SECTION: SPECIAL: HOLIDAY MAGAZINE; Ed. 1; Pg. NC-15

LENGTH: 433 words

HEADLINE: On the twelfth day of Christmas, you'll pay $13,195.86

SERIES: NORTH COUNTY

BYLINE: Michael Smith
BLOOMBERG BUSINESS NEWS

BODY:
   The turtledoves won't cost any more this year than in Christmas past, but the nine ladies dancing are going through the roof.

Wage inflation, it seems, is hitting consumers hard when it comes to covering the cost of the goods and services listed in the popular carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

While the overall cost of fulfilling the carol's dream rose 5.72 percent to $13,195.86 this year, according to the PNC Bank Christmas Price Index, it was the 25 percent increase in the cost of the nine dancing ladies that led the list.

"The majority of the increase is wages," said Rebekah McCahan, an economist at PNC Bank's asset management unit in Philadelphia, a group that since 1984 has calculated all the gifts promised in the carol.

Although the index far outpaced inflation, which is running at about 3 percent this year, there were bargains out there. The prices for a partridge, a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese a-laying or seven swans a-swimming didn't rise a cent.

Instead, the increase is the fault of the eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing, 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming, who got wage increases ranging from 2.53 percent to 25 percent over last year. Consumers got a break on 10 lords a-leaping, who charged the same as last year.

The Christmas performers did far better than other working stiffs, since average hourly earnings by U.S. workers rose 3.1 percent to $11.91 in the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, according to the Labor Department.

The priciest gift by far was hiring nine ladies dancing, who jacked up their fees 25 percent to $3,258.54. That's because the Philadelphia Dance Company, where PNC goes to price dancers, gave its employees a raise for the first time in four years.

The eight milkmaids also made out because of this year's increase in the minimum wage. That sent the cost of hiring the maids up 11.76 percent to $38.

The 11 pipers, considered skilled labor, got a 2.53 percent raise to $1, 37.24. The 12 drummers got the same percentage raise, to $1,232.01.

By a fluke, 10 leaping lords charged $3,182.57 for a performance, just as they did in 1995. That's because raises under a new contract with the Pennsylvania Ballet, unlike the Philadelphia Dance Company that provided the nine dancing ladies, don't kick in until 1997.

A pear tree, at $15, held steady with last year, in part because of low demand. And five gold rings from a Philadelphia jewelry store were unchanged at $325, as gold prices held steady and demand weakened.