Compensation costs in State and local government, 1999

In March 1999, wages and salaries averaged $19.78 per hour, or 70.6 percent of State and local government compensation costs, whereas benefit costs averaged $8.22 or 29.4 percent.

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Insurance costs were the largest single component of benefit costs in State and local government at 7.9 percent. Health insurance comprised most of this figure. The share of compensation costs going to paid leave, at 7.8 percent, was very similar to the share going to insurance.

Retirement and savings accounted for 6.8 percent of benefit costs, while legally required benefits claimed 5.9 percent. As in the private sector, Social Security costs accounted for the majority of the cost of legally required benefits.

These data are a product of the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-99," (PDF 719K) BLS Bulletin 2526.