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           EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION - MARCH 1998

     In March 1998, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian
workers (private industry and state and local government) in the United
States averaged $19.76 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Wages and salaries, which
averaged $14.30, accounted for approximately 72 percent of these costs,
while benefits, which averaged $5.47, accounted for the remaining 28
percent.  (See table 1.)

     Legally required benefits averaged $1.63 per hour (8.2 percent of
total compensation), representing the largest non-wage employer cost.
Employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.30 (6.6 percent),
insurance benefits averaged $1.25 (6.3 percent), and retirement and savings
benefits averaged 75 cents (3.8 percent) per hour worked.

Private Industry

     In March 1998, private industry employer compensation costs averaged
$18.50 per hour worked.  Wages and salaries averaged $13.47 per hour (73
percent), while benefits averaged $5.02 (27 percent).  (See table 5.)

     Compensation costs varied by industry, occupational group, region,
establishment size, and worker characteristics (bargaining status and full-
/part-time status).

     Average employer compensation costs were $22.26 in goods-producing and
$17.31 in service-producing industries.  Among industry groups, average
compensation costs ranged from $10.33 in retail trade to $24.18 in finance,
insurance, and real estate.  (See table 10.)

     Average compensation costs were $22.38 for white-collar occupations,
$17.56 for blue-collar occupations, and $9.37 for service occupations.
Benefits, however, accounted for a greater proportion of compensation costs
for blue-collar occupations (30.8 percent) than for white-collar (26.1
percent) and service occupations (22.6 percent).  (See table 6.)

     In March 1998, average employer compensation costs were $23.59 for
union workers and $17.80 for nonunion workers.  Benefits represented a
greater proportion of compensation costs for union workers (34.8 percent)
than for nonunion workers (25.7 percent).  These compensation cost
differences reflect variation in the distribution of union and nonunion
workers among occupations, industries, and establishment size.  (See table
13.)

     Among the four regions, compensation costs ranged from $16.45 per hour
in the South to $20.38 per hour in the Northeast.  The proportion of
compensation represented by benefits ranged from 26.0 percent in the West
to 28.4 percent in the Midwest.  (See table 7.)

     Compensation costs increased with establishment size.  These costs
ranged from an average of $15.92 per hour in establishments with less than
100 workers to $25.56 per hour in establishments with 500 or more workers.
The proportion of compensation costs represented by benefits also increased
with establishment size, from 24.6 percent in establishments with less than
100 workers to 30.4 percent in establishments with 500 or more workers.
(See table 8.)

     Compensation costs for full-time workers averaged $20.95 per hour
compared with $10.01 for part-time workers.  Benefit costs represented a
greater proportion of compensation costs for full-time workers than for
part-time workers (28.3 percent compared with 19.0 percent).  (See table
9.)  Workers are classified as full time or part time according to the
practices of surveyed establishments.  Part-time employees are typically
scheduled to work fewer hours than full-time employees in the same work
activity.

Health benefit costs in private industry

     In March 1998, private industry health benefit costs averaged $1.00
per hour or 5.4 percent of total compensation.  Employer health benefit
costs varied by industry, occupation, bargaining status, region, and
establishment size.

     In goods-producing industries, health benefit costs were $1.48 per
hour (6.6 percent of total compensation) compared with 85 cents per hour
(4.9 percent of total compensation) for service-producing industries.  (See
table 5.)

     Employer costs for health benefits ranged from  $1.17 per hour and 6.7
percent of total compensation for blue-collar occupations to 40 cents per
hour and 4.3 percent of total compensation for service occupations.  In
white-collar occupations, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.11
(5.0 percent).  (See table 6.)

     Employer costs for health benefits were higher for union workers,
averaging $1.97 (8.4 percent), than for nonunion workers, averaging 86
cents per hour (4.8 percent).  (See table 7.)

     Among the four regions, costs for health benefits ranged from 87 cents
in the South to $1.15 in the Northeast.  (See table 7.)  Health benefit
costs increased, both in average dollar amount and as a proportion of total
compensation, with establishment size.  Establishments with fewer than 100
workers averaged 73 cents (4.6 percent), those with 100-499 employees
averaged $1.01 (5.8 percent), and those with 500 or more employees averaged
$1.59  (6.2 percent).  (See table 8.)

Retirement and savings benefit costs in private industry

     In March 1998, the average cost for retirement and savings benefits
was 55 cents per hour in private industry (3.0 percent of total
compensation).  Included in this amount were employer costs for defined
benefit plans, which averaged 24 cents (1.3 percent), and for defined
contribution plans, which averaged 30 cents (1.6 percent).  Defined benefit
plans specify a formula for determining future benefits, while defined
contribution plans specify employer and employee contributions, but do not
guarantee future benefits.

     Employer retirement and savings costs varied by industry, occupation,
bargaining status, region, and establishment size.

     Retirement and savings costs were higher in goods-producing (82 cents
per hour and 3.7 percent of total compensation) than in service-producing
(46 cents per hour and 2.7 percent of total compensation) industries.
Defined benefit plan costs represented a greater proportion of employer
costs (relative to defined contribution plans) in goods-producing than in
service-producing industries.  (See table 5.)

     The average cost per hour worked for retirement and savings was 66
cents per hour for white-collar occupations, 62 cents for blue-collar
occupations, and 13 cents for service occupations. The proportion of total
compensation represented by retirement and savings benefits was 3.5 percent
among blue-collar occupations, 2.9 percent for white-collar occupations,
and 1.4 percent for service occupations.  (See table 6.)

     Retirement and savings costs were higher, both in average dollar
amount and as a proportion of total compensation, for union workers ($1.29
and 5.5 percent of total compensation) than for nonunion workers (45 cents
and 2.5 percent of total compensation).  Defined benefit plan costs
represented a greater proportion of employer costs (relative to defined
contribution plans) for union workers than for nonunion workers.  (See
table 7.)

