March 30, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Private industry compensation $25.67 per hour on average in December 2006

In December 2006, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $25.67 per hour worked.

[Chart data—TXT]

Wages and salaries averaged $18.11 per hour. Employer costs for legally required benefits averaged $2.20 per hour worked, insurance benefits averaged $1.92, paid leave averaged $1.76, retirement and savings averaged 94 cents, and supplemental pay averaged 75 cents.

Legally required benefits include employer costs for Social Security and Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.

These data come from the Compensation Cost Trends program. For additional information, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation–December 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-0453.