Employment costs, wages rise

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employment costs rose by 0.8 percent as expected in the fourth quarter after benefit costs and wages and salaries edged ahead in encouraging news for inflation, government data on Thursday showed.

The Labor Department's Employment Cost Index, a broad measure of what employers pay in wages, salaries and benefits, had been forecast to increase 0.8 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis during the October-December period.

The fourth-quarter gain matched the 0.8 percent advance posted during the previous three months.

Wages and salaries were up 0.8 percent following a 0.8 percent gain in the third quarter. Benefit costs mounted 0.9 percent after rising 0.8 percent in the three months before.

In the year to December, employment costs advanced 3.3 percent, holding steady with the 3.3 percent annual rise notched over the 12 months to September.

Wage and salary growth pushed ahead slightly to 3.4 percent in the 12 months to December, versus 3.3 percent in the year to September. Wages and salaries account for about 70 percent of U.S. civilian compensation costs.

Benefit cost growth moderated a touch to 3.1 percent over the year, down from the 3.2 percent annual rise at the end of the third quarter.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by James Dalgleish)