     Retirement and savings costs ranged from 48 cents per hour in the
South to 60 cents in the Northeast and Midwest.  The proportion of total
compensation represented by retirement and savings varied slightly among
regions.  (See table 7.)

     Retirement and savings costs increased, both in average dollar amount
and as a proportion of total compensation, with establishment size.
Establishments with fewer than 100 employees averaged 35 cents (2.2
percent), establishments with 100-499 employees averaged 51 cents (2.9
percent), and establishments with 500 or more employees averaged $1.04 (4.1
percent).  (See table 8.)

State and local government

     In March 1998, employer costs in state and local governments averaged
$27.28 per hour worked.  Wages and salaries, which accounted for 70 percent
of the total, averaged $19.19, while benefits, which accounted for the
remaining 30 percent, averaged $8.10.  (See table 3.)

     Average compensation costs were higher for white-collar occupations
($30.34) than for blue-collar ($22.08) and service occupations ($20.10).
(See table 4.)  Benefits accounted for about the same proportion of total
compensation in blue-collar occupations (34.9 percent) and service
occupations (35.5 percent); for white-collar occupations, benefits
represented 27.9 percent of total compensation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Notes

     BLS is evaluating published Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer
Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) series to ensure that they meet
statistical standards for reliability.  Preliminary research has targeted
37 ECI series for elimination from the news release, some of which are also
ECEC series.  These series are marked with a footnote in the accompanying
tables.  Series that fail reliability standards will be removed from the
news release beginning with the September 1998 release for ECI and the
March 1999 release for ECEC and will be available only upon request.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                     
                            Table of Contents:
                                     
Table 1.    Civilian workers, by major occupational group                6
Table 2.    Civilian workers, by occupational and industry group         7
Table 3.    State and local government, by selected characteristics      8
Table 4.    State and local government, by occupational and industry
            group                                                        9

Table 5.    Private industry, by major industry group                   10
Table 6.    Private industry, by major occupational group               11
Table 7.    Private industry, by region and bargaining status           12
Table 8.    Private industry, by establishment employment size          13

Table 9.    Private industry, by major occupational and industry group,
            and full-time and part-time status                          14
Table 10.   Private industry, by occupational and industry group        15
Table 11.   Private industry, goods-producing and service-producing
            industries, by occupational group                           16
Table 12.   Private industry, manufacturing and nonmanufacturing
            industries, by occupational group                           17

Table 13.   Private industry, by bargaining status, and major industry
            and occupational group                                      18
Table 14.   Private industry, by establishment employment size, and
            major industry and occupational group                       19
Table 15.   Private industry, health services, by industry and 
            occupational group                                          20
Table 16.   Private industry, transportation equipment manufacturing
            and public utilities, by industry and occupational group    21

Explanatory notes                                                       22

Appendix table.   Employer costs per hour worked for components of
                  compensation, and relative standard errors, by major 
                  industry and occupational categories, March 1998      25
          Table 1.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Civilian
workers, by major occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                             Civilian workers      White-collar        Blue-collar           Service      
               Compensation                                                                                               
                component                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                          
                                              Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent 
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
Total compensation........................   $19.76    100.0%    $23.84    100.0%    $17.85    100.0%    $11.03    100.0% 
                                                                                                                          
  Wages and salaries......................    14.30     72.4      17.52     73.5      12.29     68.9       8.13     73.7  
                                                                                                                          
  Total benefits..........................     5.47     27.7       6.32     26.5       5.55     31.1       2.90     26.3  
                                                                                                                          
    Paid leave............................     1.30      6.6       1.69      7.1       1.03      5.8        .60      5.4  
      Vacation............................      .60      3.0        .75      3.1        .52      2.9        .27      2.4  
      Holiday.............................      .44      2.2        .57      2.4        .36      2.0        .20      1.8  
      Sick................................      .19      1.0        .28      1.2        .10       .6        .10       .9  
      Other...............................      .07       .4        .09       .4        .04       .2        .03       .3  
                                                                                                                          
    Supplemental pay......................      .51      2.6        .54      2.3        .67      3.8        .19      1.7  
      Premium(1)..........................      .20      1.0        .11       .5        .44      2.5        .10       .9  
      Shift differential..................      .05       .3        .04       .2        .07       .4        .04       .4  
      Nonproduction bonuses...............      .26      1.3        .39      1.6        .16       .9        .05       .5  
                                                                                                                          
    Insurance.............................     1.25      6.3       1.43      6.0       1.32      7.4        .64      5.8  
      Life................................      .05       .3        .06       .3        .05       .3      (2)       (2)   
      Health..............................     1.15      5.8       1.31      5.5       1.22      6.8        .60      5.4  
      Short-term disability(3)............      .03       .2        .04       .2        .04       .2        .02       .2  
      Long-term disability................      .02       .1        .03       .1        .02       .1      (2)       (2)   
                                                                                                                          
    Retirement and savings................      .75      3.8        .92      3.9        .68      3.8        .37      3.4  
      Defined benefit.....................      .47      2.4        .53      2.2        .46      2.6        .31      2.8  
      Defined contribution................      .28      1.4        .39      1.6        .22      1.2        .06       .5  
                                                                                                                          
    Legally required benefits.............     1.63      8.2       1.72      7.2       1.82     10.2       1.08      9.8  
      Social Security(4)..................     1.15      5.8       1.36      5.7       1.04      5.8        .69      6.3  
        OASDI.............................      .92      4.7       1.08      4.5        .84      4.7        .55      5.0  
        Medicare..........................      .23      1.2        .28      1.2        .20      1.1        .14      1.3  
      Federal unemployment insurance......      .03       .2        .03       .1        .03       .2        .03       .3  
      State unemployment insurance........      .10       .5        .10       .4        .12       .7        .09       .8  
      Workers' compensation...............      .35      1.8        .23      1.0        .63      3.5        .27      2.4  
                                                                                                                          
