Employer Costs For Employee Compensation - March 1998 — 1998-07-09

In March 1998, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers (private industry and state and local government) in the United States averaged $19.76 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $14.30, accounted for approximately 72 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $5.47, accounted for the remaining 28 percent. (See table 1.) Legally required benefits averaged $1.63 per hour (8.2 percent of total compensation), representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.30 (6.6 percent), insurance benefits averaged $1.25 (6.3 percent), and retirement and savings benefits averaged 75 cents (3.8 percent) per hour worked. In March 1998, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $18.50 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $13.47 per hour (73 percent), while benefits averaged $5.02 (27 percent).