Private employer costs for employee compensation averaged $24.34 per hour worked in September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wages and salaries averaged $17.23 per hour and accounted for 70.8 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $7.11, accounted for the remaining 29.2 percent.
The data show the proportion of compensation going to benefits has generally been rising over the past decade.
The breakdown on benefits is:
$2.14 for legally required benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment comp, and workers' comp)
$1.55 for paid leave
$0.71 for supplemental pay
$1.78 for insurance benefits
$0.90 for retirement/savings
Contact Clint Davis, Human Resource Consultant, to learn more about wage and benefit studies at 515-221-1718.