    Other benefits(5).....................      .03       .2        .03       .1        .03       .2      (2)       (2)   

  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 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and
state-mandated plans that provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  4 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the
abbreviation for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  5 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
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, March 1998
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                        Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                              
                                             Total     Wages                                                                  
                  Series                    compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                             sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                               Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                  savings                     
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                           
                                                                          Cost per hour worked
                                           
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
Civilian workers..........................   $19.76   $14.30    $5.47   $1.30   $0.51     $1.25     $0.75     $1.63     $0.03 
                                                                                                                              
            Occupational group                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              
  White-collar occupations................    23.84    17.52     6.32    1.69     .54      1.43       .92      1.72       .03 
    Professional specialty and technical..    31.56    23.34     8.22    2.16     .63      1.80      1.42      2.16       .05 
      Professional specialty..............    33.69    25.01     8.68    2.27     .64      1.90      1.57      2.25       .05 
        Nurses............................    28.59    20.88     7.71    2.29     .97      1.39       .78      2.27     (2)   
        Teachers..........................    36.24    27.57     8.67    1.82     .08      2.25      2.37      2.09       .06 
      Technical...........................    23.96    17.34     6.61    1.79     .60      1.43       .89      1.86       .04 
    Executive, administrative, and                                                                                            
    managerial............................    34.39    24.85     9.54    2.99     .99      1.77      1.38      2.36       .05 
    Administrative support, including                                                                                         
    clerical..............................    16.09    11.47     4.62    1.17     .32      1.34       .56      1.22       .02 
                                                                                                                              
  Blue-collar occupations.................    17.85    12.29     5.55    1.03     .67      1.32       .68      1.82       .03 
                                                                                                                              
  Service occupations(3)..................    11.03     8.13     2.90     .60     .19       .64       .37      1.08     (2)   
                                                                                                                              
              Industry group                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
  Services................................    20.81    15.49     5.32    1.36     .37      1.22       .79      1.56       .02 
    Health services.......................    19.25    14.11     5.14    1.47     .47      1.13       .55      1.52     (2)   
      Hospitals...........................    22.29    15.76     6.53    1.95     .66      1.52       .69      1.68       .02 
    Educational services..................    29.40    21.73     7.67    1.83     .10      2.09      1.89      1.72       .04 
      Elementary and secondary education..    28.82    21.38     7.45    1.61     .07      2.25      1.83      1.62       .06 
      Higher education....................    31.46    23.10     8.36    2.29     .15      1.85      2.10      1.96     (2)   
                                           
                                                                      Percent of total compensation
                                           
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
Civilian workers..........................   100.0%    72.4%    27.7%    6.6%    2.6%      6.3%      3.8%      8.2%      0.2% 
                                                                                                                              
            Occupational group                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              
  White-collar occupations................   100.0     73.5     26.5     7.1     2.3       6.0       3.9       7.2        .1  
    Professional specialty and technical..   100.0     74.0     26.0     6.8     2.0       5.7       4.5       6.8        .2  
      Professional specialty..............   100.0     74.2     25.8     6.7     1.9       5.6       4.7       6.7        .1  
        Nurses............................   100.0     73.0     27.0     8.0     3.4       4.9       2.7       7.9      (2)   
        Teachers..........................   100.0     76.1     23.9     5.0      .2       6.2       6.5       5.8        .2  
      Technical...........................   100.0     72.4     27.6     7.5     2.5       6.0       3.7       7.8        .2  
    Executive, administrative, and                                                                                            
    managerial............................   100.0     72.3     27.7     8.7     2.9       5.1       4.0       6.9        .1  
    Administrative support, including                                                                                         
    clerical..............................   100.0     71.3     28.7     7.3     2.0       8.3       3.5       7.6        .1  
                                                                                                                              
  Blue-collar occupations.................   100.0     68.9     31.1     5.8     3.8       7.4       3.8      10.2        .2  
                                                                                                                              
  Service occupations(3)..................   100.0     73.7     26.3     5.4     1.7       5.8       3.4       9.8      (2)   
                                                                                                                              
              Industry group                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
  Services................................   100.0     74.4     25.6     6.5     1.8       5.9       3.8       7.5        .1  
    Health services.......................   100.0     73.3     26.7     7.6     2.4       5.9       2.9       7.9      (2)   
      Hospitals...........................   100.0     70.7     29.3     8.7     3.0       6.8       3.1       7.5        .1  
    Educational services..................   100.0     73.9     26.1     6.2      .3       7.1       6.4       5.9        .1  
      Elementary and secondary education..   100.0     74.2     25.9     5.6      .2       7.8       6.3       5.6        .2  
      Higher education....................   100.0     73.4     26.6     7.3      .5       5.9       6.7       6.2      (2)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 3.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: State and local
government, by selected characteristics,(1) March 1998
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
                                            All workers in State      White-collar      Service occupations    Service industries 
               Compensation                and local governments      occupations                                                 
                component                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
                                              Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent 
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
Total compensation........................   $27.28      100.0%    $30.34      100.0%    $20.10      100.0%    $28.62      100.0% 
                                                                                                                                  
  Wages and salaries......................    19.19       70.3      21.89       72.1      12.97       64.5      20.80       72.7  
                                                                                                                                  
  Total benefits..........................     8.10       29.7       8.45       27.9       7.13       35.5       7.82       27.3  
                                                                                                                                  
    Paid leave............................     2.11        7.7       2.19        7.2       1.85        9.2       1.91        6.7  
      Vacation............................      .72        2.6        .67        2.2        .78        3.9        .52        1.8  
      Holiday.............................      .69        2.5        .73        2.4        .60        3.0        .65        2.3  
      Sick................................      .53        1.9        .61        2.0        .35        1.7        .57        2.0  
      Other...............................      .16         .6        .18         .6        .12         .6        .17         .6  
                                                                                                                                  
