For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, September 17, 2019				USDL-19-1649

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


		       EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION – JUNE 2019

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $36.61 per hour worked in June 2019, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $25.12 per hour worked and
accounted for 68.6 percent of these costs, while benefit costs averaged $11.48 and accounted for the
remaining 31.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Highlights of employer benefit costs for civilian workers (See table 1.)
• Paid leave averaged $2.64 per hour worked or 7.2 percent of total compensation. Average costs
for paid leave components include $1.30 per hour for vacation (3.5 percent of total
compensation), $0.78 for holiday (2.1 percent), $0.41 for sick leave (1.1 percent), and $0.16 for
personal leave (0.4 percent).
• Supplemental pay averaged $1.03 per hour worked or 2.8 percent of total compensation.
Average costs for supplemental pay components include $0.67 per hour for nonproduction
bonuses (1.8 percent), $0.29 for overtime and premium (0.8 percent), and $0.07 for shift
differentials (0.2 percent).
• Insurance benefits averaged $3.19 per hour worked or 8.7 percent of total compensation.
Average costs for insurance components include $0.05 per hour for life insurance (0.1 percent),
$3.04 for health insurance (8.3 percent), $0.06 for short-term disability (0.2 percent), and
$0.04 for long-term disability (0.1 percent).
• Retirement and savings averaged $1.94 per hour worked or 5.3 percent of total compensation.
Average costs for retirement and savings components include $1.20 per hour for defined benefit
(3.3 percent) and $0.74 for defined contribution (2.0 percent).
• Legally required benefits averaged $2.68 per hour worked or 7.3 percent of total compensation.


Highlights of retirement and savings costs in private industry
• Employer costs for retirement and savings averaged $1.31 per hour worked or 3.8 percent of
total compensation. Retirement and savings include $0.52 per hour for defined benefit (1.5
percent) and $0.79 for defined contribution (2.3 percent). (See table 1 and the database
query tool at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.)
• Employer retirement and savings costs by occupational group ranged from $0.30 per hour
worked for service workers (1.7 percent of total compensation) to $2.54 for management,
professional, and related workers (4.2 percent). (See table 4.)
• Employer costs for nonunion workers retirement and savings were $1.03 per hour worked (3.1
percent of total compensation) and $4.19 (8.8 percent) for union workers. Defined benefit costs
were significantly lower for nonunion workers at $0.28 (0.8 percent) compared with $3.01 (6.3
percent) for union workers. (See table 5 and the database query tool at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.)
• Among major industry groups, retirement and savings benefit costs ranged from $0.26 per
hour worked for leisure and hospitality workers (1.6 percent of total compensation) to $2.25 for
information workers (3.9 percent). (See table 4.)
• Employer costs among census regions averaged $1.11 per hour worked in the South (3.6 percent
of total compensation), $1.21 in the Midwest (3.8 percent), $1.53 in the West (4.0 percent), and
$1.54 in the Northeast (4.0 percent). (See table 7.)
• Employer costs varied by establishment size. The smallest establishments (fewer than 50
workers) averaged $0.68 per hour worked (2.4 percent of total compensation) for retirement and
savings benefits; those with 50-99 workers averaged $0.95 (3.1 percent); those with 100-499
employees averaged $1.42 (4.0 percent); and those with 500 or more employees averaged $2.77
(5.6 percent). (See table 6.)
• Employer costs by work status averaged $0.37 per hour worked for part-time workers (2.0
percent of total compensation) and $1.63 per hour worked for full-time workers (4.1 percent).
Costs for part-time workers in service occupations averaged $0.14 (1.0 percent), compared with
$0.45 (2.2 percent) for full-time workers. (See table 5.)

					    TECHNICAL NOTE

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey,
provides the average cost to employers for wages and salaries as well as benefits per employee hour worked.

The ECEC covers the civilian economy, which includes data from both private industry and state and local
government. Excluded from private industry are the self-employed, agricultural workers, and private
household workers. Federal government workers are excluded from the public sector.

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," of the BLS Handbook of Methods, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm, 
provides additional details on the sample design, calculation methodology, and resources explaining changes 
over time.

Additional ECEC estimates, including historical data, are available in the ECEC database query tool at
www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.

Sample size
Data for the June 2019 reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately
26,500 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 6,400 private industry establishments and
approximately 7,900 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 1,400 state and local
government establishments that provided data at the initial interview.

Measures of reliability
Relative standard errors are available at www.bls.gov/web/ecec.supp.toc.htm and database query tools at
www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.

Comparing estimates across economic sectors
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. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make up a large part of private
industry work activities but are rare in state and local government. Professional and administrative
support occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the state and local government
workforce, compared with one-half of private industry.

Quarterly publication focus
This quarter's release focuses on retirement and savings benefit costs in private industry. Topics of news
releases for the upcoming reference periods are as follows:
• September 2019—compensation costs in state and local government
• December 2019—supplemental pay costs in private industry

For 2019 ECEC release dates, see www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/ecec.htm.