Benefits March 12, 2009

Employer Comp Costs Average $29/Hour in December

March 12, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $29.18 per hour worked in December 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.
Reported by

A BLS news release said wages and salaries, which averaged $20.37, accounted for 69.8% of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.81, accounted for the remaining 30.2%. Employer costs for legally required benefits – Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation – averaged $2.27, or 7.8% of total compensation per hour worked in December 2008.

Employer costs for insurance benefits – life, health, and disability – averaged $2.45 per hour (8.4% of total compensation), while retirement and savings averaged $1.29 (4.4%). Paid leave benefits (vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal) averaged $2.06 (7.1%), and supplemental pay averaged $0.74 (2.5%) per hour worked, the news release said.

In December 2008, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.35 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $19.37 (70.8%), while benefits averaged $7.98 (29.2%). Employer costs for legally required benefits averaged $2.26 (8.3%) per hour worked; insurance benefits averaged $2.09 (7.6%); paid leave averaged $1.85 (6.8%); retirement and savings averaged $0.96 (3.5%), and supplemental pay averaged $0.81 (3%).

The BLS data is here .

«