Technical Contact: (202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov USDL: 08-1802 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 For Release: 10:00 AM EST 

Internet address: www.bls.gov/ect Wednesday, December 10, 2008

EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION—SEPTEMBER 2008

Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $28.87 per hour worked in 

September 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, 

which averaged $20.13, accounted for 69.7 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.74, 

accounted for the remaining 30.3 percent. Employer costs averaged $2.42 for insurance benefits (life, health, 

and disability insurance) or 8.4 percent of total compensation. In addition to insurance, the other benefit 

categories were: legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and 

workers’ compensation, which averaged $2.27 (7.9 percent of total compensation); paid leave benefits 

(vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave), which averaged $2.03 (7.0 percent); retirement and 

savings, which averaged $1.28 per hour (4.4 percent of total compensation); and supplemental pay (overtime 

and premium, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses), which averaged 75 cents per hour worked (2.6 

percent). (See table 1.) The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation program is a product of the National 

Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm 

private and state and local government workers. 

State and local government employers spent an average of $13.41 for benefits for every hour worked in 

September 2008, which accounted for 34.2 percent of total compensation. (See table 3.) Private industry 

employers averaged $7.93 for benefits or 29.3 percent of total compensation. (See table 5.) State and local 

government employer costs for health benefits were higher ($4.21) than private industry ($1.93). Retirement 

and savings costs, which includes both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, were also higher for state 

and local government employers ($3.09) than private employers ($0.97). 

Private industry

In September 2008, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.07 per hour worked. 

Private industry employer wages and salaries averaged $19.14 per hour (70.7 percent), while benefits averaged 

$7.93 (29.3 percent). Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.81 per hour worked (6.7 

percent), supplemental pay averaged 82 cents (3.0 percent), insurance benefits averaged $2.07 (7.7 percent), 

retirement and savings averaged 97 cents (3.6 percent), and legally required benefits averaged $2.26 (8.3 

percent) per hour worked. (See table 5.) 

Effective with the December 2008 release, series for 

 News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

United States 

Department 

of Labor

NOTE 

Effective with the December 2008 release, compensation data aggregated across all metropolitan and 

nonmetropolitan areas—which currently appear in table 7—will be discontinued as a result of classification 

changes to metropolitan statistical areas. 
2

Compensation costs in state and local governments

In September 2008, employer costs in state and local governments averaged $39.18 per hour worked. 

State and local governments wages and salaries, averaged $25.77 per hour (65.8 percent), while benefits, 

averaged $13.41 (34.2 percent). Among state and local government employees, average hourly compensation 

costs were higher for management, professional, and related occupations ($48.21) than for service occupations 

($28.56) and sales and office occupations ($26.69). Wages and salaries averaged $32.80 per hour worked for 

management, professional, and related occupations; $17.30 for service occupations; and $16.49 for sales and 

office occupations. Wages and salaries accounted for 60.6 percent of total compensation for service employees 

and 61.8 percent for sales and office employees; for management, professional, and related employees, wages 

and salaries represented a significantly higher proportion of total compensation (68.0 percent). (See tables 3 and 

4.) 

For state and local government employees, employer costs for insurance benefits ranged from $3.55 per 

hour, or 12.4 percent of total compensation for service occupations, to $4.89 per hour worked, or 10.1 percent of 

total compensation for management, professional, and related occupations. For sales and office occupations, 

employer insurance costs averaged $3.97 or 14.9 percent of compensation. The largest component of insurance 

costs was health insurance, which averaged $4.21, or 10.8 percent of total compensation for state and local 

government employees. 

In September 2008, the average cost for retirement and savings benefits was $3.09 per hour worked in 

state and local governments (7.9 percent of total compensation). Included in this amount were employer costs 

for defined benefit plans, which averaged $2.75 per hour (7.0 percent), and defined contribution plans, which 

averaged 34 cents (0.9 percent). Defined benefit plans specify a formula for determining future benefits, while 

defined contribution plans specify employer contributions but do not guarantee the amount of future benefits. 

A major component of benefit costs is paid leave, including vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal 

leave. The average cost for paid leave was $3.25 per hour worked for state and local government employees. 

Among occupational groups, the average cost for paid leave for management, professional, and related workers 

was $3.85, significantly higher than the costs for sales and office workers, which averaged $2.42, and for service 

workers, which averaged $2.56. 

Costs for legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both 

state and federal), and workers’ compensation, averaged $2.33 per hour worked for state and local government 

employees. The average cost for management, professional, and related workers was $2.71 per hour worked 

(5.6 percent of total compensation); greater than the costs for sales and office workers which averaged $1.68 

(6.3 percent), and service workers which averaged $1.87 (6.6 percent). 

The National Compensation Survey produces comprehensive data on the percentage of state and local 

government workers with access to and participation in employee benefit plans, including health and retirement 

and savings plans. State and local government benefits data were released in March 2008 and are available at 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs3.nr0.htm. 

Note

The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for December 2008 is scheduled to be released 

Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 10:00 AM EDT. 
3

$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25 $30 $35 $40 $45 $50 $55

 Wages and salaries Benefits

Chart A. Relative importance of employer costs 

for employee compensation, September 2008

Legally required 7.9 5.9 8.3

Defined contribution 1.8 0.9 2.0

Defined benefit 2.7 7.0 1.6

Retirement & savings 4.4 7.9 3.6

Health benefits 7.9 10.8 7.1

Insurance 8.4 11.2 7.7

Supplemental pay 2.6 0.9 3.0

Paid leave 7.0 8.3 6.7

Benefits 30.3 34.2 29.3

Wages and salaries 69.7% 65.8% 70.7%

Private 

industry

State and local 

government

Civilian 

workers

Compensation

component

Chart B. Employer costs for employee compensation, State and local government, September 2008

Cost per hour worked

All Workers

Occupational group:

Management, professional, and related

Professional and related

Teachers

Primary, secondary, and special education teachers

Sales and office

Office and administrative support

Service

Industry group:

Education and health services

Educational services

Elementary and secondary schools

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

Health care and social assistance

Hospitals

Public administration

.

.
4

Table of Contents: 

Table 1. Civilian workers, by major occupational and industry group 5 

Table 2. Civilian workers, by occupational and industry group 7 

Table 3. State and local government workers, by major occupational and industry group 8 

Table 4. State and local government workers, by occupational and industry group 9 

Table 5. Private industry workers, by major occupational group and bargaining unit status 10 

Table 6. Private industry workers, by major industry group 12 

Table 7. Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area 14 

Table 8. Private industry workers, by establishment employment size 17 

Table 9. Private industry workers, goods-producing and service-providing industries, by 

 occupational group 18 

Table 10. Private industry workers, by industry group 19 

Table 11. Private industry workers, by occupational group and full-time and part-time status 20 

Table 12. Private industry workers, by industry group and full-time and part-time status 21 

Table 13. Private industry workers, by major industry group and establishment 

 employment size and bargaining unit status 22 

Table 14. Private industry health care and social assistance workers, by industry 

 and occupational group 23 

Technical Note 24 

Note: Supplemental tables with occupational, establishment size, and bargaining status series for 

detailed industries are available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc8.pdf and 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc8.txt. 
5

Table 1. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Civilian workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2008

Compensation

component

Occupational group

All

workers1

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $28.87 100.0 $48.23 100.0 $21.87 100.0 $15.71 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 20.13 69.7 33.82 70.1 15.52 71.0 11.16 71.0

Total benefits ........................................................ 8.74 30.3 14.40 29.9 6.35 29.0 4.56 29.0

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.03 7.0 3.98 8.2 1.45 6.6 0.88 5.6

Vacation ........................................................ 0.96 3.3 1.82 3.8 0.70 3.2 0.42 2.7

Holiday .......................................................... 0.67 2.3 1.28 2.7 0.48 2.2 0.28 1.8

Sick ............................................................... 0.31 1.1 0.68 1.4 0.21 1.0 0.14 0.9

Personal ....................................................... 0.09 0.3 0.19 0.4 0.06 0.3 0.03 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.75 2.6 1.18 2.4 0.51 2.3 0.29 1.8

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.27 0.9 0.17 0.3 0.15 0.7 0.17 1.1

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.07 0.2 0.11 0.2 0.02 0.1 0.05 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.42 1.4 0.90 1.9 0.34 1.5 0.07 0.4

Insurance .......................................................... 2.42 8.4 3.61 7.5 1.96 9.0 1.34 8.5

Life ................................................................ 0.05 0.2 0.10 0.2 0.03 0.2 0.02 0.1

Health ........................................................... 2.27 7.9 3.35 6.9 1.86 8.5 1.29 8.2

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.05 0.2 0.08 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.02 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.08 0.2 0.03 0.1 5 ( ) 6 ( )

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.28 4.4 2.47 5.1 0.73 3.3 0.60 3.8

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.77 2.7 1.47 3.1 0.33 1.5 0.45 2.9

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.51 1.8 0.99 2.1 0.39 1.8 0.14 0.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.27 7.9 3.17 6.6 1.71 7.8 1.45 9.2

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.63 5.7 2.63 5.4 1.29 5.9 0.94 6.0

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.30 4.5 2.07 4.3 1.04 4.8 0.76 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.33 1.1 0.56 1.2 0.25 1.2 0.19 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.02 6 ( ) 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.2

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.14 0.5 0.13 0.3 0.13 0.6 0.11 0.7

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.47 1.6 0.39 0.8 0.25 1.2 0.36 2.3

See footnotes at end of table.
6

Table 1. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Civilian workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2008 — Continued

Compensation

component

Occupational group Industry group

Natural

resources,

construction,

and

maintenance

Production,

transportation,

and

material

moving

Goodsproducing2Serviceproviding3

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $30.75 100.0 $23.52 100.0 $31.80 100.0 $28.26 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 20.88 67.9 15.65 66.5 21.24 66.8 19.90 70.4

Total benefits ........................................................ 9.87 32.1 7.87 33.5 10.56 33.2 8.37 29.6

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.60 5.2 1.41 6.0 2.00 6.3 2.03 7.2

