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BLS reports on benefits cost increases by industry, region

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $28.46 per hour worked in March 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $19.83, accounted for 69.7 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.63, accounted for the remaining 30.3 percent. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, based on the National Compensation Survey, measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and local government workers.

Costs for legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation, averaged $2.24 per hour (7.9 percent of total compensation). Employer costs for life, health, and disability insurance benefits averaged $2.40 (8.4 percent); paid leave benefits (vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave) averaged $2.00 (7.0 percent); and retirement and savings benefits averaged $1.26 (4.4 percent) per hour worked.

Health benefit costs in private industry

The average cost for health benefits was $1.92 per hour worked in private industry (7.2 percent of total compensation) in March 2008. In March 2003, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.41, or 6.3 percent of total compensation.

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