Employer Costs For Employee Compensation - March 1999 — 1999-06-24

In March 1999, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers (private industry and State and local government) in the United States averaged $20.29 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $14.72, accounted for 72.5 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $5.58, accounted for the remaining 27.5 percent. (See table 1.) Legally required benefits averaged $1.65 per hour (8.1 percent of total compensation), representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.34 (6.6 percent), insurance benefits averaged $1.29 (6.4 percent), and retirement and savings benefits averaged 76 cents (3.7 percent) per hour worked. In March 1999, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $19.00 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $13.87 per hour (73 percent), while benefits averaged $5.13 (27 percent).