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Wages and salaries were 81.3 percent of compensation in accommodation and food services

April 01, 2022

In December 2021, wages and salaries were 70.5 percent of total compensation for private industry workers and the remaining 29.5 percent was the cost of benefits. In accommodation and food services, wages were 81.3 percent of total compensation, benefits 18.7 percent. Workers in utilities received 61.5 percent of their total compensation in wages and salaries and 38.5 percent in benefits.

Wages and salaries and benefits as a percent of total compensation, December 2021
Industry Wages and salaries Benefits

Utilities

61.5% 38.5%

Finance and insurance

66.2 33.8

Transportation and warehousing

66.5 33.5

Health care and social assistance

70.2 29.8

All private workers

70.5 29.5

Professional and technical services

70.7 29.3

Wholesale trade

71.2 28.8

Real estate and rental and leasing

71.3 28.7

Educational services

71.9 28.1

Administrative and waste services

75.2 24.8

Retail trade

76.8 23.2

Accommodation and food services

81.3 18.7

Legally required benefits were the costliest benefit category in accommodation and food services; retirement and savings and supplemental pay benefits were the least costly benefits. For workers in the utilities industry, the costliest benefits categories were retirement and savings, insurance, and paid leave.

Industries with a higher percentage of benefits have higher benefit costs per employee.

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program, part of the National Compensation Survey, and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — December 2021." BLS also has more charts on employer costs for employee compensation.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Wages and salaries were 81.3 percent of compensation in accommodation and food services at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/wages-and-salaries-were-81-3-percent-of-compensation-in-accommodation-and-food-services.htm (visited May 19, 2024).

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