The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs, increased 0.7 percent after advancing by the same margin Wages and salaries, which account for 70 percent of employment costs, rose 0.8 percent in the third quarter, the largest increase since the second quarter of 2008. Federal Reserve officials view the ECI as one of the better measures of labor market slack. In the 12 months through September, labor costs increased 2.2 percent, the largest increase since the second quarter of