Vacation ........................................................ 0.85 2.7 0.71 3.0 1.06 3.3 0.94 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.53 1.7 0.50 2.1 0.72 2.2 0.65 2.3

Sick ............................................................... 0.16 0.5 0.16 0.7 0.17 0.5 0.34 1.2

Personal ....................................................... 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.10 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.01 3.3 0.87 3.7 1.32 4.1 0.63 2.2

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.67 2.2 0.52 2.2 0.59 1.8 0.20 0.7

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.05 0.2 0.10 0.4 0.10 0.3 0.06 0.2

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.29 0.9 0.25 1.1 0.63 2.0 0.37 1.3

Insurance .......................................................... 2.63 8.5 2.43 10.3 2.91 9.2 2.32 8.2

Life ................................................................ 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.46 8.0 2.29 9.7 2.71 8.5 2.18 7.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.09 0.3 0.06 0.3 0.10 0.3 0.04 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.54 5.0 0.92 3.9 1.45 4.6 1.25 4.4

Defined benefit ............................................. 1.05 3.4 0.56 2.4 0.83 2.6 0.76 2.7

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.49 1.6 0.37 1.6 0.63 2.0 0.49 1.7

Legally required benefits .................................. 3.09 10.1 2.24 9.5 2.88 9.1 2.14 7.6

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.75 5.7 1.33 5.7 1.81 5.7 1.60 5.7

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.42 4.6 1.07 4.6 1.46 4.6 1.27 4.5

Medicare ................................................... 0.34 1.1 0.26 1.1 0.35 1.1 0.33 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.18 0.6 0.16 0.7 0.20 0.6 0.13 0.4

Workers’ compensation ................................ 1.13 3.7 0.71 3.0 0.85 2.7 0.39 1.4

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy excluding

households and the public sector excluding the Federal government. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The

agriculture, forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 3 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

food services; other services, except public administration; and

public administration. 4 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work

schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 5 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 6 Less than .05 percent. 7 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance

(OASDI) program.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
7

Table 2. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Civilian workers, by occupational and industry group, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

Civilian workers1 ....................................................... $28.87 $20.13 $8.74 $2.03 $0.75 $2.42 $1.28 $2.27

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 48.23 33.82 14.40 3.98 1.18 3.61 2.47 3.17

Management, business, and financial ...... 53.90 37.24 16.67 4.90 2.08 3.66 2.53 3.50

Professional and related ........................... 46.06 32.52 13.53 3.62 0.84 3.59 2.44 3.04

Teachers2 ............................................. 51.42 36.62 14.79 3.39 0.16 4.74 3.56 2.94

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 48.85 35.01 13.84 2.36 0.17 5.17 3.49 2.65

Registered nurses ................................ 45.32 32.05 13.27 3.63 1.50 3.12 1.59 3.43

Sales and office ............................................ 21.87 15.52 6.35 1.45 0.51 1.96 0.73 1.71

Sales and related ...................................... 20.46 15.33 5.13 1.11 0.57 1.27 0.49 1.69

Office and administrative support ............. 22.72 15.63 7.09 1.65 0.47 2.38 0.87 1.72

Service .......................................................... 15.71 11.16 4.56 0.88 0.29 1.34 0.60 1.45

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ............................................... 30.75 20.88 9.87 1.60 1.01 2.63 1.54 3.09

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry3 ........................................... 30.92 20.89 10.03 1.22 1.03 2.60 1.79 3.39

Installation, maintenance, and repair ........ 30.54 20.87 9.67 2.07 0.98 2.66 1.23 2.72

Production, transportation, and material

moving ........................................................ 23.52 15.65 7.87 1.41 0.87 2.43 0.92 2.24

Production ................................................ 24.01 15.87 8.14 1.54 1.05 2.59 0.76 2.19

Transportation and material moving ......... 23.06 15.45 7.62 1.28 0.70 2.29 1.07 2.28

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 34.05 23.85 10.20 2.56 0.43 3.12 1.79 2.29

Educational services ................................. 41.34 28.65 12.69 2.96 0.15 4.32 2.85 2.41

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 40.63 28.26 12.36 2.22 0.16 4.70 3.01 2.27

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 45.61 30.94 14.67 5.05 0.15 3.87 2.83 2.76

Health care and social assistance ............ 28.97 20.51 8.46 2.29 0.62 2.29 1.05 2.21

Hospitals ............................................... 34.84 23.66 11.18 3.06 1.04 3.23 1.34 2.50

Percent of total compensation

Civilian workers1 ....................................................... 100.0 69.7 30.3 7.0 2.6 8.4 4.4 7.9

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 70.1 29.9 8.2 2.4 7.5 5.1 6.6

Management, business, and financial ...... 100.0 69.1 30.9 9.1 3.9 6.8 4.7 6.5

Professional and related ........................... 100.0 70.6 29.4 7.9 1.8 7.8 5.3 6.6

Teachers2 ............................................. 100.0 71.2 28.8 6.6 0.3 9.2 6.9 5.7

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 100.0 71.7 28.3 4.8 0.3 10.6 7.2 5.4

Registered nurses ................................ 100.0 70.7 29.3 8.0 3.3 6.9 3.5 7.6

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 71.0 29.0 6.6 2.3 9.0 3.3 7.8

Sales and related ...................................... 100.0 74.9 25.1 5.4 2.8 6.2 2.4 8.3

Office and administrative support ............. 100.0 68.8 31.2 7.3 2.1 10.5 3.8 7.6

Service .......................................................... 100.0 71.0 29.0 5.6 1.8 8.5 3.8 9.2

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ............................................... 100.0 67.9 32.1 5.2 3.3 8.5 5.0 10.1

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing,

and forestry3 ........................................... 100.0 67.6 32.4 3.9 3.3 8.4 5.8 11.0

Installation, maintenance, and repair ........ 100.0 68.3 31.7 6.8 3.2 8.7 4.0 8.9

Production, transportation, and material

moving ........................................................ 100.0 66.5 33.5 6.0 3.7 10.3 3.9 9.5

Production ................................................ 100.0 66.1 33.9 6.4 4.4 10.8 3.2 9.1

Transportation and material moving ......... 100.0 67.0 33.0 5.6 3.0 9.9 4.7 9.9

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 70.1 29.9 7.5 1.3 9.2 5.3 6.7

Educational services ................................. 100.0 69.3 30.7 7.2 0.4 10.4 6.9 5.8

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 100.0 69.6 30.4 5.5 0.4 11.6 7.4 5.6

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 100.0 67.8 32.2 11.1 0.3 8.5 6.2 6.1

Health care and social assistance ............ 100.0 70.8 29.2 7.9 2.1 7.9 3.6 7.6

Hospitals ............................................... 100.0 67.9 32.1 8.8 3.0 9.3 3.9 7.2

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy excluding

households and the public sector excluding the Federal government. 2 Includes postsecondary teachers; primary, secondary, and

special education teachers; and other teachers and instructors. 3 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations were combined with

construction and extraction occupational group as of December

2006.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
8

Table 3. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: State and local

government workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2008

Compensation

component

Occupational group1 Industry group

All

workers

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service Service-providing2

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $39.18 100.0 $48.21 100.0 $26.69 100.0 $28.56 100.0 $39.24 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 25.77 65.8 32.80 68.0 16.49 61.8 17.30 60.6 25.82 65.8

Total benefits ........................................................ 13.41 34.2 15.41 32.0 10.21 38.2 11.26 39.4 13.42 34.2

Paid leave ......................................................... 3.25 8.3 3.85 8.0 2.42 9.1 2.56 9.0 3.25 8.3

Vacation ........................................................ 1.15 2.9 1.19 2.5 1.08 4.0 1.11 3.9 1.15 2.9

Holiday .......................................................... 1.07 2.7 1.28 2.7 0.77 2.9 0.83 2.9 1.07 2.7

Sick ............................................................... 0.81 2.1 1.07 2.2 0.47 1.8 0.50 1.8 0.81 2.1

Personal ....................................................... 0.22 0.6 0.32 0.7 0.10 0.4 0.12 0.4 0.22 0.6

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.35 0.9 0.27 0.6 0.21 0.8 0.56 2.0 0.35 0.9

Overtime and premium3 ............................... 0.18 0.4 0.08 0.2 0.12 0.4 0.36 1.2 0.17 0.4

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.05 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.09 0.3 0.05 0.1

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.13 0.3 0.16 0.3 0.08 0.3 0.12 0.4 0.13 0.3

Insurance .......................................................... 4.39 11.2 4.89 10.1 3.97 14.9 3.55 12.4 4.40 11.2

Life ................................................................ 0.10 0.2 0.14 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.10 0.2

Health ........................................................... 4.21 10.8 4.65 9.7 3.86 14.4 3.45 12.1 4.22 10.8

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.1 0.07 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.06 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 3.09 7.9 3.69 7.7 1.92 7.2 2.71 9.5 3.09 7.9

Defined benefit ............................................. 2.75 7.0 3.27 6.8 1.68 6.3 2.47 8.6 2.75 7.0

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.34 0.9 0.42 0.9 0.23 0.9 0.25 0.9 0.34 0.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.33 5.9 2.71 5.6 1.68 6.3 1.87 6.6 2.33 5.9

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.82 4.6 2.24 4.7 1.30 4.9 1.26 4.4 1.82 4.6

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.40 3.6 1.72 3.6 1.03 3.9 0.97 3.4 1.40 3.6

Medicare ................................................... 0.41 1.1 0.52 1.1 0.27 1.0 0.29 1.0 0.42 1.1

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( )

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.2

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.45 1.1 0.40 0.8 0.33 1.2 0.55 1.9 0.44 1.1

1 This table presents data for the three major occupational groups in State

and local government: management, professional, and related occupations,

including teachers; sales and office occupations, including clerical workers; and

service occupations, including police and firefighters. 2 Service-providing industries, which include health and educational

services, employ a large part of the State and local government workforce. 3 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule

(such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 4 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

program. 5 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 6 Less than .05 percent.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
9

Table 4. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: State and local government workers, by occupational and industry group, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

