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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION – JUNE 2013 [11 September 2013]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf

[full-text, 23 pages]

 

 

Private industry employers spent an average of $29.11 per hour worked for employee compensation in

June 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $20.47 per

hour worked and accounted for 70.3 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $8.64 and

accounted for the remaining 29.7 percent. Total compensation costs for state and local government

workers averaged $42.09 per hour worked in June 2013. Total compensation costs for civilian workers,

which include private industry and state and local government workers, averaged $31.00 per hour

worked in June 2013.

 

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.

 

Retirement and savings costs in private industry

 

In June 2013, average costs in private industry for retirement and savings benefits were $1.07 per

hour worked, or 3.7 percent of total compensation. The average cost per hour worked for defined

benefit plans— retirement plans that specify a benefit typically based on age, years of service, and

earnings—was 47 cents or 1.6 percent of total compensation. The average cost for defined contribution

plans—retirement plans usually based on employer contributions to individual employee accounts—was

60 cents or 2.1 percent of total compensation. (See table 5.) Employer costs for retirement and savings

plans are affected by several factors, including the percentage of employees that participate in the plans

offered by their employer. (The National Compensation Survey produces comprehensive data on the

percentage of workers with access to and that participate in retirement plans. Data for March 2013 are

available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf).

 

Retirement and savings costs were higher both in amount and as a proportion of total compensation for

union workers ($3.29 and 8.1 percent of total compensation) than for nonunion workers (85 cents and

3.0 percent of total compensation). (See chart 1 and table 5.) Defined benefit plan costs were

significantly higher for union workers ($2.47 and 6.1 percent of total compensation) than for nonunion

workers (27 cents and 1.0 percent of total compensation). 

 

Retirement and savings costs were higher per hour worked in goods-producing industries ($1.57 and

4.5 percent of total compensation) than in service-providing industries (97 cents and 3.4 percent of

total compensation). Within goods-producing industries, retirement and savings costs averaged $1.94 per

hour in construction and $1.29 per hour in manufacturing. Costs in service-providing industries varied

widely, ranging from 14 cents in leisure and hospitality to $2.86 in the information industry. (See chart 2

and table 6.)

 

Retirement and savings costs increased both in cost per hour worked and proportion of total

compensation with establishment size. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers averaged 52 cents

(2.2 percent of total compensation), significantly less than establishments with 500 workers or more,

averaging $2.26 (5.2 percent). (See table 8.)

 

Benefit costs in private industry

 

Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $2.00 per hour worked or 6.9 percent of total

compensation, supplemental pay averaged 80 cents or 2.8 percent, insurance benefits averaged $2.39

or 8.2 percent, and legally required benefits averaged $2.39 per hour worked or 8.2 percent.  (See table

A and table 5.)

 

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....

 

 

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