June 12, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Average compensation $22.37 per hour in private industry in March

In March 2003, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $22.37 per hour worked.

[Chart data—TXT]

Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.15 per hour, accounted for 72.2 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.22, accounted for the remainder.

Legally required benefits, such as Social Security and unemployment insurance, were $1.89 per hour on average, representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for insurance benefits averaged $1.52 per hour, paid leave benefits $1.47 per hour, retirement and savings benefits 67 cents per hour and supplemental pay benefits 64 cents per hour.

These data are from the BLS Compensation Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-297.