    Supplemental pay......................      .23         .8        .14         .5        .45        2.2        .15         .5  
      Premium(2)..........................      .11         .4        .04         .1        .24        1.2        .05         .2  
      Shift differential..................      .05         .2        .04         .1        .12         .6        .05         .2  
      Nonproduction bonuses...............      .07         .3        .06         .2        .09         .4        .05         .2  
                                                                                                                                  
    Insurance.............................     2.15        7.9       2.27        7.5       1.79        8.9       2.17        7.6  
      Life................................      .05         .2        .06         .2        .04         .2        .05         .2  
      Health..............................     2.05        7.5       2.17        7.2       1.71        8.5       2.08        7.3  
      Short-term disability(3)............      .02         .1        .02         .1        .03         .1        .02         .1  
      Long-term disability................      .03         .1        .03         .1       (4)        (4)         .03         .1  
                                                                                                                                  
    Retirement and savings................     1.94        7.1       2.07        6.8       1.73        8.6       1.90        6.6  
      Defined benefit.....................     1.80        6.6       1.90        6.3       1.67        8.3       1.74        6.1  
      Defined contribution................      .14         .5        .17         .6        .06         .3        .15         .5  
                                                                                                                                  
    Legally required benefits.............     1.63        6.0       1.74        5.7       1.27        6.3       1.64        5.7  
      Social Security(5)..................     1.28        4.7       1.46        4.8        .83        4.1       1.38        4.8  
        OASDI.............................     1.00        3.7       1.13        3.7        .64        3.2       1.08        3.8  
        Medicare..........................      .28        1.0        .32        1.1        .19         .9        .30        1.0  
      Federal unemployment insurance......     (4)        (4)        (4)        (4)        (4)        (4)        (4)        (4)   
      State unemployment insurance........      .04         .1        .04         .1        .05         .2        .03         .1  
      Workers' compensation...............      .30        1.1        .25         .8        .39        1.9        .22         .8  
                                                                                                                                  
    Other benefits(6).....................      .04         .1        .04         .1        .03         .1        .05         .2  

  1 This table presents data for the two major occupational groups in State and local governments: White-collar occupations,
largely professional occupations, including teachers; and service occupations, including police and firefighters; and one major
industry group, services.  The service industries, which include health and educational services, employ a large part of the State
and local government workforce.
  2 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays).
  3 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and state-mandated
plans that provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  4 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  5 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the
abbreviation for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  6 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 4.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: State and
local government, by occupational and industry group, March 1998
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                        Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                              
                                             Total     Wages                                                                  
                  Series                    compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                             sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                               Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                  savings                     
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                           
                                                                          Cost per hour worked
                                           
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
State and local government workers........   $27.28   $19.19    $8.10   $2.11   $0.23     $2.15     $1.94     $1.63     $0.04 
                                                                                                                              
            Occupational group                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              
  White-collar occupations................    30.34    21.89     8.45    2.19     .14      2.27      2.07      1.74       .04 
    Professional specialty and technical..    35.76    26.54     9.22    2.15     .16      2.41      2.45      2.00       .06 
      Professional specialty..............    37.14    27.70     9.44    2.16     .14      2.47      2.54      2.05       .07 
        Teachers..........................    39.88    30.13     9.75    2.01     .07      2.62      2.84      2.14       .08 
      Technical...........................    22.02    14.95     7.06    2.03     .36      1.73      1.50      1.41       .03 
    Executive, administrative, and                                                                                            
    managerial............................    34.50    24.01    10.49    3.47     .17      2.33      2.47      2.03     (2)   
    Administrative support, including                                                                                         
    clerical..............................    17.48    11.60     5.88    1.59     .09      1.98      1.10      1.10       .02 
                                                                                                                              
  Blue-collar occupations.................    22.08    14.38     7.70    2.09     .39      2.06      1.58      1.56       .03 
                                                                                                                              
  Service occupations(3)..................    20.10    12.97     7.13    1.85     .45      1.79      1.73      1.27       .03 
                                                                                                                              
              Industry group                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
  Services................................    28.62    20.80     7.82    1.91     .15      2.17      1.90      1.64       .05 
    Health services.......................    22.20    14.95     7.25    2.26     .57      1.72      1.10      1.57       .03 
      Hospitals...........................    22.81    15.43     7.38    2.35     .55      1.70      1.14      1.61       .03 
    Educational services..................    29.97    22.03     7.93    1.84     .09      2.23      2.06      1.67       .05 
      Elementary and secondary education..    29.57    21.88     7.68    1.67     .06      2.34      1.94      1.61       .06 
      Higher education....................    31.53    22.86     8.66    2.31     .17      1.94      2.39      1.85     (2)   
  Public administration...................    24.73    16.24     8.49    2.46     .34      2.05      2.10      1.52       .03 
                                           
                                                                      Percent of total compensation
                                           
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
State and local government workers........   100.0%    70.3%    29.7%    7.7%    0.8%      7.9%      7.1%      6.0%      0.1% 
                                                                                                                              
            Occupational group                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              
  White-collar occupations................   100.0     72.1     27.9     7.2      .5       7.5       6.8       5.7        .1  
    Professional specialty and technical..   100.0     74.2     25.8     6.0      .4       6.7       6.9       5.6        .2  
      Professional specialty..............   100.0     74.6     25.4     5.8      .4       6.7       6.8       5.5        .2  
        Teachers..........................   100.0     75.6     24.4     5.0      .2       6.6       7.1       5.4        .2  
      Technical...........................   100.0     67.9     32.1     9.2     1.6       7.9       6.8       6.4        .1  
    Executive, administrative, and                                                                                            
    managerial............................   100.0     69.6     30.4    10.1      .5       6.8       7.2       5.9      (2)   
    Administrative support, including                                                                                         
    clerical..............................   100.0     66.4     33.6     9.1      .5      11.3       6.3       6.3        .1  
                                                                                                                              