State and local government workers ........................ $39.18 $25.77 $13.41 $3.25 $0.35 $4.39 $3.09 $2.33

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 48.21 32.80 15.41 3.85 0.27 4.89 3.69 2.71

Professional and related ........................... 47.56 32.47 15.09 3.64 0.25 4.88 3.68 2.64

Teachers1 ............................................. 54.41 38.04 16.38 3.74 0.15 5.42 4.17 2.89

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 52.08 37.00 15.08 2.47 0.16 5.76 3.99 2.69

Sales and office ............................................ 26.69 16.49 10.21 2.42 0.21 3.97 1.92 1.68

Office and administrative support ............. 26.87 16.55 10.32 2.45 0.21 4.04 1.94 1.68

Service .......................................................... 28.56 17.30 11.26 2.56 0.56 3.55 2.71 1.87

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 41.84 28.38 13.45 3.18 0.22 4.59 3.12 2.34

Educational services ................................. 42.20 28.80 13.39 3.07 0.16 4.69 3.16 2.32

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 41.28 28.52 12.76 2.26 0.16 4.92 3.19 2.23

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 45.70 30.04 15.66 5.82 0.15 3.97 3.10 2.63

Health care and social assistance ............ 39.60 25.77 13.83 3.92 0.59 3.98 2.88 2.46

Hospitals ............................................... 35.37 22.89 12.48 3.43 0.74 4.09 1.93 2.28

Public administration .................................... 36.22 22.37 13.85 3.47 0.56 4.21 3.27 2.34

Percent of total compensation

State and local government workers ........................ 100.0 65.8 34.2 8.3 0.9 11.2 7.9 5.9

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 68.0 32.0 8.0 0.6 10.1 7.7 5.6

Professional and related ........................... 100.0 68.3 31.7 7.6 0.5 10.3 7.7 5.6

Teachers1 ............................................. 100.0 69.9 30.1 6.9 0.3 10.0 7.7 5.3

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 100.0 71.0 29.0 4.7 0.3 11.1 7.7 5.2

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 61.8 38.2 9.1 0.8 14.9 7.2 6.3

Office and administrative support ............. 100.0 61.6 38.4 9.1 0.8 15.0 7.2 6.3

Service .......................................................... 100.0 60.6 39.4 9.0 2.0 12.4 9.5 6.6

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 67.8 32.2 7.6 0.5 11.0 7.5 5.6

Educational services ................................. 100.0 68.3 31.7 7.3 0.4 11.1 7.5 5.5

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 100.0 69.1 30.9 5.5 0.4 11.9 7.7 5.4

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 100.0 65.7 34.3 12.7 0.3 8.7 6.8 5.7

Health care and social assistance ............ 100.0 65.1 34.9 9.9 1.5 10.0 7.3 6.2

Hospitals ............................................... 100.0 64.7 35.3 9.7 2.1 11.6 5.5 6.5

Public administration .................................... 100.0 61.8 38.2 9.6 1.6 11.6 9.0 6.5

1 Includes postsecondary teachers; primary, secondary, and

special education teachers; and other teachers and instructors.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
10

Table 5. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Private industry workers, by major occupational group and bargaining unit status,

September 2008

Compensation

component

Occupational group

All

workers

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $27.07 100.0 $48.23 100.0 $21.44 100.0 $13.40 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.14 70.7 34.25 71.0 15.43 72.0 10.05 75.0

Total benefits ........................................................ 7.93 29.3 13.98 29.0 6.01 28.0 3.35 25.0

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.81 6.7 4.03 8.4 1.36 6.3 0.58 4.3

Vacation ........................................................ 0.93 3.4 2.08 4.3 0.67 3.1 0.30 2.2

Holiday .......................................................... 0.60 2.2 1.28 2.7 0.45 2.1 0.18 1.4

Sick ............................................................... 0.23 0.8 0.52 1.1 0.19 0.9 0.08 0.6

Personal ....................................................... 0.06 0.2 0.14 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.02 0.1

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.82 3.0 1.56 3.2 0.53 2.5 0.24 1.8

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.28 1.0 0.21 0.4 0.15 0.7 0.14 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.07 0.3 0.15 0.3 0.02 0.1 0.04 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.47 1.7 1.21 2.5 0.36 1.7 0.06 0.4

Insurance .......................................................... 2.07 7.7 3.07 6.4 1.78 8.3 0.94 7.0

Life ................................................................ 0.04 0.2 0.08 0.2 0.03 0.2 2 ( ) 3 ( )

Health ........................................................... 1.93 7.1 2.80 5.8 1.68 7.9 0.91 6.8

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.2 0.10 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.02 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.09 0.2 0.03 0.1 2 ( ) 3 ( )

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.97 3.6 1.95 4.0 0.62 2.9 0.22 1.6

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.43 1.6 0.72 1.5 0.21 1.0 0.09 0.7

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.54 2.0 1.23 2.6 0.41 1.9 0.12 0.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.26 8.3 3.36 7.0 1.71 8.0 1.38 10.3

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.60 5.9 2.79 5.8 1.29 6.0 0.89 6.6

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.28 4.7 2.21 4.6 1.04 4.9 0.72 5.4

Medicare ................................................... 0.32 1.2 0.57 1.2 0.25 1.2 0.17 1.3

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.2 0.04 0.3

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.15 0.6 0.16 0.3 0.14 0.6 0.12 0.9

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.47 1.7 0.38 0.8 0.25 1.2 0.33 2.5

See footnotes at end of table.
11

Table 5. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Private industry workers, by major occupational group and bargaining unit status,

September 2008 — Continued

Compensation

component

Occupational group Bargaining unit status

Natural

resources,

construction,

and

maintenance

Production,

transportation,

and

material

moving

Union Nonunion

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $30.60 100.0 $23.32 100.0 $36.65 100.0 $25.92 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 20.95 68.5 15.58 66.8 22.77 62.1 18.70 72.2

Total benefits ........................................................ 9.65 31.5 7.74 33.2 13.88 37.9 7.21 27.8

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.48 4.8 1.38 5.9 2.73 7.4 1.70 6.6

Vacation ........................................................ 0.80 2.6 0.71 3.0 1.42 3.9 0.87 3.4

Holiday .......................................................... 0.49 1.6 0.49 2.1 0.81 2.2 0.57 2.2

Sick ............................................................... 0.13 0.4 0.14 0.6 0.36 1.0 0.21 0.8

Personal ....................................................... 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.14 0.4 0.05 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.04 3.4 0.88 3.8 1.26 3.4 0.76 2.9

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.69 2.2 0.52 2.2 0.80 2.2 0.22 0.8

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.05 0.2 0.10 0.4 0.18 0.5 0.06 0.2

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.31 1.0 0.26 1.1 0.28 0.8 0.49 1.9

Insurance .......................................................... 2.50 8.2 2.36 10.1 4.27 11.6 1.81 7.0

Life ................................................................ 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.04 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.33 7.6 2.22 9.5 3.99 10.9 1.69 6.5

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.10 0.3 0.06 0.3 0.15 0.4 0.05 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.02 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.46 4.8 0.88 3.8 2.47 6.7 0.79 3.0

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.94 3.1 0.50 2.2 1.76 4.8 0.27 1.0

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.52 1.7 0.37 1.6 0.71 1.9 0.52 2.0

Legally required benefits .................................. 3.16 10.3 2.24 9.6 3.16 8.6 2.15 8.3

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.77 5.8 1.33 5.7 1.98 5.4 1.56 6.0

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.43 4.7 1.07 4.6 1.59 4.4 1.25 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.34 1.1 0.26 1.1 0.38 1.0 0.31 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.19 0.6 0.17 0.7 0.22 0.6 0.14 0.5

Workers’ compensation ................................ 1.17 3.8 0.71 3.1 0.93 2.5 0.42 1.6

1 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular

work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 3 Less than .05 percent. 4 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability

Insurance (OASDI) program.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
12

Table 6. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry

workers, by major industry group, September 2008

Compensation

component

Goods-producing1 Service-providing2

All goodsproducing1 Construction Manufacturing

All

serviceproviding3

Trade,

transportation,

and

utilities

Information

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $31.78 100.0 $30.60 100.0 $31.75 100.0 $25.90 100.0 $23.01 100.0 $39.53 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 21.24 66.8 21.17 69.2 20.96 66.0 18.62 71.9 16.28 70.8 27.32 69.1

Total benefits ........................................................ 10.54 33.2 9.42 30.8 10.80 34.0 7.28 28.1 6.73 29.2 12.21 30.9

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.99 6.3 1.06 3.5 2.40 7.6 1.77 6.8 1.38 6.0 3.61 9.1

Vacation ........................................................ 1.06 3.3 0.60 1.9 1.26 4.0 0.90 3.5 0.72 3.1 1.84 4.7

Holiday .......................................................... 0.71 2.2 0.37 1.2 0.87 2.7 0.57 2.2 0.43 1.9 1.01 2.5

Sick ............................................................... 0.17 0.5 0.07 0.2 0.22 0.7 0.24 0.9 0.19 0.8 0.44 1.1

Personal ....................................................... 0.04 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.04 0.2 0.33 0.8

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.32 4.2 1.08 3.5 1.38 4.3 0.69 2.7 0.61 2.7 0.99 2.5

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.59 1.9 0.63 2.1 0.55 1.7 0.20 0.8 0.28 1.2 0.36 0.9

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.10 0.3 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.14 0.5 0.07 0.3 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.1

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.64 2.0 0.43 1.4 0.69 2.2 0.42 1.6 0.31 1.3 0.57 1.4

Insurance .......................................................... 2.90 9.1 2.28 7.4 3.14 9.9 1.87 7.2 1.86 8.1 3.25 8.2

Life ................................................................ 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.1

Health ........................................................... 2.70 8.5 2.13 7.0 2.92 9.2 1.75 6.7 1.76 7.6 2.96 7.5

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.10 0.3 0.09 0.3 0.10 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.18 0.5

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.06 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.45 4.5 1.59 5.2 1.28 4.0 0.85 3.3 0.84 3.7 1.55 3.9

