FOR RELEASE 10:00 A.M. (EDT) WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009 USDL-09-1501
Technical information:
(202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov http://www.bls.gov/ect
Media contact:
(202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION-SEPTEMBER 2009
State and local government employers spent an average of $39.83 per hour worked for total employee compensation
in September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $26.24 per hour
worked and accounted for 65.9 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $13.60 and accounted for the remaining
34.1 percent. Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $27.49 per hour worked in
September 2009. Total employer compensation costs for civilian workers, which include private industry and state and
local government workers, averaged $29.40 per hour worked in September 2009. (See chart 1.)
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures employer
costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and local government workers.
Health benefit employer costs were $4.43 per hour worked for state and local government and $2.01 in private
industry. Paid leave, including vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, cost $3.05 per hour worked for state and
local government and $1.86 in private industry. Retirement and savings costs, which include both defined benefit and
defined contribution plans, were $3.23 per hour worked for state and local government employers and 94 cents for private
employers. (See chart 2.)
Civilian
Civilian employer costs averaged $2.53 per hour worked for insurance benefits (life, health, and disability insurance)
or 8.6 percent of total compensation. In addition to insurance, the other benefit categories were: paid leave (vacation,
holiday, sick leave, and personal leave), which averaged $2.04 (6.9 percent of total compensation); supplemental pay
(overtime and premium, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses), which averaged 76 cents per hour worked (2.6
percent); retirement and savings, which averaged $1.29 per hour (4.4 percent of total compensation); and legally required
benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation), which averaged $2.28 per hour
worked (7.8 percent). (See table A and table 1.)
Private industry
Private industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.49 per hour worked. Private industry employer wages and
salaries averaged $19.45 per hour (70.7 percent of total compensation), while benefits averaged $8.05 (29.3 percent).
Employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.86 per hour worked (6.8 percent), supplemental pay averaged 83 cents (3.0 percent),
insurance benefits averaged $2.15 (7.8 percent), retirement and savings averaged 94 cents (3.4 percent), and legally required
benefits averaged $2.27 (8.2 percent) per hour worked. (See table 5.)
Compensation costs in state and local government
State and local government compensation costs averaged $39.83 per hour worked. State and local government wages and
salaries averaged $26.24 per hour (65.9 percent of total compensation), while benefits averaged $13.60 (34.1 percent). Among
state and local government employees, average hourly compensation costs were higher for management, professional, and
related occupations ($48.80) than for service occupations ($29.40) and sales and office occupations ($27.41). (See table 3.)
For state and local government employees, employer costs for insurance benefits were $4.59 per hour, or 11.5 percent of
total compensation. The largest component of insurance costs was health insurance, which averaged $4.43, or 11.1 percent of
total compensation for state and local government employees.
In September 2009, the average cost for retirement and savings benefits was $3.23 per hour worked in state and local
governments (8.1 percent of total compensation). Included in this amount were employer costs for defined benefit plans,
which averaged $2.91 per hour (7.3 percent), and defined contribution plans, which averaged 32 cents (0.8 percent). Defined
benefit plans specify a formula for determining future benefits, while defined contribution plans specify employer contributions
but do not guarantee the amount of future benefits.
Two major components of benefit costs are paid leave and legally required benefits. Paid leave benefit costs include
vacation, holiday, sick leave, and personal leave. The average cost for paid leave was $3.05 per hour worked for state
and local government employees. Costs for legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment
insurance (both state and federal), and workers’ compensation, averaged $2.38 per hour worked for state and local government
employees.
The National Compensation Survey produces data on the percentage of state and local government workers with access
to and participation in employee benefit plans, including health and retirement and savings plans. Detailed state and
local government benefits data, including civilian and private industry data, are available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/.
Table A. Relative importance of employer costs for employee compensation, September 2009
Compensation component Civilian workers Private industry State and local government
Wages and salaries 69.7% 70.7% 65.9%
Benefits 30.3 29.3 34.1
Paid leave 6.9 6.8 7.6
Supplemental pay 2.6 3.0 0.9
Insurance 8.6 7.8 11.5
Health benefits 8.1 7.3 11.1
Retirement and savings 4.4 3.4 8.1
Defined benefit 2.7 1.5 7.3
Defined contribution 1.7 1.9 0.8
Legally required 7.8 8.2 6.0
The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for December 2009 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 10, 2010,
at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
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Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data on total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefits in private industry
are now produced annually for 15 metropolitan areas, based on March data, at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ectb0024.pdf. For
further information about metropolitan area ECEC estimates see: "BLS Introduces New Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
Data for Private Industry Workers in 15 Metropolitan Areas" at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20090921ar01p1.htm.
Supplemental tables with occupational, establishment size, and bargaining status series for detailed industries are
available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/escuptc12.pdf and www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc12.txt.
Historical ECEC data are available in three listings, all available at http://www.bls.gov/ect/#tables. The first historical
listing covers data for the March reference periods from 1986 to 2001. These data use the Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) and Census of Population occupational classification systems. The second listing contains data for the March, June,
September, and December reference periods from March 2002 to December 2003. These data are also based on the SIC and Census
of Population occupational classification systems. The final listing includes data for March 2004 to the current reference
period. These are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Occupational Classification
(SOC) systems.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request--Telephone: (202) 691-5200;
Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
BLS news releases, including the ECEC, are available through an e-mail subscription service at: www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.
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