Employee benefits cost private industry employers in Northeast $13.34 per hour in June 2016

In June 2016, employee benefits cost private industry employers in the Northeast $13.34 per hour worked, the highest of the four U.S. census regions. Wages and salaries in the Northeast cost private employers $26.78 per hour, also the highest in the country. Total compensation costs in the Northeast were $40.11 per hour worked.

Employee benefits costs were lowest in the South, where employers spent $8.50 per hour worked. Total compensation costs were also lowest in the South at $29.38 per hour.

Although total costs were lowest in the South, the costs of wages and salaries to private employers were lowest in the Midwest region at $20.65 per hour worked.

Nationwide, wages and salaries cost private employers $22.52 per hour, and employee benefits cost employers $9.77 per hour. Total hourly compensation costs were $32.29.

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—June 2016" (HTML) (PDF).