Employer Costs For Employee Compensation - March 2002 — 2002-06-19

In March 2002, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers in private industry and State and local government in the United States averaged $23.15 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.76, accounted for 72.4 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.39, accounted for the remaining 27.6 percent. (See table 1.) Legally required benefits averaged $1.80 per hour (7.8 percent of total compensation), representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.59 (6.9 percent), insurance benefits averaged $1.61 (7.0 percent), and retirement and savings benefits averaged 80 cents (3.5 percent) per hour worked. In March 2002, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $21.71 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $15.80 per hour (72.8 percent), while benefits averaged $5.90 (27.2 percent).