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.82 2.6 1.06 3.5 0.64 2.0 0.33 1.3 0.41 1.8 0.82 2.1

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.63 2.0 0.53 1.7 0.65 2.0 0.52 2.0 0.44 1.9 0.73 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.88 9.1 3.42 11.2 2.60 8.2 2.10 8.1 2.03 8.8 2.80 7.1

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.81 5.7 1.75 5.7 1.81 5.7 1.55 6.0 1.36 5.9 2.31 5.8

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.46 4.6 1.42 4.6 1.46 4.6 1.24 4.8 1.09 4.7 1.85 4.7

Medicare ................................................... 0.35 1.1 0.34 1.1 0.35 1.1 0.31 1.2 0.26 1.1 0.46 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.20 0.6 0.24 0.8 0.18 0.6 0.14 0.5 0.13 0.6 0.20 0.5

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.85 2.7 1.39 4.6 0.58 1.8 0.38 1.5 0.50 2.2 0.27 0.7

See footnotes at end of table.
13

Table 6. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation:

Private industry workers, by major industry group, September 2008 — Continued

Compensation

component

Service-providing2

Financial activities

Professional

and

business

services

Education

and

health

services

Leisure

and

hospitality

Other services

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $35.98 100.0 $32.20 100.0 $29.18 100.0 $11.81 100.0 $22.65 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 24.34 67.6 23.66 73.5 21.02 72.0 9.25 78.3 16.82 74.3

Total benefits ........................................................ 11.65 32.4 8.55 26.5 8.16 28.0 2.56 21.7 5.82 25.7

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.97 8.2 2.27 7.1 2.17 7.5 0.40 3.4 1.42 6.3

Vacation ........................................................ 1.51 4.2 1.14 3.5 1.08 3.7 0.22 1.9 0.66 2.9

Holiday .......................................................... 0.92 2.6 0.78 2.4 0.68 2.3 0.12 1.0 0.55 2.4

Sick ............................................................... 0.43 1.2 0.29 0.9 0.32 1.1 0.04 0.3 0.17 0.8

Personal ....................................................... 0.11 0.3 0.07 0.2 0.10 0.3 0.02 0.1 0.04 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.94 5.4 0.84 2.6 0.56 1.9 0.13 1.1 0.50 2.2

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.13 0.4 0.20 0.6 0.22 0.7 0.08 0.7 0.12 0.5

Shift differentials ........................................... 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.05 0.2 0.21 0.7 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( )

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 1.80 5.0 0.58 1.8 0.14 0.5 0.05 0.4 0.36 1.6

Insurance .......................................................... 2.84 7.9 1.93 6.0 2.20 7.6 0.65 5.5 1.40 6.2

Life ................................................................ 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.03 0.1 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.05 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.63 7.3 1.76 5.5 2.08 7.1 0.63 5.3 1.29 5.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.08 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.1 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.03 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 0.03 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.52 4.2 1.00 3.1 0.96 3.3 0.11 1.0 0.50 2.2

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.57 1.6 0.38 1.2 0.28 0.9 0.02 0.2 0.15 0.6

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.95 2.6 0.62 1.9 0.68 2.3 0.09 0.8 0.35 1.6

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.38 6.6 2.50 7.8 2.26 7.7 1.27 10.7 2.00 8.8

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 2.00 5.6 1.91 5.9 1.74 6.0 0.84 7.1 1.41 6.2

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.58 4.4 1.53 4.7 1.40 4.8 0.68 5.8 1.13 5.0

Medicare ................................................... 0.42 1.2 0.39 1.2 0.34 1.2 0.16 1.4 0.27 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.3 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.14 0.4 0.17 0.5 0.13 0.4 0.12 1.0 0.13 0.6

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.20 0.6 0.39 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.26 2.2 0.43 1.9

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The agriculture,

forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 2 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and

warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental

and leasing; professional and technical services; management of

companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services;

educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; other

services, except public administration; and public administration. 3 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and

warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental

and leasing; professional and technical services; management of

companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services;

educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration. 4 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work

schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 5 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 6 Less than .05 percent. 7 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

program.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
14

Table 7. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation:

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2008

Compensation

component

Census region and division1

Northeast Northeast divisions South South divisions

Cost Percent

New England Middle Atlantic

Cost Percent

South Atlantic

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $30.81 100.0 $30.79 100.0 $30.81 100.0 $24.17 100.0 $25.83 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 21.50 69.8 21.97 71.3 21.30 69.1 17.41 72.0 18.60 72.0

Total benefits ........................................................ 9.31 30.2 8.82 28.7 9.51 30.9 6.77 28.0 7.23 28.0

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.29 7.4 2.27 7.4 2.30 7.5 1.52 6.3 1.66 6.4

Vacation ........................................................ 1.15 3.7 1.15 3.7 1.16 3.8 0.78 3.2 0.85 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.73 2.4 0.76 2.5 0.72 2.3 0.50 2.1 0.54 2.1

Sick ............................................................... 0.30 1.0 0.26 0.9 0.32 1.0 0.18 0.8 0.21 0.8

Personal ....................................................... 0.10 0.3 0.10 0.3 0.10 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.02 3.3 0.88 2.9 1.08 3.5 0.66 2.7 0.65 2.5

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.29 1.0 0.27 0.9 0.30 1.0 0.26 1.1 0.25 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.3 0.07 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.66 2.1 0.55 1.8 0.71 2.3 0.34 1.4 0.34 1.3

Insurance .......................................................... 2.29 7.4 2.11 6.9 2.37 7.7 1.80 7.4 1.86 7.2

Life ................................................................ 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.14 6.9 1.98 6.4 2.20 7.2 1.66 6.9 1.72 6.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.08 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.09 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.16 3.8 1.03 3.3 1.22 3.9 0.84 3.5 1.02 3.9

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.54 1.7 0.42 1.4 0.58 1.9 0.32 1.3 0.37 1.4

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.62 2.0 0.61 2.0 0.63 2.0 0.53 2.2 0.65 2.5

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.54 8.2 2.52 8.2 2.54 8.2 1.94 8.0 2.04 7.9

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.80 5.9 1.85 6.0 1.79 5.8 1.45 6.0 1.53 5.9

Social Security3 ........................................ 1.44 4.7 1.48 4.8 1.43 4.6 1.16 4.8 1.22 4.7

Medicare ................................................... 0.36 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.29 1.2 0.30 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.22 0.7 0.22 0.7 0.22 0.7 0.08 0.4 0.09 0.3

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.48 1.5 0.42 1.4 0.50 1.6 0.38 1.6 0.40 1.5

See footnotes at end of table.
15

Table 7. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation:

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2008 — Continued

Compensation

component

Census region and division1

South divisions Midwest Midwest divisions

East South

Central

West South

Central Cost Percent

East North Central West North

Central

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $20.39 100.0 $23.56 100.0 $26.33 100.0 $27.34 100.0 $24.05 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 14.53 71.3 17.05 72.4 18.40 69.9 19.03 69.6 16.99 70.7

Total benefits ........................................................ 5.85 28.7 6.51 27.6 7.93 30.1 8.32 30.4 7.06 29.3

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.17 5.7 1.48 6.3 1.73 6.6 1.80 6.6 1.56 6.5

Vacation ........................................................ 0.64 3.1 0.74 3.2 0.90 3.4 0.93 3.4 0.85 3.5

Holiday .......................................................... 0.38 1.9 0.51 2.1 0.57 2.2 0.60 2.2 0.50 2.1

Sick ............................................................... 0.11 0.5 0.18 0.8 0.19 0.7 0.19 0.7 0.17 0.7

Personal ....................................................... 0.04 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.08 0.3 0.04 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.59 2.9 0.73 3.1 0.84 3.2 0.91 3.3 0.67 2.8

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.22 1.1 0.29 1.2 0.31 1.2 0.33 1.2 0.27 1.1

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.08 0.4 0.06 0.2 0.09 0.3 0.10 0.4 0.07 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.29 1.4 0.38 1.6 0.44 1.7 0.48 1.8 0.33 1.4

Insurance .......................................................... 1.79 8.8 1.69 7.2 2.22 8.4 2.33 8.5 1.99 8.3

Life ................................................................ 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2

Health ........................................................... 1.67 8.2 1.57 6.7 2.07 7.9 2.17 7.9 1.86 7.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.08 0.3 0.05 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.53 2.6 0.73 3.1 0.96 3.6 1.02 3.7 0.82 3.4

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.18 0.9 0.30 1.3 0.47 1.8 0.52 1.9 0.35 1.5

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.35 1.7 0.43 1.8 0.49 1.9 0.50 1.8 0.46 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 1.77 8.7 1.88 8.0 2.18 8.3 2.25 8.2 2.02 8.4

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.29 6.3 1.41 6.0 1.55 5.9 1.60 5.9 1.43 6.0

Social Security3 ........................................ 1.04 5.1 1.13 4.8 1.25 4.7 1.29 4.7 1.15 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.25 1.2 0.28 1.2 0.30 1.2 0.31 1.2 0.28 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.08 0.4 0.08 0.4 0.16 0.6 0.17 0.6 0.14 0.6

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.37 1.8 0.36 1.5 0.44 1.7 0.45 1.6 0.42 1.7

See footnotes at end of table.
16

Table 7. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation:

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2008 — Continued

Compensation

component

Census region and division1 Area

West West divisions Metropolitan

area

Nonmetropolitan

area

Cost Percent

Mountain Pacific

Cost Percent Cost Percent

Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $29.07 100.0 $24.79 100.0 $30.88 100.0 $28.39 100.0 $19.92 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 20.58 70.8 17.82 71.9 21.75 70.4 20.07 70.7 14.12 70.9

Total benefits ........................................................ 8.49 29.2 6.98 28.1 9.13 29.6 8.32 29.3 5.81 29.1

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.94 6.7 1.50 6.0 2.13 6.9 1.95 6.9 1.10 5.5

Vacation ........................................................ 0.99 3.4 0.77 3.1 1.08 3.5 0.99 3.5 0.58 2.9

