June 17, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Cost of health benefits: $1.64 per hour in March 2005

The average employer cost for health benefits was $1.64 per hour worked in private industry in March 2005—6.8 percent of total compensation.

[Chart data—TXT]

Five years earlier, in March 2000, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.09, or 5.5 percent of total compensation.

Employer costs for health benefits varied by industry, occupation, bargaining status, region, and establishment size. For example, in goods-producing industries in March 2005, health benefit costs were higher, $2.28 per hour, than in service-providing industries, $1.48 per hour. Another example: Employer costs for health benefits were significantly higher for union workers, averaging $3.41 per hour, than for nonunion workers, averaging $1.42.

These data are from the BLS Compensation Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1056.