FOR RELEASE 10:00 A.M. (EDT) TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013 USDL-13-0421
Technical information:
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Media contact:
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EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION – DECEMBER 2012
Private industry employers spent an average of $28.89 per hour worked for total employee
compensation in December 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries
averaged $20.32 per hour worked and accounted for 70.3 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged
$8.57 and accounted for the remaining 29.7 percent. Total compensation costs for state and local
government workers averaged $41.94 per hour worked in December 2012. Total employer
compensation costs for civilian workers, which include private industry and state and local government
workers, averaged $30.84 per hour worked in December 2012.
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey,
measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and
local government workers.
Paid leave costs in private industry
Private industry employer costs for paid leave benefits in December 2012 averaged $1.98 per hour
worked, or 6.9 percent of total compensation. Paid leave benefit costs by major private industry group
were highest for the information industry at $4.12 per hour, or 8.9 percent of total compensation. Costs
were lowest for the leisure and hospitality industry at 39 cents, or 3.1 percent of total compensation.
(See chart 1 and table 6.) Included in this amount were employer costs for vacations, holidays, sick
leave, and personal leave. Paid leave benefit costs are often directly linked to wages; therefore, higher
paid occupations or industries will typically show higher estimates for this compensation component.
Employer costs for paid leave were primarily from vacation, holiday, and sick leave benefits. In
December 2012, vacation costs averaged $1.03 per hour (3.6 percent of total compensation) while
holiday costs were 61 cents per hour (2.1 percent) and sick leave costs were 25 cents per hour (0.9
percent). (See table 5.)
Paid leave costs varied widely by full-time and part-time status and bargaining unit status. Paid leave
costs for all full-time workers in private industry were $2.52 per hour worked (7.5 percent of total
compensation), significantly higher than part-time workers at just 42 cents (2.8 percent). Paid leave costs
for union workers were $2.82 per hour worked (7.1 percent of total compensation) versus $1.90 (6.8
percent) for nonunion workers. (See chart 2, and table 5 and 12.)
For information on paid leave provisions, see National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the
United States, March 2012, at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2012/benefits.htm.
Legally required benefits costs in private industry
The average cost for legally required benefits was $2.37 per hour worked in private industry (8.2
percent of total compensation) in December 2012. Social Security comprises the largest legally required
benefit cost component at $1.36 per hour or 4.7 percent of total compensation. Legally required benefits
such as Social Security and Medicare can be directly linked to wages; therefore, higher paid occupations
or industries will typically show higher cost estimates for this compensation component. (See table 5.)
Costs for other legally required benefits include workers’ compensation, which averaged 41 cents per
hour worked (1.4 percent of total compensation); Medicare, which averaged 33 cents per hour worked
(1.2 percent); state unemployment insurance, which averaged 23 cents per hour worked (0.8 percent);
and federal unemployment insurance, which averaged 3 cents per hour worked (0.1 percent). (See
table 5.)
Employer costs for legally required benefits varied by major industry group. The average cost per hour
worked for legally required benefits ranged from $3.45 for construction to $1.34 per hour for the leisure
and hospitality industry. (See chart 1 and table 6.) Workers’ compensation employer costs for
construction industry workers were significantly higher than other major industry groups, averaging
$1.12 per hour worked in December 2012. (See table 6.)
Legally required benefit costs also varied by full-time versus part-time status and bargaining unit status.
Legally required benefit costs for full-time workers were $2.62 per hour worked versus $1.65 for part-
time workers. Legally required benefit costs were $3.34 for union workers and $2.28 for nonunion
workers. (See chart 2, and table 5 and 12.)
Other benefit categories in private industry
Private industry employer costs averaged $2.36 per hour worked for insurance benefits (life, health, and
disability insurance), or 8.2 percent of total compensation. In addition to insurance, the other benefit
categories were: retirement and savings (defined benefit and defined contribution), which averaged
$1.04 per hour worked (3.6 percent); and supplemental pay (overtime and premium, shift differentials,
and nonproduction bonuses), which averaged 82 cents per hour (2.8 percent). (See table A and table 5.)
Table A. Relative importance of employer costs for employee compensation, December 2012
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Compensation Civilian Private State and local
component workers industry government
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Wages and salaries 69.2% 70.3% 65.0%
Benefits 30.8 29.7 35.0
Paid leave 7.0 6.9 7.4
Supplemental pay 2.4 2.8 0.8
Insurance 8.9 8.2 12.0
Health benefits 8.5 7.7 11.6
Retirement and savings 4.7 3.6 8.8
Defined benefit 2.9 1.5 8.0
Defined contribution 1.8 2.1 0.8
Legally required 7.8 8.2 6.1
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for March 2013 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data on total compensation, wages and salaries, and
benefits in private industry are produced annually for 15 metropolitan areas. Metropolitan area data will
be included in the March 2013 news release on June 12, 2013. For further information about
metropolitan area ECEC estimates see the September 2009 article: “BLS Introduces New Employer
Costs for Employee Compensation Data for Private Industry Workers in 15 Metropolitan Areas,” at
http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20090921ar01p1.htm.
Supplemental tables with occupational, establishment size, and bargaining status series for detailed
industries are available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuphst.pdf and
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc25.pdf.
Relative standard errors for all cost estimates in the most recent news release and supplementary tables
are available at ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ocwc/ect/ececrse.pdf and
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuprse.pdf.
Historical ECEC data are available in three listings, all available at http://www.bls.gov/ect/#tables. The
first historical listing covers data for the March reference periods from 1986 to 2001. These data use the
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and Census of Population occupational classification systems.The
second listing contains data for the March, June, September, and December reference periods from
March 2002 to December 2003. These data are also based on the SIC and Census of Population
occupational classification systems. The final listing includes data for March 2004 to the current
reference period. These are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) systems.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request—
Telephone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
BLS news releases, including the ECEC, are available through an e-mail subscription service at:
www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm.
