Private Sector Employee Benefits Average 29.7 Percent Of Compensation Cost: Public Sector Employee Benefits Average 35.5 Percent Of Compensation Cost

From Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic News Release, "Employer Costs For Employee Compensation – June 2013:"

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.

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Table A. Relative importance of employer costs for employee compensation, June 2013

Compensation                   Civilian    Private   State, local

component                      workers     industry   government

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Wages and salaries               69.2%       70.3%         64.5%

Benefits                         30.8        29.7          35.5

   Paid leave                     7.0         6.9           7.4

   Supplemental pay               2.4         2.8           0.8

   Insurance                      9.0         8.2          12.2

     Health benefits              8.5         7.7          11.8

   Retirement and savings         4.7         3.7           9.0

     Defined benefit              2.9         1.6           8.3

     Defined contribution         1.8         2.1           0.8

   Legally required               7.8         8.2           6.1

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