employers spent an average of $46.89 per hour worked on compensation, of which $32.82 was wages and $14.07 (30%) was benefits. Source: BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026.