Holiday .......................................................... 0.64 2.2 0.50 2.0 0.70 2.3 0.64 2.2 0.37 1.9

Sick ............................................................... 0.27 0.9 0.19 0.8 0.30 1.0 0.25 0.9 0.11 0.6

Personal ....................................................... 0.05 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.03 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.84 2.9 0.75 3.0 0.89 2.9 0.86 3.0 0.61 3.1

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.28 1.0 0.24 1.0 0.29 0.9 0.28 1.0 0.30 1.5

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.06 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.51 1.7 0.45 1.8 0.53 1.7 0.51 1.8 0.25 1.2

Insurance .......................................................... 2.13 7.3 1.85 7.5 2.25 7.3 2.15 7.6 1.67 8.4

Life ................................................................ 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.01 6.9 1.73 7.0 2.13 6.9 2.00 7.0 1.58 7.9

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.02 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.00 3.4 0.77 3.1 1.09 3.5 1.03 3.6 0.61 3.0

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.45 1.6 0.29 1.2 0.52 1.7 0.46 1.6 0.26 1.3

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.54 1.9 0.48 1.9 0.57 1.8 0.58 2.0 0.35 1.7

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.58 8.9 2.12 8.5 2.77 9.0 2.34 8.2 1.81 9.1

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.71 5.9 1.49 6.0 1.81 5.9 1.67 5.9 1.22 6.1

Social Security3 ........................................ 1.37 4.7 1.20 4.8 1.45 4.7 1.34 4.7 0.99 5.0

Medicare ................................................... 0.34 1.2 0.29 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.33 1.2 0.23 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.2

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.18 0.6 0.11 0.5 0.20 0.7 0.16 0.5 0.12 0.6

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.65 2.2 0.48 1.9 0.72 2.3 0.48 1.7 0.43 2.2

1 The States that comprise the census divisions are: New England:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and

Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;

South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia;

East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee;

West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East

North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West

North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska,

California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 2 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work

schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 3 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

program.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
17

Table 8. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry

workers, by establishment employment size, September 2008

Compensation

component

1-99 workers 100 workers or more

1-99 workers 1-49 workers 50-99 workers 100 workers or

more 100-499 workers 500 workers ormore

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $22.47 100.0 $21.81 100.0 $24.40 100.0 $32.01 100.0 $27.14 100.0 $38.08 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 16.58 73.8 16.27 74.6 17.49 71.7 21.89 68.4 18.95 69.8 25.55 67.1

Total benefits ........................................................ 5.88 26.2 5.53 25.4 6.91 28.3 10.12 31.6 8.19 30.2 12.53 32.9

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.20 5.4 1.13 5.2 1.43 5.9 2.47 7.7 1.83 6.7 3.26 8.6

Vacation ........................................................ 0.60 2.7 0.57 2.6 0.71 2.9 1.28 4.0 0.94 3.5 1.71 4.5

Holiday .......................................................... 0.42 1.9 0.40 1.8 0.49 2.0 0.78 2.4 0.61 2.3 0.99 2.6

Sick ............................................................... 0.14 0.6 0.13 0.6 0.18 0.7 0.32 1.0 0.22 0.8 0.44 1.1

Personal ....................................................... 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.09 0.3 0.06 0.2 0.13 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.60 2.7 0.59 2.7 0.62 2.5 1.05 3.3 0.82 3.0 1.35 3.6

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.21 0.9 0.18 0.8 0.27 1.1 0.36 1.1 0.33 1.2 0.40 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.02 0.1 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 0.04 0.2 0.12 0.4 0.07 0.3 0.19 0.5

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.37 1.6 0.39 1.8 0.31 1.3 0.57 1.8 0.41 1.5 0.77 2.0

Insurance .......................................................... 1.47 6.5 1.32 6.1 1.89 7.8 2.72 8.5 2.29 8.4 3.27 8.6

Life ................................................................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.07 0.2

Health ........................................................... 1.38 6.1 1.25 5.7 1.77 7.3 2.53 7.9 2.14 7.9 3.02 7.9

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.08 0.3 0.07 0.2 0.10 0.3

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.02 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.08 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.58 2.6 0.51 2.4 0.78 3.2 1.38 4.3 0.98 3.6 1.88 4.9

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.21 0.9 0.15 0.7 0.36 1.5 0.67 2.1 0.45 1.7 0.94 2.5

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.38 1.7 0.36 1.7 0.42 1.7 0.72 2.2 0.53 2.0 0.95 2.5

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.03 9.0 1.98 9.1 2.18 8.9 2.49 7.8 2.28 8.4 2.76 7.3

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.37 6.1 1.34 6.1 1.47 6.0 1.85 5.8 1.58 5.8 2.19 5.7

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.10 4.9 1.07 4.9 1.18 4.8 1.48 4.6 1.27 4.7 1.75 4.6

Medicare ................................................... 0.27 1.2 0.26 1.2 0.29 1.2 0.37 1.2 0.31 1.1 0.44 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.04 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.15 0.7 0.15 0.7 0.16 0.6 0.15 0.5 0.16 0.6 0.14 0.4

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.48 2.1 0.46 2.1 0.52 2.1 0.46 1.5 0.51 1.9 0.41 1.1

1 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such

as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 3 Less than .05 percent.

4 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
18

Table 9. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private

industry workers, goods-producing and service-providing industries, by occupational group, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers in private industry .................................................... $27.07 $19.14 $7.93 $1.81 $0.82 $2.07 $0.97 $2.26

Management, professional, and related ............................. 48.23 34.25 13.98 4.03 1.56 3.07 1.95 3.36

Management, business, and financial ............................ 54.34 37.77 16.57 4.88 2.42 3.40 2.29 3.58

Professional and related ................................................. 45.27 32.55 12.72 3.62 1.14 2.92 1.79 3.25

Sales and office .................................................................. 21.44 15.43 6.01 1.36 0.53 1.78 0.62 1.71

Sales and related ............................................................ 20.42 15.33 5.09 1.10 0.57 1.25 0.47 1.69

Office and administrative support ................................... 22.13 15.50 6.63 1.54 0.51 2.14 0.72 1.72

Service ................................................................................ 13.40 10.05 3.35 0.58 0.24 0.94 0.22 1.38

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 30.60 20.95 9.65 1.48 1.04 2.50 1.46 3.16

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry1 30.86 21.02 9.84 1.08 1.08 2.47 1.73 3.49

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 30.27 20.86 9.41 1.98 1.00 2.53 1.13 2.77

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 23.32 15.58 7.74 1.38 0.88 2.36 0.88 2.24

Production ...................................................................... 23.85 15.80 8.06 1.52 1.06 2.56 0.74 2.19

Transportation and material moving ............................... 22.79 15.36 7.43 1.24 0.71 2.16 1.02 2.30

All workers, goods-producing industries2 ......................... 31.78 21.24 10.54 1.99 1.32 2.90 1.45 2.88

Management, professional, and related ............................. 54.88 36.96 17.92 4.82 2.46 3.99 2.90 3.76

Sales and office .................................................................. 27.14 18.95 8.19 1.85 0.86 2.43 0.93 2.13

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 31.51 21.32 10.19 1.20 1.17 2.59 1.74 3.48

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 25.15 16.31 8.84 1.61 1.16 2.88 0.86 2.33

All workers, service-providing industries3 ........................ 25.90 18.62 7.28 1.77 0.69 1.87 0.85 2.10

Management, professional, and related ............................. 47.21 33.84 13.37 3.91 1.42 2.93 1.81 3.30

Sales and office .................................................................. 21.00 15.16 5.84 1.32 0.51 1.73 0.60 1.68

Service ................................................................................ 13.32 10.01 3.31 0.57 0.23 0.93 0.21 1.37

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 29.14 20.35 8.79 1.92 0.84 2.35 1.02 2.66

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 21.71 14.93 6.78 1.17 0.64 1.90 0.90 2.17

Percent of total compensation

All workers in private industry .................................................... 100.0 70.7 29.3 6.7 3.0 7.7 3.6 8.3

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 71.0 29.0 8.4 3.2 6.4 4.0 7.0

Management, business, and financial ............................ 100.0 69.5 30.5 9.0 4.5 6.3 4.2 6.6

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 71.9 28.1 8.0 2.5 6.4 4.0 7.2

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 72.0 28.0 6.3 2.5 8.3 2.9 8.0

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 75.1 24.9 5.4 2.8 6.1 2.3 8.3

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 70.1 29.9 6.9 2.3 9.7 3.2 7.8

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 75.0 25.0 4.3 1.8 7.0 1.6 10.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 68.5 31.5 4.8 3.4 8.2 4.8 10.3

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry1 100.0 68.1 31.9 3.5 3.5 8.0 5.6 11.3

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 100.0 68.9 31.1 6.5 3.3 8.4 3.7 9.1

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 66.8 33.2 5.9 3.8 10.1 3.8 9.6

Production ...................................................................... 100.0 66.2 33.8 6.4 4.4 10.7 3.1 9.2

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 67.4 32.6 5.4 3.1 9.5 4.5 10.1

All workers, goods-producing industries2 ......................... 100.0 66.8 33.2 6.3 4.2 9.1 4.5 9.1

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 67.3 32.7 8.8 4.5 7.3 5.3 6.9

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 69.8 30.2 6.8 3.2 9.0 3.4 7.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 67.7 32.3 3.8 3.7 8.2 5.5 11.1

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 64.9 35.1 6.4 4.6 11.5 3.4 9.3

All workers, service-providing industries3 ........................ 100.0 71.9 28.1 6.8 2.7 7.2 3.3 8.1

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 71.7 28.3 8.3 3.0 6.2 3.8 7.0

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 72.2 27.8 6.3 2.4 8.2 2.8 8.0

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 75.1 24.9 4.3 1.7 7.0 1.6 10.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 69.8 30.2 6.6 2.9 8.1 3.5 9.1

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 68.8 31.2 5.4 3.0 8.8 4.1 10.0

