Investing.com - U.S. employment costs rose at the fastest pace since September 2008 in the second quarter, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment costs, or the change in the price businesses and the government pay for civilian labor, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in the three months ended June 30, above expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The employment cost index rose by 0.3% in the preceding quarter.
The ECI is a closely followed gauge that reflects how much companies, governments and nonprofit institutions pay their employees in wages and benefits.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to trade at 1.3373.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow indicated a loss of 0.5%, the S&P 500 pointed to a decline of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 indicated a drop of 0.6%.