US employment cost in line with expectations in September

US employment cost rose in line with expectations in the third quarter, data published on Friday showed.

The employment cost index rose 0.6% in the three months between July and September, compared with a 0.2% gain in the previous quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, costs have risen 2%, maintaining the same rate of growth shown in the previous quarter but down from the post-recession high of 2.6% in the first three months of the year.

“We believe the second quarter weakness was driven by the fact that sales jobs are typically more dependent on commissions and bonuses and expected it to be short lived,” said analysts at Barclays.

“At 1.9% year-on-year, ECI is consistent with measured, but not spectacular, wage growth and underlines the fact that wage growth so far in the recovery has been muted despite the sustained decline in the unemployment rate.”