1 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations were combined with

construction and extraction occupational group as of December 2006. 2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The agriculture,

forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 3 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and

warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and

leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies

and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; 

health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation;

accommodation and food services; and other services, except public

administration.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
19

Table 10. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private

industry workers, by industry group, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... $31.78 $21.24 $10.54 $1.99 $1.32 $2.90 $1.45 $2.88

Construction ....................................................................... 30.60 21.17 9.42 1.06 1.08 2.28 1.59 3.42

Manufacturing ..................................................................... 31.75 20.96 10.80 2.40 1.38 3.14 1.28 2.60

Aircraft manufacturing2 ................................................... 57.86 36.24 21.62 5.54 3.49 5.36 3.30 3.94

All workers, service-providing industries3 ........................ 25.90 18.62 7.28 1.77 0.69 1.87 0.85 2.10

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................................... 23.01 16.28 6.73 1.38 0.61 1.86 0.84 2.03

Wholesale trade .............................................................. 29.18 20.39 8.80 1.92 1.04 2.51 0.92 2.41

Retail trade ..................................................................... 16.71 12.61 4.10 0.78 0.31 1.09 0.37 1.55

Transportation and warehousing .................................... 33.01 21.61 11.40 2.32 0.86 3.33 1.92 2.97

Utilities ............................................................................ 50.18 31.21 18.97 4.63 2.22 4.38 4.10 3.64

Information .......................................................................... 39.53 27.32 12.21 3.61 0.99 3.25 1.55 2.80

Financial activities .............................................................. 35.98 24.34 11.65 2.97 1.94 2.84 1.52 2.38

Finance and insurance ................................................... 39.48 26.46 13.03 3.37 2.26 3.10 1.82 2.48

Credit intermediation and related activities ................. 33.99 22.90 11.09 2.85 1.60 2.84 1.63 2.18

Insurance carriers and related activities ..................... 38.02 25.62 12.40 3.18 1.55 3.24 1.89 2.55

Real estate and rental and leasing ................................. 23.91 17.02 6.89 1.56 0.86 1.95 0.48 2.04

Professional and business services ................................... 32.20 23.66 8.55 2.27 0.84 1.93 1.00 2.50

Professional and technical services ............................... 44.19 32.21 11.98 3.59 1.13 2.74 1.42 3.09

Administrative and waste services ................................. 19.48 14.89 4.59 0.83 0.47 1.01 0.39 1.88

Education and health services ............................................ 29.18 21.02 8.16 2.17 0.56 2.20 0.96 2.26

Educational services ....................................................... 37.75 28.02 9.74 2.52 0.13 2.76 1.56 2.76

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities ................. 45.42 32.66 12.75 3.58 0.16 3.67 2.33 3.02

Health care and social assistance .................................. 27.91 19.98 7.92 2.12 0.63 2.12 0.87 2.19

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................ 11.81 9.25 2.56 0.40 0.13 0.65 0.11 1.27

Accommodation and food services ................................. 11.02 8.64 2.38 0.34 0.11 0.62 0.10 1.22

Other services .................................................................... 22.65 16.82 5.82 1.42 0.50 1.40 0.50 2.00

Percent of total compensation

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... 100.0 66.8 33.2 6.3 4.2 9.1 4.5 9.1

Construction ....................................................................... 100.0 69.2 30.8 3.5 3.5 7.4 5.2 11.2

Manufacturing ..................................................................... 100.0 66.0 34.0 7.6 4.3 9.9 4.0 8.2

Aircraft manufacturing2 ................................................... 100.0 62.6 37.4 9.6 6.0 9.3 5.7 6.8

All workers, service-providing industries3 ........................ 100.0 71.9 28.1 6.8 2.7 7.2 3.3 8.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................................... 100.0 70.8 29.2 6.0 2.7 8.1 3.7 8.8

Wholesale trade .............................................................. 100.0 69.9 30.1 6.6 3.6 8.6 3.2 8.3

Retail trade ..................................................................... 100.0 75.4 24.6 4.7 1.9 6.5 2.2 9.3

Transportation and warehousing .................................... 100.0 65.5 34.5 7.0 2.6 10.1 5.8 9.0

Utilities ............................................................................ 100.0 62.2 37.8 9.2 4.4 8.7 8.2 7.3

Information .......................................................................... 100.0 69.1 30.9 9.1 2.5 8.2 3.9 7.1

Financial activities .............................................................. 100.0 67.6 32.4 8.2 5.4 7.9 4.2 6.6

Finance and insurance ................................................... 100.0 67.0 33.0 8.5 5.7 7.9 4.6 6.3

Credit intermediation and related activities ................. 100.0 67.4 32.6 8.4 4.7 8.4 4.8 6.4

Insurance carriers and related activities ..................... 100.0 67.4 32.6 8.4 4.1 8.5 5.0 6.7

Real estate and rental and leasing ................................. 100.0 71.2 28.8 6.5 3.6 8.2 2.0 8.5

Professional and business services ................................... 100.0 73.5 26.5 7.1 2.6 6.0 3.1 7.8

Professional and technical services ............................... 100.0 72.9 27.1 8.1 2.6 6.2 3.2 7.0

Administrative and waste services ................................. 100.0 76.4 23.6 4.3 2.4 5.2 2.0 9.6

Education and health services ............................................ 100.0 72.0 28.0 7.5 1.9 7.6 3.3 7.7

Educational services ....................................................... 100.0 74.2 25.8 6.7 0.4 7.3 4.1 7.3

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities ................. 100.0 71.9 28.1 7.9 0.3 8.1 5.1 6.7

Health care and social assistance .................................. 100.0 71.6 28.4 7.6 2.2 7.6 3.1 7.8

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................ 100.0 78.3 21.7 3.4 1.1 5.5 1.0 10.7

Accommodation and food services ................................. 100.0 78.4 21.6 3.1 1.0 5.6 0.9 11.0

Other services .................................................................... 100.0 74.3 25.7 6.3 2.2 6.2 2.2 8.8

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The agriculture,

forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 2 Data are available beginning with December 2006. 3 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and

warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and

leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies

and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; 

health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation;

accommodation and food services; and other services, except public

administration.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
20

Table 11. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private

industry workers, by occupational group and full-time and part-time status, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All full-time workers in private industry ................................. $30.74 $21.39 $9.35 $2.22 $1.00 $2.48 $1.19 $2.47

Management, professional, and related ............................. 49.76 35.03 14.73 4.32 1.66 3.25 2.11 3.39

Management, business, and financial ............................ 54.78 38.00 16.78 4.96 2.46 3.43 2.32 3.60

Professional and related ................................................. 46.93 33.36 13.57 3.96 1.21 3.14 1.99 3.27

Sales and office .................................................................. 24.51 17.33 7.18 1.72 0.68 2.17 0.76 1.86

Sales and related ............................................................ 26.70 19.64 7.05 1.69 0.88 1.77 0.68 2.03

Office and administrative support ................................... 23.42 16.18 7.24 1.73 0.58 2.37 0.79 1.77

Service ................................................................................ 15.97 11.38 4.59 0.90 0.35 1.49 0.34 1.51

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 30.97 21.11 9.86 1.52 1.08 2.56 1.51 3.18

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry1 31.07 21.09 9.98 1.09 1.11 2.51 1.78 3.49

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 30.84 21.13 9.71 2.06 1.04 2.63 1.18 2.80

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 24.94 16.51 8.43 1.55 0.99 2.58 0.97 2.34

Production ...................................................................... 24.51 16.11 8.40 1.59 1.10 2.70 0.78 2.22

Transportation and material moving ............................... 25.49 17.02 8.47 1.51 0.85 2.42 1.20 2.49

All part-time workers in private industry ................................ 14.98 11.74 3.24 0.48 0.22 0.73 0.25 1.56

Management, professional, and related ............................. 36.44 28.25 8.19 1.79 0.78 1.74 0.73 3.16

Professional and related ................................................. 36.53 28.29 8.24 1.83 0.79 1.73 0.72 3.18

Sales and office .................................................................. 13.29 10.39 2.90 0.41 0.15 0.75 0.25 1.33

Sales and related ............................................................ 11.12 8.94 2.18 0.22 0.12 0.48 0.16 1.20

Office and administrative support ................................... 16.47 12.51 3.95 0.69 0.21 1.14 0.39 1.52

Service ................................................................................ 10.42 8.51 1.91 0.21 0.10 0.31 0.08 1.22

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 14.44 10.46 3.99 0.41 0.31 1.18 0.39 1.69

Transportation and material moving ............................... 14.71 10.39 4.31 0.44 0.31 1.40 0.46 1.71

Percent of total compensation

All full-time workers in private industry ................................. 100.0 69.6 30.4 7.2 3.2 8.1 3.9 8.0

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 70.4 29.6 8.7 3.3 6.5 4.2 6.8

Management, business, and financial ............................ 100.0 69.4 30.6 9.1 4.5 6.3 4.2 6.6

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 71.1 28.9 8.4 2.6 6.7 4.2 7.0

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 70.7 29.3 7.0 2.8 8.9 3.1 7.6

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 73.6 26.4 6.3 3.3 6.6 2.6 7.6

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 69.1 30.9 7.4 2.5 10.1 3.4 7.6

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 71.2 28.8 5.6 2.2 9.3 2.1 9.5

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 68.2 31.8 4.9 3.5 8.3 4.9 10.3

Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry1 100.0 67.9 32.1 3.5 3.6 8.1 5.7 11.2

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 100.0 68.5 31.5 6.7 3.4 8.5 3.8 9.1

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 66.2 33.8 6.2 4.0 10.3 3.9 9.4

Production ...................................................................... 100.0 65.7 34.3 6.5 4.5 11.0 3.2 9.1

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 66.8 33.2 5.9 3.3 9.5 4.7 9.8

All part-time workers in private industry ................................ 100.0 78.4 21.6 3.2 1.5 4.9 1.7 10.4

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 77.5 22.5 4.9 2.1 4.8 2.0 8.7

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 77.4 22.6 5.0 2.2 4.7 2.0 8.7

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 78.2 21.8 3.1 1.2 5.6 1.9 10.0

