Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006, seasonally adjusted, moderating from the 1.0 percent gain from the previous quarter, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent between September and December, compared with the 0.9 percent gain of the previous quarter. Benefit costs during the quarter rose 1.1 percent, unchanged from the gain of the previous quarter.

Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.8 percent from September to December, after advancing 0.9 percent in the prior quarter. For state and local government workers, compensation costs increased 1.0 percent from September to December, after increasing 1.4 percent for the quarter ended in September.

Wages and salaries for private industry workers rose 0.7 percent for the December quarter, compared with an increase of 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. Wages and salaries in state and local government advanced 0.8 percent during the September to December period, slowing from the 1.4 percent gain in the prior quarter.