Employer Costs for Employee Compensation News Release — 2018-12-14

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $36.63 per hour worked in September 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $25.03 per hour worked and accounted for 68.3 percent of these costs, while benefit costs averaged $11.60 and accounted for the remaining 31.7 percent. Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $34.53 per hour worked in September 2018. Total employer compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $50.03 per hour worked in September 2018. Highlights of employer compensation costs per hour worked for state and local government workers, September 2018: Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $2.41 per hour worked or 7.0 percent of total compensation, supplemental pay averaged $1.32 or 3.8 percent, insurance benefits averaged $2.74 or 7.9 percent, retirement and savings costs averaged $1.35 or 3.9 percent, and legally required benefits averaged $2.66 per hour worked or 7.7 percent.