  Blue-collar occupations.................   100.0     65.1     34.9     9.5     1.8       9.3       7.2       7.1        .1  
                                                                                                                              
  Service occupations(3)..................   100.0     64.5     35.5     9.2     2.2       8.9       8.6       6.3        .1  
                                                                                                                              
              Industry group                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
  Services................................   100.0     72.7     27.3     6.7      .5       7.6       6.6       5.7        .2  
    Health services.......................   100.0     67.3     32.7    10.2     2.6       7.7       5.0       7.1        .1  
      Hospitals...........................   100.0     67.6     32.4    10.3     2.4       7.5       5.0       7.1        .1  
    Educational services..................   100.0     73.5     26.5     6.1      .3       7.4       6.9       5.6        .2  
      Elementary and secondary education..   100.0     74.0     26.0     5.6      .2       7.9       6.6       5.4        .2  
      Higher education....................   100.0     72.5     27.5     7.3      .5       6.2       7.6       5.9      (2)   
  Public administration...................   100.0     65.7     34.3     9.9     1.4       8.3       8.5       6.1        .1  

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 5.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
workers, by major industry group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                             All workers in        Goods-           Service-       Manufacturing    Nonmanufacturing
               Compensation                 private industry    producing(1)      producing(2)                                      
                component                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                             Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Total compensation........................  $18.50    100.0%  $22.26    100.0%  $17.31    100.0%  $22.29    100.0%  $17.66    100.0%
                                                                                                                                    
  Wages and salaries......................   13.47     72.8    15.35     69.0    12.88     74.4    15.22     68.3    13.09     74.1 
                                                                                                                                    
  Total benefits..........................    5.02     27.1     6.91     31.0     4.42     25.5     7.07     31.7     4.57     25.9 
                                                                                                                                    
    Paid leave............................    1.16      6.3     1.47      6.6     1.07      6.2     1.68      7.5     1.05      5.9 
      Vacation............................     .58      3.1      .76      3.4      .52      3.0      .86      3.9      .51      2.9 
      Holiday.............................     .40      2.2      .53      2.4      .36      2.1      .62      2.8      .35      2.0 
      Sick................................     .14       .8      .11       .5      .14       .8      .13       .6      .14       .8 
      Other...............................     .05       .3      .06       .3      .05       .3      .07       .3      .05       .3 
                                                                                                                                    
    Supplemental pay......................     .56      3.0      .85      3.8      .47      2.7      .91      4.1      .48      2.7 
      Premium(3)..........................     .22      1.2      .47      2.1      .14       .8      .48      2.2      .16       .9 
      Shift differential..................     .05       .3      .07       .3      .04       .2      .09       .4      .04       .2 
      Nonproduction bonuses...............     .29      1.6      .30      1.3      .29      1.7      .34      1.5      .28      1.6 
                                                                                                                                    
    Insurance.............................    1.10      5.9     1.62      7.3      .94      5.4     1.70      7.6      .97      5.5 
      Life................................     .04       .2      .06       .3      .04       .2      .06       .3      .04       .2 
      Health..............................    1.00      5.4     1.48      6.6      .85      4.9     1.54      6.9      .88      5.0 
      Short-term disability(4)............     .04       .2      .06       .3      .03       .2      .07       .3      .03       .2 
      Long-term disability................     .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1 
                                                                                                                                    
    Retirement and savings................     .55      3.0      .82      3.7      .46      2.7      .76      3.4      .50      2.8 
      Defined benefit.....................     .24      1.3      .45      2.0      .18      1.0      .40      1.8      .21      1.2 
      Defined contribution................     .30      1.6      .37      1.7      .28      1.6      .36      1.6      .29      1.6 
                                                                                                                                    
    Legally required benefits.............    1.63      8.8     2.09      9.4     1.48      8.5     1.93      8.7     1.56      8.8 
      Social Security(5)..................    1.12      6.1     1.30      5.8     1.07      6.2     1.30      5.8     1.08      6.1 
        OASDI.............................     .90      4.9     1.05      4.7      .86      5.0     1.05      4.7      .87      4.9 
        Medicare..........................     .22      1.2      .25      1.1      .21      1.2      .25      1.1      .21      1.2 
      Federal unemployment insurance......     .03       .2      .03       .1      .03       .2      .03       .1      .03       .2 
      State unemployment insurance........     .11       .6      .14       .6      .10       .6      .12       .5      .11       .6 
      Workers' compensation...............     .36      1.9      .63      2.8      .28      1.6      .48      2.2      .33      1.9 
                                                                                                                                    
    Other benefits(6).....................     .03       .2      .07       .3     (7)      (7)       .08       .4     (7)      (7)  

  1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  2 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate;
and service industries.
  3 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays).
  4 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and state-mandated plans
that provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  5 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the
abbreviation for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  6 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  7 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 6.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private
industry workers, by major occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                               All workers         White-collar        Blue-collar          Service(1)    
               Compensation                                                                                               
                component                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                          
                                              Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent 
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
Total compensation........................   $18.50    100.0%    $22.38    100.0%    $17.56    100.0%     $9.37    100.0% 
                                                                                                                          
  Wages and salaries......................    13.47     72.8      16.54     73.9      12.15     69.2       7.25     77.4  
                                                                                                                          
  Total benefits..........................     5.02     27.1       5.84     26.1       5.41     30.8       2.12     22.6  
                                                                                                                          
    Paid leave............................     1.16      6.3       1.57      7.0        .96      5.5        .38      4.1  
      Vacation............................      .58      3.1        .77      3.4        .50      2.8        .18      1.9  
      Holiday.............................      .40      2.2        .54      2.4        .34      1.9        .12      1.3  
      Sick................................      .14       .8        .20       .9        .07       .4        .06       .6  
      Other...............................      .05       .3        .07       .3        .04       .2        .02       .2  
                                                                                                                          
