July 6, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Blue-collar workers earn more of compensation in benefits than other workers

Blue-collar workers received an average of $5.58 per hour in benefits in March 1999, which accounted for close to 31 percent of their compensation. White-collar and service workers were both paid about 26 percent of their compensation in the form of benefits.

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The average cost to employers of the wages and salaries of blue-collar workers was $12.61 per hour. Average wages and salaries were considerably higher for white-collar workers ($18.02) and considerably lower for service employees ($8.45).

Though white-collar and service workers received about the same proportion of their compensation in benefits, the absolute levels were very different. At $6.47 per hour, white-collar employee benefits were over twice as high as service employee benefits, which averaged just $3.00 per hour.

These data are a product of the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Figures are for workers in private industry and State and local government. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 1999," news release USDL 99-173.