Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $38.48 per hour in the South to $52.32 in the Northeast in December 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In the other two regions, hourly employer costs for employee compensation stood at $40.81 in the Midwest and $45.15 in the West. (See chart 1.) In addition to regional estimates, employer costs for nine smaller geographic divisions are also available. Within divisions, total compensation costs ranged from $31.82 per hour in the East South Central division to $52.53 in the Middle Atlantic region. (See table 1.) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits. (Geographic definitions of the regions and divisions follow in the Technical Note.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Employer costs per employee hour worked by region, private industry, December 2023

Private Industry	Wages and salaries	Benefits	Total compensation
United States	$30.33	$12.77	$43.11
Northeast	$36.11	$16.21	$52.32
West	$31.95	$13.20	$45.15
Midwest	$28.26	$12.54	$40.81
South	$27.64	$10.83	$38.48

In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs in December 2023 were comprised of the following: wages and salaries ($36.11) made up 69.0 percent, while total benefits ($16.21) accounted for the remaining 31.0 percent of compensation costs. Paid leave, which includes vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, averaged $4.31 per hour worked, or 8.2 percent of all compensation costs. Costs for insurance, which include life, health, and short- and long-term disability, averaged $3.97 per hour worked, accounting for 7.6 percent of total compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both state and federal), and workers' compensation, averaged $3.80 per hour and represented 7.3 percent of total compensation costs.

In the West, hourly wages and salaries averaged $31.95 and accounted for 70.8 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $13.20, or 29.2 percent of compensation costs. Legally required benefits averaged $3.49 per hour, or 7.7 percent of compensation costs. Paid leave costs were $3.39 per hour, or 7.5 percent of regional compensation costs. Insurance costs averaged $3.09 per hour, accounting for 6.8 percent of total compensation costs in the West.

The Midwest region recorded an hourly wage and salary average of $28.26 in December 2023, representing 69.3 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $12.54 and accounted for the remaining 30.7 percent of total compensation costs. The highest major category for employer benefits was insurance, averaging $3.33 per hour worked, representing 8.2 percent of total employer compensation costs in the Midwest. Paid leave and legally required benefits both averaged $2.94 per hour worked, representing 7.2 percent of employer compensation in the region.

In the South, wages and salaries averaged $27.64 per hour and comprised 71.8 percent of total employer compensation costs, while benefits, at $10.83 per hour, accounted for the remaining 28.2 percent. Paid leave averaged $2.83 per hour worked, followed by legally required benefits at $2.77 per hour; these categories accounted for 7.4 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, of total compensation costs in the South. Insurance benefits were the third-highest benefit cost at $2.61 per hour, accounting for 6.8 percent of employer compensation for the region.

Overall, compensation costs among private industry employers in the United States averaged $43.11 per hour worked in December 2023. Wages and salaries, at $30.33 per hour, accounted for 70.4 percent of these costs, while benefits, at $12.77, made up the remaining 29.6 percent.

The March 2024 national release on Employer Costs for Employee Compensation is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) provides the average employer cost for wages and salaries as well as benefits per employee hour worked.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data in this release cover private industry. Excluded from private industry are the self-employed, agricultural workers, and private household workers. Data for this reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately 23,600 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 5,600 private industry establishments. The private industry sample is rotated over approximately three years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12^th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data on total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefits in private industry are produced annually in the March reference period for 15 combined and metropolitan statistical areas (CSA and MSA). Further information about metropolitan area ECEC estimates is available at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/bls-introduces-new-employer-costs-for-employee-compensation-data-for-private-industry-workers-in-15-metropolitan-areas.pdf.

For detailed information on ECEC, see “National Compensation Measures,” of the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm. Current and historical BLS data are also available online at www.bls.gov/ect.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Regional definitions

Northeast region

• New England division: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Middle Atlantic division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

Midwest region

• East North Central division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
• West North Central division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

South region

• South Atlantic division: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
• East South Central division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
• West South Central division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

West region

• Mountain division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
• Pacific division: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington