December 12, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Average compensation $23.44 per hour in September
In September 2002, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers in the United States averaged $23.44 per hour worked.
![Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation, civilian workers, September 2002](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120925015350im_/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/images/2002/dec/wk2/art04.gif)
[Chart data—TXT]
Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.93, accounted for 72.2 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.51, accounted for the remainder.
Legally required benefits were $1.85 per hour on average, representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for
insurance benefits were $1.67 per hour, paid leave benefits $1.60 per hour, and retirement and savings benefits 80 cents per hour.
These data are from the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from
"Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, September
2002," news release USDL 02-674. Civilian workers include private industry and State and local government workers.
Note: The publication schedule for the Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation news release has changed from an annual March release to a quarterly publication. Releases will be issued for March, June, September, and December.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »