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Employee benefits cost private industry employers in Northeast $13.34 per hour in June 2016

September 15, 2016

In June 2016, employee benefits cost private industry employers in the Northeast $13.34 per hour worked, the highest of the four U.S. census regions. Wages and salaries in the Northeast cost private employers $26.78 per hour, also the highest in the country. Total compensation costs in the Northeast were $40.11 per hour worked.

Private industry employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation, June 2016
Region Cost

Northeast

 

Total compensation

$40.11

Wages and salaries

26.78

Total benefits

13.34

Paid leave

2.96

Supplemental pay

2.46

Insurance

3.26

Retirement and savings

1.63

Legally required benefits

3.03

South

 

Total compensation

29.38

Wages and salaries

20.88

Total benefits

8.50

Paid leave

1.99

Supplemental pay

0.91

Insurance

2.25

Retirement and savings

1.11

Legally required benefits

2.24

Midwest

 

Total compensation

29.67

Wages and salaries

20.65

Total benefits

9.01

Paid leave

2.01

Supplemental pay

0.83

Insurance

2.63

Retirement and savings

1.16

Legally required benefits

2.38

West

 

Total compensation

33.22

Wages and salaries

23.57

Total benefits

9.65

Paid leave

2.20

Supplemental pay

0.83

Insurance

2.50

Retirement and savings

1.33

Legally required benefits

2.79

Employee benefits costs were lowest in the South, where employers spent $8.50 per hour worked. Total compensation costs were also lowest in the South at $29.38 per hour.

Although total costs were lowest in the South, the costs of wages and salaries to private employers were lowest in the Midwest region at $20.65 per hour worked.

Nationwide, wages and salaries cost private employers $22.52 per hour, and employee benefits cost employers $9.77 per hour. Total hourly compensation costs were $32.29.

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—June 2016" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employee benefits cost private industry employers in Northeast $13.34 per hour in June 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employee-benefits-cost-private-industry-employers-13-dollars-and-34-cents-per-hour-in-june-2016.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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