Key points:

Total compensation costs for private-industry workers rose 3.4% year-over-year in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), driven in large part by a 6.4% spike in employers’ health insurance costs.  Benefit costs climbed 3.9%, outpacing growth in wages and salaries (3.1%).  Adjusted for inflation, real wages fell 0.6% from a year ago, a