August 2, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Importance of retirement benefits in compensation

In the construction industry, employees receive more of their compensation in the form of retirement and savings benefits than in any other industry.

Retirement and savings benefits as a percent of total compensation, full-time workers, March 1999
[Chart data—TXT]

Retirement benefits represented 4.9 percent of the compensation per hour of full-time employees in construction in March 1999. In comparison, full-time private industry workers earned 3.2 percent of their compensation in retirement benefits on average.

Workers in transportation and public utilities had the second highest percentage of compensation received as retirement benefits—4.5 percent. In the four other industries shown in the chart, the proportion was about the same as or below the average for all industries.

These data are a product of the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 1999," news release USDL 99-173.