Compensation costs for private industry workers in the Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona Combined Statistical Area (CSA) rose by 3.1 percent over the year ending September 2025, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chris Rosenlund, Regional Commissioner, stated that “one year ago, Phoenix experienced an annual gain of 3.3 percent in compensation costs.” Nationally, compensation costs increased by 3.5 percent during the same period.
Wages and salaries in Phoenix, which make up the largest portion of compensation costs, grew by 2.6 percent for the twelve months ending September 2025. This compares to a national increase of 3.6 percent in wages and salaries.
When compared with other major metropolitan areas in the western United States—Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, and Seattle-Tacoma—Phoenix’s compensation cost growth was lower. In these cities, annual increases ranged from 4.7 percent to 3.4 percent for total compensation costs and from 4.3 percent to 3.4 percent for wages and salaries.
The data are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks quarterly changes in employer labor costs across occupations and industries without being affected by employment shifts between sectors or job types. More details on survey methods can be found through resources such as the National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods.
Additional information on ECI data is available on the Employment Cost Index website, where users can access statistics by industry, occupation group, union status, as well as summaries for civilian and government employees at both national and regional levels.
The geographic boundaries used for this release follow definitions outlined in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01 issued February 28, 2013; specifically, Phoenix-Mesa CSA includes Gila, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties.
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