Employer Costs for Employee Compensation News Release — 2017-12-15

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $35.64 per hour worked in September 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $24.33 per hour worked and accounted for 68.3 percent of these costs, while benefit costs averaged $11.31 and accounted for the remaining 31.7 percent. Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $33.55 per hour worked in September 2017. Total employer compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $48.78 per hour worked in September 2017. Highlights of employer compensation costs per hour worked for state and local government workers, September 2017: Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $2.32 per hour worked or 6.9 percent of total compensation, supplemental pay averaged $1.19 or 3.6 percent, insurance benefits averaged $2.68 or 8.0 percent, retirement and savings costs averaged $1.39 or 4.1 percent, and legally required benefits averaged $2.62 per hour worked or 7.8 percent.