Employer Costs for Employee Compensation News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, December 15, 2022			               USDL-22-2307

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 - September 2022
                       
Total employer compensation costs for civilian workers averaged $41.86 per hour worked in September
2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers $28.88
and accounted for 69.0 percent of total costs, while benefits cost $12.98 and accounted for the
remaining 31.0 percent. (See tables 1 and 2.)

Total employer compensation costs for state and local government averaged $57.02 per hour worked.
Wages and salaries averaged $35.29 per hour worked and represented 61.9 percent of total
compensation costs, while benefit costs averaged $21.73 and accounted for the remaining 38.1 
percent. (See tables 1 and 3.)

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $39.61 per hour worked in
September 2022. Wage and salary costs averaged $27.93 and accounted for 70.5 percent of employer
costs, while benefit costs were $11.68 and accounted for 29.5 percent. (See tables 1 and 4.)

Total compensation costs for union workers averaged $53.20 per hour worked in September 2022.
Wage and salary costs averaged $31.95 and accounted for 60.1 percent of total compensation costs,
while benefit costs averaged $21.24 and accounted for 39.9 percent. Total compensation costs for
nonunion workers averaged $38.37 per hour worked. Wage and salary costs averaged $27.56 and
accounted for 71.8 percent of total compensation costs. Benefit costs for nonunion workers averaged
$10.81 and accounted for 28.2 percent of total compensation. (See table 5.) 

Private industry compensation costs by bargaining and work status

Employer benefit costs for union workers ranged from $1.95 per hour worked for supplemental pay,
accounting for 3.7 percent of total compensation costs, to $7.06 for insurance, accounting for 13.3
percent of total compensation costs. Employer benefit costs for nonunion workers included $1.06 for
retirement and savings, accounting for 2.8 percent of total compensation costs, and $2.89 for
legally required benefits, accounting for 7.5 percent of total compensation costs. (See table 5.)

Total compensation costs for workers in goods-producing industries were $43.37 per hour worked,
while compensation costs for workers in service-providing industries were $38.86. Employer costs
for union workers in goods-producing industries were $56.70, while nonunion worker costs were
$40.93. Total compensation costs in service-providing industries averaged $51.64 for union workers
and $37.90 for nonunion workers. (See tables 4 and 5.)

Total compensation costs for full-time workers averaged $45.78 per hour worked, wages and salaries
averaged $31.62, and benefits were $14.17. Part-time workers cost employers $21.28 in total
compensation, $16.98 in wages and salaries, and $4.30 per hour worked in benefits. Full-time
workers within service-providing industries cost employers $46.30, including $32.15 for wages and
salaries, and $14.15 for benefits, while part-time worker costs were $21.20, including $16.93 for
wages and salaries, and $4.27 per hour worked for benefits. (See table 5.)

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for December 2022 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, March 17, 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 29,400 
occupational observations selected from a sample of about 7,400 private industry establishments
and approximately 7,600 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/ncs/ect/ecec-rse.htm and database query tool at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/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/ncs/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/ncs/ect/data.htm and in xlsx format at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/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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