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 80.4 19.6 2.0 1.1 4.3 1.5 10.8

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 76.0 24.0 4.2 1.3 6.9 2.4 9.2

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 81.7 18.3 2.0 1.0 3.0 0.7 11.7

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 72.4 27.6 2.9 2.1 8.2 2.7 11.7

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 70.7 29.3 3.0 2.1 9.5 3.1 11.6

1 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations were combined with

construction and extraction occupational group as of December 2006.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
21

Table 12. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Private industry workers, by industry group and full-time and part-time status, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All full-time workers in private industry ........... $30.74 $21.39 $9.35 $2.22 $1.00 $2.48 $1.19 $2.47

Goods-producing1 ............................................ 32.18 21.43 10.75 2.04 1.36 2.97 1.48 2.90

Construction ................................................. 30.88 21.25 9.63 1.09 1.11 2.35 1.65 3.43

Manufacturing ............................................... 32.19 21.19 11.00 2.45 1.41 3.21 1.31 2.62

Service-providing2 ............................................ 30.26 21.38 8.88 2.28 0.88 2.31 1.09 2.32

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 27.39 19.12 8.27 1.84 0.80 2.25 1.08 2.30

Information .................................................... 42.10 28.87 13.23 3.86 1.10 3.61 1.74 2.92

Financial activities ........................................ 38.55 25.92 12.63 3.27 2.16 3.04 1.66 2.50

Professional and business services ............. 35.74 25.93 9.81 2.72 0.96 2.26 1.20 2.67

Education and health services ...................... 30.75 21.84 8.92 2.48 0.60 2.47 1.10 2.27

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 14.68 10.90 3.78 0.74 0.21 1.20 0.20 1.43

Other services .............................................. 25.83 18.63 7.20 1.83 0.65 1.86 0.66 2.20

All part-time workers in private industry .......... 14.98 11.74 3.24 0.48 0.22 0.73 0.25 1.56

Service-providing2 ............................................ 14.88 11.65 3.23 0.49 0.22 0.74 0.25 1.54

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 13.15 9.89 3.25 0.36 0.18 0.97 0.32 1.42

Professional and business services ............. 16.86 13.77 3.09 0.37 0.33 0.52 0.12 1.75

Education and health services ...................... 24.49 18.59 5.90 1.28 0.46 1.40 0.53 2.23

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 9.10 7.69 1.41 0.07 0.06 0.13 0.03 1.11

Percent of total compensation

All full-time workers in private industry ........... 100.0 69.6 30.4 7.2 3.2 8.1 3.9 8.0

Goods-producing1 ............................................ 100.0 66.6 33.4 6.3 4.2 9.2 4.6 9.0

Construction ................................................. 100.0 68.8 31.2 3.5 3.6 7.6 5.3 11.1

Manufacturing ............................................... 100.0 65.8 34.2 7.6 4.4 10.0 4.1 8.1

Service-providing2 ............................................ 100.0 70.6 29.4 7.5 2.9 7.6 3.6 7.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 100.0 69.8 30.2 6.7 2.9 8.2 3.9 8.4

Information .................................................... 100.0 68.6 31.4 9.2 2.6 8.6 4.1 6.9

Financial activities ........................................ 100.0 67.2 32.8 8.5 5.6 7.9 4.3 6.5

Professional and business services ............. 100.0 72.6 27.4 7.6 2.7 6.3 3.4 7.5

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 71.0 29.0 8.0 1.9 8.0 3.6 7.4

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 100.0 74.2 25.8 5.1 1.4 8.2 1.3 9.7

Other services .............................................. 100.0 72.1 27.9 7.1 2.5 7.2 2.6 8.5

All part-time workers in private industry .......... 100.0 78.4 21.6 3.2 1.5 4.9 1.7 10.4

Service-providing2 ............................................ 100.0 78.3 21.7 3.3 1.5 5.0 1.7 10.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 100.0 75.3 24.7 2.7 1.4 7.4 2.4 10.8

Professional and business services ............. 100.0 81.7 18.3 2.2 1.9 3.1 0.7 10.4

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 75.9 24.1 5.2 1.9 5.7 2.2 9.1

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 100.0 84.5 15.5 0.8 0.7 1.5 0.4 12.2

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The

agriculture, forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 2 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

food services; and other services, except public administration.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
22

Table 13. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Private industry workers, by major industry group and establishment employment size and

bargaining unit status, September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ... $31.78 $21.24 $10.54 $1.99 $1.32 $2.90 $1.45 $2.88

1-99 workers ..................................................... 27.02 18.89 8.13 1.17 1.05 2.12 0.99 2.80

1-49 workers ................................................. 25.70 18.39 7.31 1.04 1.01 1.78 0.70 2.78

50-99 workers ............................................... 30.15 20.06 10.09 1.50 1.15 2.93 1.67 2.84

100 workers or more ......................................... 35.94 23.30 12.64 2.70 1.56 3.58 1.85 2.95

100-499 workers ........................................... 30.83 20.31 10.52 1.95 1.15 3.17 1.50 2.76

500 workers or more ..................................... 43.06 27.47 15.59 3.74 2.12 4.16 2.33 3.23

Union ................................................................ 39.56 23.74 15.81 2.34 1.79 4.90 3.12 3.67

Nonunion .......................................................... 29.85 20.62 9.23 1.90 1.21 2.40 1.03 2.68

All workers, service-providing industries2 .. 25.90 18.62 7.28 1.77 0.69 1.87 0.85 2.10

1-99 workers ..................................................... 21.47 16.08 5.39 1.21 0.50 1.32 0.49 1.87

1-49 workers ................................................. 21.02 15.84 5.17 1.14 0.50 1.23 0.48 1.82

50-99 workers ............................................... 22.88 16.81 6.07 1.42 0.48 1.62 0.55 2.00

100 workers or more ......................................... 30.90 21.49 9.41 2.40 0.91 2.48 1.25 2.36

100-499 workers ........................................... 26.03 18.54 7.49 1.79 0.71 2.02 0.83 2.13

500 workers or more ..................................... 36.79 25.05 11.74 3.14 1.15 3.04 1.76 2.64

Union ................................................................ 34.97 22.21 12.75 2.95 0.95 3.91 2.09 2.86

Nonunion .......................................................... 25.06 18.29 6.77 1.66 0.67 1.68 0.73 2.03

Percent of total compensation

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ... 100.0 66.8 33.2 6.3 4.2 9.1 4.5 9.1

1-99 workers ..................................................... 100.0 69.9 30.1 4.3 3.9 7.8 3.7 10.4

1-49 workers ................................................. 100.0 71.6 28.4 4.0 3.9 6.9 2.7 10.8

50-99 workers ............................................... 100.0 66.5 33.5 5.0 3.8 9.7 5.5 9.4

100 workers or more ......................................... 100.0 64.8 35.2 7.5 4.3 10.0 5.1 8.2

100-499 workers ........................................... 100.0 65.9 34.1 6.3 3.7 10.3 4.9 8.9

500 workers or more ..................................... 100.0 63.8 36.2 8.7 4.9 9.7 5.4 7.5

Union ................................................................ 100.0 60.0 40.0 5.9 4.5 12.4 7.9 9.3

Nonunion .......................................................... 100.0 69.1 30.9 6.4 4.0 8.1 3.5 9.0

All workers, service-providing industries2 .. 100.0 71.9 28.1 6.8 2.7 7.2 3.3 8.1

1-99 workers ..................................................... 100.0 74.9 25.1 5.6 2.3 6.2 2.3 8.7

1-49 workers ................................................. 100.0 75.4 24.6 5.4 2.4 5.8 2.3 8.7

50-99 workers ............................................... 100.0 73.5 26.5 6.2 2.1 7.1 2.4 8.7

100 workers or more ......................................... 100.0 69.5 30.5 7.8 3.0 8.0 4.0 7.7

100-499 workers ........................................... 100.0 71.2 28.8 6.9 2.7 7.8 3.2 8.2

500 workers or more ..................................... 100.0 68.1 31.9 8.5 3.1 8.3 4.8 7.2

Union ................................................................ 100.0 63.5 36.5 8.4 2.7 11.2 6.0 8.2

Nonunion .......................................................... 100.0 73.0 27.0 6.6 2.7 6.7 2.9 8.1

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The

agriculture, forestry, farming, and hunting sector is excluded. 2 Includes utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

food services; and other services, except public administration.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to

rounding.
23

Table 14. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total

compensation: Private industry health care and social assistance workers, by industry and occupational group,

September 2008

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

Health care and social assistance .................... $27.91 $19.98 $7.92 $2.12 $0.63 $2.12 $0.87 $2.19

Management, professional, and related ....... 40.30 29.08 11.22 3.28 0.93 2.64 1.38 3.00

Registered nurses .................................... 44.89 31.70 13.20 3.70 1.61 2.98 1.46 3.44

Sales and office ............................................ 20.84 14.62 6.23 1.56 0.36 2.01 0.65 1.65

Service .......................................................... 15.98 11.32 4.66 0.97 0.38 1.53 0.34 1.44

Hospitals ......................................................... 34.73 23.82 10.91 2.98 1.10 3.05 1.22 2.55

Management, professional, and related ....... 43.00 29.98 13.02 3.81 1.44 3.15 1.48 3.14

Registered nurses .................................... 46.44 32.16 14.28 4.08 1.93 3.22 1.63 3.42

Service .......................................................... 19.79 12.74 7.05 1.41 0.62 2.81 0.68 1.54

Nursing and residential care facilities .......... 19.36 14.04 5.31 1.29 0.45 1.46 0.29 1.81

Management, professional, and related ....... 30.17 22.15 8.02 2.24 0.72 1.87 0.56 2.63

Service .......................................................... 14.76 10.57 4.18 0.88 0.37 1.29 0.18 1.47

Nursing care facilities1 .............................. 20.24 14.76 5.47 1.35 0.55 1.39 0.30 1.89

Management, professional, and related ....... 32.63 24.29 8.34 2.31 0.94 1.69 0.54 2.87