    Supplemental pay......................      .56      3.0        .63      2.8        .69      3.9        .14      1.5  
      Premium(2)..........................      .22      1.2        .13       .6        .45      2.6        .08       .9  
      Shift differential..................      .05       .3        .04       .2        .07       .4        .03       .3  
      Nonproduction bonuses...............      .29      1.6        .46      2.1        .17      1.0        .04       .4  
                                                                                                                          
    Insurance.............................     1.10      5.9       1.24      5.5       1.27      7.2        .43      4.6  
      Life................................      .04       .2        .06       .3        .05       .3      (3)       (3)   
      Health..............................     1.00      5.4       1.11      5.0       1.17      6.7        .40      4.3  
      Short-term disability(4)............      .04       .2        .04       .2        .04       .2        .02       .2  
      Long-term disability................      .02       .1        .03       .1        .02       .1      (3)       (3)   
                                                                                                                          
    Retirement and savings................      .55      3.0        .66      2.9        .62      3.5        .13      1.4  
      Defined benefit.....................      .24      1.3        .22      1.0        .39      2.2        .06       .6  
      Defined contribution................      .30      1.6        .44      2.0        .23      1.3        .06       .6  
                                                                                                                          
    Legally required benefits.............     1.63      8.8       1.71      7.6       1.83     10.4       1.04     11.1  
      Social Security(5)..................     1.12      6.1       1.34      6.0       1.04      5.9        .66      7.0  
        OASDI.............................      .90      4.9       1.07      4.8        .84      4.8        .53      5.7  
        Medicare..........................      .22      1.2        .27      1.2        .20      1.1        .13      1.4  
      Federal unemployment insurance......      .03       .2        .03       .1        .03       .2        .04       .4  
      State unemployment insurance........      .11       .6        .11       .5        .12       .7        .10      1.1  
      Workers' compensation...............      .36      1.9        .23      1.0        .64      3.6        .24      2.6  
                                                                                                                          
    Other benefits(6).....................      .03       .2        .03       .1        .03       .2      (3)       (3)   

  1 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.
  2 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays).
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  4 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and
state-mandated plans that provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  5 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the
abbreviation for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  6 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 7.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry workers, by
region and bargaining status, March 1998
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                    Region(1)                                         Bargaining status         
                                                                                                                                                
            Compensation                                                                                                                        
             component                   Northeast           South            Midwest             West             Union            Nonunion    
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
                                       Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
Total compensation..................  $20.38    100.0%  $16.45    100.0%  $18.15    100.0%  $19.94    100.0%  $23.59    100.0%  $17.80    100.0%
                                                                                                                                                
  Wages and salaries................   14.70     72.1    12.14     73.8    12.99     71.6    14.75     74.0    15.38     65.2    13.21     74.2 
                                                                                                                                                
  Total benefits....................    5.68     27.9     4.31     26.2     5.16     28.4     5.18     26.0     8.22     34.8     4.58     25.7 
                                                                                                                                                
    Paid leave......................    1.40      6.9      .97      5.9     1.13      6.2     1.23      6.2     1.57      6.7     1.11      6.2 
      Vacation......................     .67      3.3      .49      3.0      .58      3.2      .60      3.0      .85      3.6      .54      3.0 
      Holiday.......................     .49      2.4      .33      2.0      .39      2.1      .43      2.2      .51      2.2      .39      2.2 
      Sick..........................     .19       .9      .12       .7      .11       .6      .15       .8      .14       .6      .14       .8 
      Other.........................     .06       .3      .04       .2      .05       .3      .05       .3      .07       .3      .05       .3 
                                                                                                                                                
    Supplemental pay................     .58      2.8      .42      2.6      .70      3.9      .56      2.8      .95      4.0      .51      2.9 
      Premium(2)....................     .20      1.0      .21      1.3      .27      1.5      .19      1.0      .60      2.5      .17      1.0 
      Shift differential............     .05       .2      .03       .2      .06       .3      .05       .3      .14       .6      .04       .2 
      Nonproduction bonuses.........     .33      1.6      .18      1.1      .36      2.0      .33      1.7      .21       .9      .30      1.7 
                                                                                                                                                
    Insurance.......................    1.28      6.3      .96      5.8     1.14      6.3     1.05      5.3     2.15      9.1      .96      5.4 
      Life..........................     .05       .2      .04       .2      .05       .3      .04       .2      .08       .3      .04       .2 
      Health........................    1.15      5.6      .87      5.3     1.04      5.7      .97      4.9     1.97      8.4      .86      4.8 
      Short-term disability(3)......     .06       .3      .03       .2      .04       .2      .02       .1      .08       .3      .03       .2 
      Long-term disability..........     .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1      .02       .1 
                                                                                                                                                
    Retirement and savings..........     .60      2.9      .48      2.9      .60      3.3      .54      2.7     1.29      5.5      .45      2.5 
      Defined benefit...............     .24      1.2      .22      1.3      .29      1.6      .23      1.2     1.00      4.2      .14       .8 
      Defined contribution..........     .35      1.7      .26      1.6      .31      1.7      .31      1.6      .29      1.2      .31      1.7 
                                                                                                                                                
    Legally required benefits.......    1.80      8.8     1.46      8.9     1.55      8.5     1.78      8.9     2.18      9.2     1.55      8.7 
      Social Security(4)............    1.21      5.9     1.02      6.2     1.10      6.1     1.21      6.1     1.33      5.6     1.09      6.1 
        OASDI.......................     .97      4.8      .82      5.0      .88      4.8      .97      4.9     1.07      4.5      .88      4.9 
        Medicare....................     .24      1.2      .20      1.2      .21      1.2      .24      1.2      .25      1.1      .22      1.2 
      Federal unemployment insurance     .03       .1      .03       .2      .03       .2      .03       .2      .03       .1      .03       .2 
      State unemployment insurance..     .17       .8      .06       .4      .10       .6      .13       .7      .14       .6      .11       .6 
      Workers' compensation.........     .38      1.9      .34      2.1      .32      1.8      .41      2.1      .69      2.9      .31      1.7 
                                                                                                                                                
