December 9, 2011 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

State and local government employer costs for employee compensation, September 2011

Employer cost per hour worked for employee compensation, state and local government workers, by occupational group, September 2011
Occupational group	Total	Wages and salaries	Benefits
All workers	$40.76	$26.57	$14.19
Management, professional, and related	49.37	33.51	15.86
Service	30.86	18.33	12.53
Sales and office	28.49	17.31	11.18

Employer-sponsored healthcare coverage across wage groups
A look at the relationship between employee wages and access to, participation in, and costs of employer-sponsored medical, dental, and vision care benefit plans.
Sports and Exercise
A look at participation and time spent in sports and exercise activities.
Women at Work
A look at women's labor force participation and earnings, how women spend their time and money, the nature of fatal work injuries, and labor force projections for the future.
STEM occupations: past, present, and future
A look at employment and wages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics occupations.