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EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX
Definition
Forex trading experts generally consider the Employment Cost Index (ECI) to be one of the most comprehensive tools available for measuring labor costs and growth rates, and subsequently for predicting wage inflation.
The ECI accurately gauges the change in labor costs for not only monetary salary wages, but also for non-monetary wages such as fringe benefits that are sometimes available in private industries. The public and government sector of jobs are included in the figures.
Forex Trading Importance
Interest rate changes are always of interest to forex brokers and traders. ECI data often has a profound effect on interest rates. Greater than expected increases may cause interest rates to rise and vice versa. ECI increases also may result in a Federal Funds Rate increase, which has been known to impact FX trading strategies.
Forex trading platforms may also reflect these changes. Wage inflation can lead to overall inflation and a loss of competitiveness among workers. However, higher interest rates also tend to strengthen the exchange rate of a currency.
Employment Cost Index Source
Countries issue their own reports. The one for the United States is published by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employment Cost Index Availability
The US report can be found at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.toc.htm.
Employment Cost Index Frequency
The US report is released quarterly.