    Other benefits(5)...............     .03       .1      .02       .1      .04       .2      .02       .1      .08       .3      .02       .1 

  1 The regional coverage is as follows: Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, and Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
  2 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays).
  3 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and state-mandated plans that
provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  4 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the abbreviation for
Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  5 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
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, March 1998
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                             All workers in         1-99                        100 or more workers                 
                                            private industry      workers                                                           
                                                                                                                                    
               Compensation                                                                                                         
                component                                                            Total            100-499         500 or more   
                                                                                                      workers           workers     
                                             Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent                                                      
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                 Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Total compensation........................  $18.50    100.0%  $15.92    100.0%  $21.20    100.0%  $17.52    100.0%  $25.56    100.0%
                                                                                                                                    
  Wages and salaries......................   13.47     72.8    12.01     75.4    15.01     70.8    12.67     72.3    17.78     69.6 
                                                                                                                                    
  Total benefits..........................    5.02     27.1     3.91     24.6     6.19     29.2     4.85     27.7     7.78     30.4 
                                                                                                                                    
    Paid leave............................    1.16      6.3      .81      5.1     1.53      7.2     1.08      6.2     2.07      8.1 
      Vacation............................     .58      3.1      .39      2.4      .77      3.6      .53      3.0     1.05      4.1 
      Holiday.............................     .40      2.2      .29      1.8      .51      2.4      .37      2.1      .68      2.7 
      Sick................................     .14       .8      .09       .6      .18       .8      .13       .7      .24       .9 
      Other...............................     .05       .3      .03       .2      .07       .3      .05       .3      .09       .4 
                                                                                                                                    
    Supplemental pay......................     .56      3.0      .43      2.7      .69      3.3      .57      3.3      .84      3.3 
      Premium(1)..........................     .22      1.2      .15       .9      .29      1.4      .25      1.4      .34      1.3 
      Shift differential..................     .05       .3     (2)      (2)       .09       .4      .05       .3      .13       .5 
      Nonproduction bonuses...............     .29      1.6      .27      1.7      .32      1.5      .27      1.5      .37      1.4 
                                                                                                                                    
    Insurance.............................    1.10      5.9      .80      5.0     1.42      6.7     1.11      6.3     1.78      7.0 
      Life................................     .04       .2      .03       .2      .06       .3      .04       .2      .07       .3 
      Health..............................    1.00      5.4      .73      4.6     1.28      6.0     1.01      5.8     1.59      6.2 
      Short-term disability(3)............     .04       .2      .02       .1      .05       .2      .04       .2      .08       .3 
      Long-term disability................     .02       .1     (2)      (2)       .03       .1      .02       .1      .04       .2 
                                                                                                                                    
    Retirement and savings................     .55      3.0      .35      2.2      .75      3.5      .51      2.9     1.04      4.1 
      Defined benefit.....................     .24      1.3      .13       .8      .37      1.7      .20      1.1      .56      2.2 
      Defined contribution................     .30      1.6      .23      1.4      .39      1.8      .31      1.8      .48      1.9 
                                                                                                                                    
    Legally required benefits.............    1.63      8.8     1.51      9.5     1.75      8.3     1.57      9.0     1.97      7.7 
      Social Security(4)..................    1.12      6.1     1.00      6.3     1.25      5.9     1.06      6.1     1.48      5.8 
        OASDI.............................     .90      4.9      .80      5.0     1.01      4.8      .85      4.9     1.19      4.7 
        Medicare..........................     .22      1.2      .20      1.3      .25      1.2      .21      1.2      .29      1.1 
      Federal unemployment insurance......     .03       .2      .03       .2      .03       .1      .03       .2      .03       .1 
      State unemployment insurance........     .11       .6      .11       .7      .11       .5      .12       .7      .10       .4 
      Workers' compensation...............     .36      1.9      .36      2.3      .35      1.7      .36      2.1      .35      1.4 
                                                                                                                                    
    Other benefits(5).....................     .03       .2     (2)      (2)       .05       .2     (2)      (2)       .08       .3 

