Data on Employer Costs for Total Compensation Elements

A news release issued by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics provides some helpful data on employer costs for total employee compensation, including the average costs for different benefit elements.

A summary of the data-

Average employer costs for total employee compensation was $27.54 per hour worked in December 2006.  Of this hourly figure:

• Wages and salaries averaged $19.24 per hour (69.9% of total compensation costs), while
• Benefits averaged $8.30 per hour (30.1% of total compensation costs)

Within the $8.30 per hour cost of benefits:

• Insurance benefits (life, health & disability) averaged $2.26 per hour (8.2% of total compensation costs)
• Legally required benefits (including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation) averaged $2.20 per hour (8.0% of total compensation costs)
• Paid leave benefits (vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave) averaged $1.94 per hour (7.0% of total compensation costs)
• Retirement and saving benefits averaged $1.21 per hour (4.4% of total compensation costs)

The release contains a great deal of detail by occupational group, industry, bargaining unit status, etc.

Comments

[Frank Giancola]

Ann,

I've never seen this report before. It is useful information from a reputable source for people who want to see how they stack up against a norm. Thanks.

Frank

****************
AB - I concur. I have to confess that a client brought this information to my attention, but I thought it was valuable and worth posting here.

Thanks for the comment!