Employer Costs for Employee Compensation News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, June 16, 2023			                    USDL-23-1305

Technical information:	(202) 691-6199  *  ncsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ecec
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  *  pressoffice@bls.gov


                       EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION - MARCH 2023
                       
Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $43.07 per hour worked in 
March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers
$29.70 while benefit costs were $13.36. Total compensation costs for civilian workers were $16.54 
at the 10th wage percentile, $32.80 at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $82.96 at the 90th 
wage percentile. (See tables A and 1.) 

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $40.79 per hour worked in 
March 2023. Wages and salaries averaged $28.76 per hour worked and accounted for 70.5 percent of 
employer costs, while benefit costs averaged $12.02 per hour worked and accounted for the remaining 
29.5 percent. Total compensation costs for private industry workers were $15.91 at the 10th wage 
percentile, $30.26 at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $78.42 at the 90th wage percentile. 
(See tables A, 1, and 4.)

State and local government worker compensation costs for employers averaged $58.08 per hour worked 
in March 2023. Wages and salaries averaged $35.89 and accounted for 61.8 percent of employer costs, 
while benefit costs averaged $22.19 and accounted for 38.2 percent. Total compensation costs for state 
and local government workers were $25.19 at the 10th wage percentile, $56.11 at the 50th (median) wage 
percentile, and $96.99 at the 90th wage percentile. (See tables A and 1.)

Metropolitan area private industry compensation costs are published each March reference period for the 
15 largest Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSA) and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). Total 
compensation costs in March 2023 for private industry workers ranged from $31.73 per hour worked in the 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA to $64.79 per hour worked in the 
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA. (See table 8.)

In March 2023, wages and salaries for civilian workers were $13.28 per hour worked at the 10th wage 
percentile, $22.23 at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $54.78 at the 90th wage percentile. For 
private industry workers, wages and salaries at the 10th wage percentile were $12.97, at the 50th 
(median) wage percentile they were $21.20, and at the 90th wage percentile they were $53.25. Wages 
and salaries for state and local government workers were $16.04 at the 10th wage percentile, $32.22 
at the 50th (median) wage percentile, and $60.89 at the 90th wage percentile. (See table A and the 
public database at www.bls.gov/ecec/data.htm.) 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for June 2023 is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

                                          
                                          TECHNICAL NOTE
                                          
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey,
provides the average employer cost for wages and salaries as well as benefits per hour worked. 
The ECEC covers the civilian economy, which includes data from both private industry and state 
and local government. Federal government workers are excluded. Additionally, the self-employed,
private household workers, and the agricultural sector are excluded from private industry.

Total benefit costs consist of five major categories and include 18 benefit costs:
* Paid leave - vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave; 
* Supplemental pay - overtime and premium, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses; 
* Insurance - life, health, short-term and long-term disability; 
* Retirement and savings - defined benefit and defined contribution; and 
* Legally required benefits - Social Security [refers to Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability
  Insurance (OASDI) program], Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers’
  compensation.

All workers are included in the benefit cost estimates including those that do not have plan access
or do not participate. Costs are also affected by other factors such as cost sharing between
employers and employees, plan features, and plan generosity. For the latest information on the
percentage of workers with access to and participating in employer-sponsored benefit plans,
including health care and retirement and savings plans, see www.bls.gov/ebs.

The National Compensation Measures provides additional details on the sample design, calculation
methodology, and resources explaining changes over time, see www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm.

Sample size
Data for this reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately 27,800 
occupational observations selected from a sample of about 6,900 private industry establishments
and approximately 7,500 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 1,400 state and
local government establishments that provided data at the initial interview. Beginning December 
2021, an additional (fourth) private industry sample is used in estimation to mitigate the impact
of decreasing response rates.

Measures of reliability
Relative standard errors (RSEs) provide users a tool to ascertain the quality of an estimate to
ensure that it is within an acceptable range for their intended purpose. RSEs are available at
www.bls.gov/web/ecec/ecec-rse.htm and the database query tool at www.bls.gov/ecec/data.htm.

Comparisons
Compensation cost levels in state and local government should not be directly compared with levels
in private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such as variation in work
activities and occupational structures.

Classification systems
The National Compensation Survey publishes estimates of compensation costs and trends as well as
benefit coverage by ownership, industry group, occupational group, and geographic areas, see
www.bls.gov/eci/factsheets/national-compensation-survey-classification-systems-mapping-files.htm.

Additional information
Additional and historical ECEC estimates are available in the ECEC database query tool at 
www.bls.gov/ecec/data.htm and in xlsx format at www.bls.gov/ecec/tables.htm. The 2023 ECEC 
release schedule is available at www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/ecec.htm. Subscribe to receive 
the BLS Economic News Release email at public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOLBLS/subscriber/new. 

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