Compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $44.40 per hour in September 2024

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $44.40 per hour worked in September 2024. Wages and salaries averaged $31.25 per hour worked and accounted for 70.4 percent of employer costs, while benefit costs averaged $13.15 per hour worked and accounted for the remaining 29.6 percent.

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers in establishments with less than 50 workers averaged $35.27 per hour worked in September 2024. Wages and salaries averaged $26.39, while benefit costs averaged $8.88. Among benefits, employer costs for paid leave accounted for 6.1 percent of total compensation costs at $2.16 per hour worked on average. Costs for legally required benefits accounted for 8.0 percent of total compensation costs at $2.81 per hour worked on average.

In establishments with 500 workers or more, total employer compensation costs averaged $64.48 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $42.18, while benefit costs averaged $22.31. Among benefits, employer costs for paid leave averaged $5.83 per hour worked and accounted for 9.0 percent of total compensation costs. Costs for legally required benefits averaged $4.29 per hour worked and accounted for 6.6 percent of total compensation costs.

These data are from the Employer Cost for Employee Compensation program. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — September 2024." Also see more charts on the latest Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data. For more information on paid leave, insurance, and other benefits see the ECEC Factsheets or the Handbook of Methods.