November 28, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Wages and benefits in State and local government, September 2003

In September 2003, employer costs in State and local governments averaged $33.62 per hour worked. Wages and salaries, which accounted for 69.7 percent of the total, averaged $23.42, while benefits, which accounted for the remaining 30.3 percent, averaged $10.20. 

[Chart data—TXT]

Employer costs for insurance benefits averaged $3.32, or 9.9 percent of total compensation. The largest component of insurance costs is for health insurance, averaging $3.19 for State and local government employees. Health insurance costs were significantly higher this year.

Another major component of benefit costs in State and local government is paid leave, including vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave such as personal leave, military leave, and funeral leave. The average cost for paid leave was $2.55 per hour worked (7.6 percent of total compensation).

In September 2003, the average cost for retirement and savings benefits was $1.99 per hour worked in State and local governments (5.9 percent of total compensation).

Costs for legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both State and Federal), and workers' compensation, averaged $1.98 per hour worked for State and local employees, 5.9 percent of total compensation.

These data come from the Compensation Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - September 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-760.