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In September 2002, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers in the United States averaged $23.44 per hour worked.
Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.93, accounted for 72.2 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.51, accounted for the remainder.
Legally required benefits were $1.85 per hour on average, representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for insurance benefits were $1.67 per hour, paid leave benefits $1.60 per hour, and retirement and savings benefits 80 cents per hour.
These data are from the BLS Employment Cost Trends program. Additional information is available from "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, September 2002," news release USDL 02-674. Civilian workers include private industry and State and local government workers.
Note: The publication schedule for the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation news release has changed from an annual March release to a quarterly publication. Releases will be issued for March, June, September, and December.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Average compensation $23.44 per hour in September at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2002/dec/wk2/art04.htm (visited October 11, 2024).