Service .......................................................... 15.33 10.95 4.38 0.96 0.42 1.29 0.20 1.51

Percent of total compensation

Health care and social assistance .................... 100.0 71.6 28.4 7.6 2.2 7.6 3.1 7.8

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 72.2 27.8 8.1 2.3 6.5 3.4 7.4

Registered nurses .................................... 100.0 70.6 29.4 8.2 3.6 6.6 3.3 7.7

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 70.1 29.9 7.5 1.7 9.6 3.1 7.9

Service .......................................................... 100.0 70.9 29.1 6.1 2.4 9.6 2.1 9.0

Hospitals ......................................................... 100.0 68.6 31.4 8.6 3.2 8.8 3.5 7.3

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 69.7 30.3 8.9 3.3 7.3 3.4 7.3

Registered nurses .................................... 100.0 69.3 30.7 8.8 4.1 6.9 3.5 7.4

Service .......................................................... 100.0 64.4 35.6 7.1 3.1 14.2 3.4 7.8

Nursing and residential care facilities .......... 100.0 72.5 27.5 6.7 2.4 7.6 1.5 9.4

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 73.4 26.6 7.4 2.4 6.2 1.8 8.7

Service .......................................................... 100.0 71.6 28.4 5.9 2.5 8.8 1.2 9.9

Nursing care facilities1 .............................. 100.0 72.9 27.1 6.7 2.7 6.9 1.5 9.3

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 74.4 25.6 7.1 2.9 5.2 1.7 8.8

Service .......................................................... 100.0 71.4 28.6 6.3 2.8 8.4 1.3 9.8

1 Data are available beginning with December 2006.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
24

TECHNICAL NOTE

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) measures the average cost to employers for wages 

and salaries and benefits per employee hour worked. 

Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an 

hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by the corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates are 

total earnings before payroll deductions and include production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission 

payments, and cost-of-living adjustments. Not included in straight-time earnings are nonproduction bonuses 

such as end-of-year payments, shift differentials, and premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends and 

holidays; these payments are included in the benefits component. 

Benefits include: Paid leave–vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave; supplemental pay– 

premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends and holidays), shift 

differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as referral bonuses and attendance bonuses); insurance benefits–

life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and savings benefits–defined benefit and 

defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits–Social Security, Medicare, federal and state 

unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. 

In June 2008, the former other leave benefit was changed to include only paid personal leave. Paid 

personal leave accounts for the majority of the cost of the prior other leave benefit category. The National 

Compensation Survey will no longer collect costs for paid military leave, paid funeral leave, paid jury leave, and 

paid family leave (access data will still be available on these benefits). 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation includes data for the civilian economy, which includes 

data from both private industry and state and local government. Excluded from private industry are the selfemployed and farm and private household workers. Federal government workers are excluded from the public 

sector. The private industry series and the state and local government series provide data for the two sectors 

separately. 

The cost levels for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 56,000 

occupations selected from a sample of about 12,000 establishments in private industry and approximately 

11,800 occupations from a sample of about 1,900 establishments in state and local governments. The state and 

local government sample, which is replaced less frequently than the private industry sample, was replaced in its 

entirety in September 2007. The private industry sample is rotated over approximately 5 years, which makes the 

sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. Data are collected for the pay 

period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. The sample is 

replaced on a cross-area, cross-industry basis. 

When respondents do not provide all the data needed, a procedure for assigning missing values is used. 

This imputation procedure is comparable to that used for the Employment Cost Index (ECI). For a description, 

see “Accounting for missing data in the Employment Cost Index,” in the April 2006 issue of the Monthly Labor 

Review at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/04/art4abs.htm. 

The ECEC percent of total compensation estimates are calculated from cost aggregates and then rounded 

to the published level of precision. This method provides the most precise estimates of the percent of total 

compensation; however, estimates of the percentage of total compensation calculated from the published cost 

estimates may differ slightly from those calculated from the unpublished cost aggregates. 

Sample establishments are classified by the industry categories based on the 2007 North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS). Prior to December 2007, the 2002 NAICS classification system was 

used. Differences between the two NAICS systems did not affect any of the published series. Within a sample 
25

establishment, specific job categories are selected and classified into about 800 occupational classifications 

according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are 

combined to represent one of ten intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or one 

of five higher-level aggregations such as management, professional, and related occupations. Both the NAICS 

and the SOC classification systems are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For 

more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background definitions, see the BLS Web sites: 

www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. 

To be included in the ECEC, employees in occupations must receive cash payments from the 

establishment for services performed and the establishment must pay the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes 

on that individual’s wages. Major exclusions from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their 

own pay (for example, proprietors, owners, major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), 

volunteers, unpaid workers, family members being paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability 

compensation, and U.S. citizens working overseas. 

The state and local government sample consists of 152 areas that represent the Nation’s 361 

metropolitan statistical areas and 573 micropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in December 2003 and 

the remaining portions of the 50 states. The private industry sample consists of 151 metropolitan areas and 

nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation’s 326 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB in 1994 

and the remaining portions of the 50 states. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

(MSAs) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs). Nonmetropolitan areas are counties and 

other geographic designations that do not fit the metropolitan area definition. The private industry sample will 

begin the conversion to December 2003 OMB area definitions in December 2008. 

Current employment weights are used to calculate cost levels. These weights are derived from two BLS 

programs: the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and the Current Employment Statistics 

(CES). Combined, these programs provide the appropriate industry coverage and currency of data needed to 

match the ECEC. For more information on these changes, see "Changes in Calculations for the BLS Employer 

Costs for Employee Compensation Data, March 2007," at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ececcalc.pdf. In most 

instances, private industry employment weights used in the ECEC were total employment estimates for 2-digit 

industry groups, such as utilities (NAICS 22) or wholesale trade (NAICS 42). In a few cases, more detailed 

private industry employment weights were used. These include 4-digit educational establishments—elementary 

and secondary schools (6111), junior colleges (6112), and colleges and universities (6113)—as well as the 6-

digit aircraft manufacturing industry (336411). For state and local governments, a more aggregated level was 

used reflecting the level of detail published by the CES program. For both private and government 

establishments, the employment data were apportioned based on the sampling weights assigned to the 

Employment Cost Index (ECI) sample. 

The ECI, which measures the change in employer costs for employee compensation, is calculated with 

fixed 2002 employment counts to prevent employment shifts among occupations and industries from 

influencing the changes. Therefore, changes over time in the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation 

survey will differ from those in the ECI. 

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 references periods from 1986 to 2001. These data use the 

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and Census of Population classification systems. The second listing 

contains data for the March, June, September, and December reference periods from March 2002 to December 

2003. These data also are based on the SIC and Census of Population classification systems. The final listing 

includes data for March 2004 to the current reference period. These are based on the NAICS and SOC 

classification systems. Also, data and related articles are included in the bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee 
26

Compensation, 1986-99 (Bulletin 2526), available upon request by calling (202) 691-6199 or by email to: 

NCSinfo@bls.gov. 

Beginning with the March 2004 quarter, historical data are available based on the North American 

Industry Classification System and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification. The new historical tables are 

available on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. Information on how costs 

are calculated appears in “Measuring Trends in the Structure and Levels of Employer Costs for Employee 

Compensation,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1997, at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art1.pdf. An article on changes in employer compensation 

costs, “Tracking Changes in Benefit Costs,” appears in Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 1999, at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/spring1999brief3.pdf. 

Relative Standard Errors

Because the ECEC is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences 

that occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all 

observations in the population. The estimates derived from different samples selected using the same sample 

design may differ from one another. A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard 

error. It can be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the 

expected result of all possible samples. For more information on the calculation procedure, see "Changes in 

Variance Estimation Calculations for the BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Data, March 2007," 

at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ececvmet.pdf. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the 

survey differs from a complete population figure by less than the standard error. The chances are about 90 out 

of 100 that this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error. All the statements of comparisons 

appearing in this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better, unless otherwise indicated. 

This means that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the 

difference. The relative standard errors (RSE) for all estimates are available shortly after the release is issued at 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/#tables. 

For a more detailed explanation of relative standard errors, see “Measuring Trends in the Structure and 

Levels of Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 

1997, at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art1.pdf. For a detailed explanation of how to use 

standard error data to analyze differences in changes over time, see "Analyzing Year-to-Year Changes in 

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation," Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 1998, at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/spring1998art3.pdf. This article supplements an article from the Summer 

1997 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions, "Explaining the Differential Growth Rates of the ECI 

and ECEC," available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art2.pdf, which examined how 

differences in the construction of these measures contribute to differing trends. 

Standard errors relate to differences that occur from sampling errors, but not from nonsampling errors. 

Nonsampling errors are not measured and include survey nonresponse and data collection and processing errors. 

Survey nonresponse occurs when sample members are unwilling or unable to participate in the survey. Data 

collection errors include inaccurate data by respondents and definitional difficulties. Processing errors include 

errors in recording, coding, and entering data. Although nonsampling errors are not measured, BLS quality 

assurance programs include procedures for reducing such errors. These procedures include data collection 

reinterviews, observed interviews, computer data edits, and systematic review of reports on which data are 

recorded. Extensive field economist training also is conducted to maintain high data collection standards. 
27

Comparing private and public sector data

Aggregate compensation cost levels in state and local government should not be directly compared with 

those in private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such as variation in work 

activities and occupational structures. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make up a large part of private 

industry work activities but are rare in state and local government. Professional and administrative support 

occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the state and local government workforce, compared 

with one-half of private industry. 

A detailed examination of differences in compensation levels and trends between private industry and 

state and local government may be found in “Cost of Employee Compensation in Public and Private Sectors,” 

Monthly Labor Review, May 1993, on the BLS Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1993/05/contents.htm 

and “Compensation Cost Trends in Private Industry and State and Local Governments,” Compensation and 

Working Conditions, Fall 1999, at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/fall1999art2.pdf. 

Obtaining information

Articles, bulletins, and other information may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending e-mail to 

NCSinfo@bls.gov, or visiting the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ect. Information in this release will be made 

available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service 

Number: 1-800-877-8339.