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Employer Costs for Employee Compensation

Data Requests

The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is used to produce labor cost changes through the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the average costs per hour worked through the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). The NCS also provides estimates on the incidence and provisions of benefits by the percentage of workers with access to and participating in employer-sponsored benefit plans through the Employee Benefits in the United States. The survey covers a broad range of benefits including holidays and vacations, sick leave, health and life insurance, and retirement plans. Benefit plan details of employer-provided health and retirement plan provisions are also available.

The latest data can be accessed from the:

What is data request?

In some circumstances, BLS can provide estimates not available through NCS publications. When requests for unpublished data are received, they are evaluated and processed based on resource availability and the complexity of the request. The NCS is not designed to produce estimates for individual states. All tabulations of data are reviewed for reliability and confidentiality prior to release, which may limit the data provided. The NCS can be used to produce estimates by aggregate occupational and industry groups, census regions and divisions, the fifteen largest combined statistical areas and metropolitan statistical areas, and by various worker characteristics (such as work status, bargaining status, and basis of pay).

How to submit a data request?

submit your SDR
qr code to submit special data request
Click or scan the QR code To submit your Special Data Request

When making a data request, users should provide a detailed explanation of the scope that includes ownership (civilian, private, and state and local government), industry group(s) or industry, occupational group(s) or occupation, worker and establishment characteristics, and reference period. This detailed explanation will expedite the evaluation. Once we receive the request, we will evaluate it and contact you regarding an expected timeframe for tabulation, review, and clearance. All estimates are evaluated to ensure respondent confidentiality and estimate reliability. In cases where the level of detail requested does not meet publication criteria, BLS staff will contact you with possible alternatives including on-site microdata access. Access to restricted microdata requires a well-defined research proposal that will be thoroughly reviewed as explained on the BLS Restricted Data Access page.

Please review the list of fulfilled requests prior to submitting a tabulation data request. Enter “data request” in the subject line and indicate the scope of the request. BLS staff evaluating the request will respond and ask for clarification, if necessary. These tabulations can take anywhere from four to eight weeks to produce, review, and fulfill.

Completed Special Data Requests

Examples of previously fulfilled requests are listed below, in order to demonstrate the level of detail that can be provided outside of the ECEC publications. All data in tables on this page are unpublished except by special request. Data requests based on Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Benefits publications are also available.

To sort these tables by a different column, click on the column header.

National Compensation Survey (NCS)

Date posted Customer type Characteristics Special data request title Geography Data time frame
2018-12 Private Leveling points by occupation Average leveling points for six-digit occupations All U.S. 2018
2021-12 Private Leveling points by occupation Average leveling points for six-digit occupations All U.S. 2021

 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation

Date posted Customer type Characteristics Special data request title Geography Data time frame
2021-04 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) of America Full time/Part-time Costs per employee hour worked for civilian postsecondary teachers within colleges, universities and professional schools by work status All U.S. March 2014-2021
2019-06 Center for Construction Research and Training Union/Nonunion Construction sector costs per employee hour worked by bargaining status in private industry All U.S. March 2019
2019-06 Center for Construction Research and Training Union/Nonunion Construction of buildings subsector costs per employee hour worked by bargaining status in private industry All U.S. March 2019
2019-06 Center for Construction Research and Training Union/Nonunion Specialty trades contractors subsector costs per employee hour worked by bargaining status All U.S. March 2019
2022-06 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Industry Compensation component costs by industry All U.S. March 2022
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources Private industry, Full time Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers private industry in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources 500 workers or more, Full time Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers in establishments with 500 workers or more, in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources State and local government Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers in state and local government, in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources State government Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers in state government, in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources Local government Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers in local government, in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2022-06 California Department of Human Resources Local government excluding education Scheduled and worked hours, compensation costs for full-time workers in Local government excluding education, in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division March 2021
2018-03 Private Full-time, Census Division Compensation component costs for full-time workers in the Pacific Census Division Pacific Census Division December 2017
2019-06 Private State and local government State and local government compensation components by Census Region and Division Census region and Division September 2018
2018-09 Private State and local government Compensation component costs for state and local government protective service occupations Census region and division March 2018
2018-08 Private State and local government Compensation component costs for state and local government protective service occupations All U.S. March 2018
2021-08 Private State and local government Compensation component costs for junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools All U.S. 2020
2018-08 Private Workers' compensation Percent of civilian workers with zero or positive workers' compensation costs All U.S. March 2018
2018-08 Private Union/Nonunion, Industry Compensation component costs by bargaining status in the construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry; leisure and hospitality; and wholesale trade industries All U.S. 2014-2018
2022-08 Private Occupation, Manufacturing Compensation costs for private industry workers in select occupation groups in manufacturing in Midwest Midwest March 2022
2022-08 Private Occupation Compensation costs for private industry workers in transportation and warehousing, and financial activities occupations by Census Division Census Division March 2022
2022-08 Private Occupation Compensation measures for private industry workers by occupational group Census Division March 2022
2021-03 Private Industry Compensation measures for private industry workers by industry group All U.S. September 2020
2017-09 Private Union/Nonunion, Occupation Long-term disability costs for full-time workers offered vacation leave in private industry (excluding leisure and hospitality industries) for establishments with 500 or more workers All U.S. March 2017
2025-03 Private Teachers Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: private industry teachers All U.S. March 2024
2025-03 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) of America Full time/Part-time Costs per employee hour worked for civilian postsecondary teachers within colleges, universities and schools by work status All U.S. March 2014-2024

More information

For an explanation of survey design, calculation and weighting methodology, and history of the NCS see the National Compensation Measures in the Handbook of Methods.