Washington: The employment cost index in the US, which measures the change in the price businesses and the government pay for civilian labor, rose 0.8% in the third quarter, according to data released on Thursday. According to Anadolu Agency, this increase was slightly lower than market estimates of a 0.9% gain and followed a 0.9% increase in the second quarter of this year. Over the 12-month period ending in September, compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.9%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and salaries saw an annual increase of 3.8% for the same period. The data also indicated that compensation costs for state and local government workers experienced an increase of 4.7% for the 12-month period ending in September.