Bureau of Labor Statistics Asks for Industry Assistance with Key Economic Indicators
For nearly 25 years, AIA and its members have partnered with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to produce the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the Employer Cost for Employee Compensation (ECEC) economic indicators for the aircraft manufacturing industry. BLS is in the process of updating these economic indicators and is requesting industry assistance in obtaining current data. BLS emphasizes that its staff economists will do everything possible to minimize the time commitment of companies to provide requested data, and of course, to protect the confidentiality of data supplied for statistical purposes.
The ECI quarterly indexes measure change over time in labor costs, while the ECEC measures the level of average costs per hour worked; the ECEC reports the cost per hour worked for wages and a broad range of benefits. ECI is a Principal Federal Economic Indicator used in formulating monetary policy, annually adjusting hospital and other charges for Medicare reimbursement, adjusting the pay of military personnel and indexing wages in long-term contracts. Because of the partnership between the AIA and BLS, aircraft manufacturing is the most detailed industry for which ECI and ECEC estimates are published. (See http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t10.htm">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.nr0.htm;and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t10.htm.)
AIA uses the ECI and data from other BLS programs, including the Producer Price Indexes, U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes, The Employment Situation and the Consumer Price Index in preparing the Aerospace Statistics which appear at http://www.aia-aerospace.org/economics/aerospace_statistics/
BLS, an independent statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal organization responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. For additional information about BLS’s data gathering effort, visit the Bureau’s website, http://www.bls.gov/ or call 202-691-6199.
BLS Source: doyle.philip[at]bls.gov
