September 19, 2012 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employer costs for employee compensation $28.80 in June 2012

Private industry employers spent an average of $28.80 per hour worked for employee compensation in June 2012. Wages and salaries averaged $20.27 per hour worked and accounted for 70.4 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $8.52 and accounted for the remaining 29.6 percent.

Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation, private industry workers, selected occupational groups, June 2012
[Chart data]

In June 2012, private industry employer costs for paid leave (vacation, holiday, sick leave, and personal leave) averaged $1.97, supplemental pay (overtime and premium, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses) averaged 82 cents, and insurance benefits (life, health, and disability insurance) averaged $2.34. Average costs for retirement and savings benefits were $1.02 per hour worked; the average cost per hour worked for defined benefit plans (retirement plans that typically specify a benefit based on age, years of service, and earnings) was 43 cents, while the average cost for defined contribution plans (retirement plans usually based on employer contributions to individual employee accounts) was 59 cents. Legally required benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation) averaged $2.37 per hour worked.

Private industry compensation costs for management, professional, and related occupations averaged $51.23 per hour worked. Wages and salaries for these occupations averaged $36.06 per hour worked, while benefits averaged $15.17. Average costs for paid leave for management, professional, and related occupations were $4.36 per hour worked; costs for insurance benefits averaged $3.60 per hour worked, and retirement and savings benefits costs averaged $2.07 per hour.

Compensation costs for service occupations in private industry averaged $14.01 per hour worked. Wages and salaries for service occupations averaged $10.55 per hour worked, while benefits averaged $3.45. Average costs for paid leave for service occupations averaged $0.58 per hour worked. Insurance benefits averaged $0.93 per hour worked, and retirement and savings benefit costs averaged $0.22 per hour, lowest among the occupational groups.

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — June 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-1830.


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Benefits | Compensation costs | Earnings and wages | Occupations

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