  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 Short-term disability (previously, sickness and accident insurance) includes all insured, self-insured, and state-mandated plans
that provide benefits for each disability, including unfunded plans.
  4 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an OASDI portion and a Medicare portion.  OASDI is the
abbreviation for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
  5 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 9.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
workers, by major occupational and industry group, and full-time and part-time status, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                    Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                        compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All full-time workers in private industry........   $20.95   $15.03    $5.93   $1.42   $0.68     $1.34     $0.67     $1.78     $0.03 
  White-collar occupations.......................    24.75    18.07     6.67    1.85     .73      1.44       .78      1.84       .04 
    Sales(2).....................................    20.27    15.70     4.57     .99     .56       .95       .46      1.60       .02 
    Administrative support, including clerical...    16.66    11.89     4.76    1.22     .39      1.35       .51      1.27       .02 
  Blue-collar occupations........................    18.48    12.70     5.77    1.05     .75      1.38       .66      1.91       .04 
  Service occupations(2).........................    11.39     8.38     3.02     .63     .23       .77       .21      1.17     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................    22.58    15.53     7.05    1.51     .87      1.66       .85      2.10       .07 
    Construction(2)..............................    22.06    15.71     6.35     .70     .61      1.32      1.05      2.66     (3)   
    Manufacturing................................    22.60    15.40     7.19    1.72     .93      1.74       .78      1.93       .08 
  Service-producing industries(5)................    20.26    14.81     5.44    1.38     .60      1.20       .59      1.65       .02 
    Transportation and public utilities(6).......    25.33    17.49     7.84    1.90     .71      1.95      1.08      2.15       .04 
    Wholesale trade..............................    21.63    15.68     5.95    1.37     .67      1.41       .65      1.83       .02 
    Retail trade.................................    13.32    10.33     2.99     .64     .27       .62       .19      1.27     (3)   
    Finance, insurance, and real estate..........    25.56    18.02     7.54    1.89    1.27      1.64       .97      1.73       .05 
    Services.....................................    20.42    15.10     5.32    1.46     .52      1.13       .55      1.64     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
All part-time workers in private industry........    10.01     8.10     1.90     .27     .15       .27       .14      1.08     (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................    12.52    10.14     2.38     .43     .20       .38       .18      1.18     (3)   
    Sales(2).....................................     8.03     6.57     1.46     .19     .12       .20       .10       .84     (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...    11.53     9.10     2.43     .43     .21       .57       .18      1.05     (3)   
  Blue-collar occupations........................     9.86     7.54     2.32     .22     .24       .40       .25      1.21     (3)   
  Service occupations(2).........................     7.41     6.15     1.26     .12     .06       .11       .05       .91     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................    12.21     9.52     2.69     .25     .30       .27       .12      1.74     (3)   
  Service-producing industries(5)................     9.93     8.06     1.88     .27     .14       .27       .14      1.05     (3)   
    Retail trade.................................     7.37     6.04     1.33     .13     .08       .17       .07       .87     (3)   
    Service industries...........................    12.47    10.18     2.29     .40     .19       .33       .16      1.22     (3)   
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All full-time workers in private industry........   100.0%    71.7%    28.3%    6.8%    3.2%      6.4%      3.2%      8.5%      0.1% 
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     73.0     26.9     7.5     2.9       5.8       3.2       7.4        .2  
    Sales(2).....................................   100.0     77.5     22.5     4.9     2.8       4.7       2.3       7.9        .1  
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     71.4     28.6     7.3     2.3       8.1       3.1       7.6        .1  
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     68.7     31.2     5.7     4.1       7.5       3.6      10.3        .2  
  Service occupations(2).........................   100.0     73.6     26.5     5.5     2.0       6.8       1.8      10.3      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................   100.0     68.8     31.2     6.7     3.9       7.4       3.8       9.3        .3  
    Construction(2)..............................   100.0     71.2     28.8     3.2     2.8       6.0       4.8      12.1      (3)   
    Manufacturing................................   100.0     68.1     31.8     7.6     4.1       7.7       3.5       8.5        .4  
  Service-producing industries(5)................   100.0     73.1     26.9     6.8     3.0       5.9       2.9       8.1        .1  
    Transportation and public utilities(6).......   100.0     69.0     31.0     7.5     2.8       7.7       4.3       8.5        .2  
    Wholesale trade..............................   100.0     72.5     27.5     6.3     3.1       6.5       3.0       8.5        .1  
    Retail trade.................................   100.0     77.6     22.4     4.8     2.0       4.7       1.4       9.5      (3)   
    Finance, insurance, and real estate..........   100.0     70.5     29.5     7.4     5.0       6.4       3.8       6.8        .2  
    Services.....................................   100.0     73.9     26.1     7.1     2.5       5.5       2.7       8.0      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
All part-time workers in private industry........   100.0     80.9     19.0     2.7     1.5       2.7       1.4      10.8      (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     81.0     19.0     3.4     1.6       3.0       1.4       9.4      (3)   
    Sales(2).....................................   100.0     81.8     18.2     2.4     1.5       2.5       1.2      10.5      (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     78.9     21.1     3.7     1.8       4.9       1.6       9.1      (3)   
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     76.5     23.5     2.2     2.4       4.1       2.5      12.3      (3)   
  Service occupations(2).........................   100.0     83.0     17.0     1.6      .8       1.5        .7      12.3      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................   100.0     78.0     22.0     2.0     2.5       2.2       1.0      14.3      (3)   
  Service-producing industries(5)................   100.0     81.2     18.9     2.7     1.4       2.7       1.4      10.6      (3)   
    Retail trade.................................   100.0     82.0     18.0     1.8     1.1       2.3        .9      11.8      (3)   
    Service industries...........................   100.0     81.6     18.4     3.2     1.5       2.6       1.3       9.8      (3)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  5 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate;
and service industries.
  6 Estimates for transportation and public utilities, which were not published in 1997, are now available and reflect the changes in
SIC coding.  See Explanatory Notes for further information.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 10.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
workers, by occupational and industry group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                    Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                        compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers in private industry..................   $18.50   $13.47    $5.02   $1.16   $0.56     $1.10     $0.55     $1.63     $0.03 
                                                                                                                                     
               Occupational group                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                     
  White-collar occupations.......................    22.38    16.54     5.84    1.57     .63      1.24       .66      1.71       .03 
    Professional specialty and technical.........    29.54    21.80     7.75    2.17     .86      1.50       .93      2.24       .04 
      Professional specialty.....................    31.60    23.38     8.21    2.33     .94      1.55       .98      2.37       .04 
      Technical..................................    24.26    17.72     6.54    1.76     .64      1.38       .80      1.93       .04 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....    34.37    25.02     9.35    2.89    1.16      1.65      1.16      2.43       .06 
    Sales(2).....................................    15.56    12.19     3.38     .68     .39       .66       .32      1.31     (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...    15.83    11.44     4.39    1.09     .36      1.22       .45      1.24       .02 
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    17.56    12.15     5.41     .96     .69      1.27       .62      1.83       .03 
    Precision production, craft, and repair......    23.06    16.01     7.04    1.33     .84      1.58       .90      2.35       .05 
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    16.42    11.02     5.40    1.01     .84      1.40       .51      1.59       .05 
    Transportation and material moving...........    17.50    12.19     5.31     .88     .61      1.22       .61      1.97     (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................    12.46     8.84     3.61     .53     .43       .83       .40      1.41     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................     9.37     7.25     2.12     .38     .14       .43       .13      1.04     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
                 Industry group                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................    22.26    15.35     6.91    1.47     .85      1.62       .82      2.09       .07 
    Construction(2)..............................    21.71    15.51     6.21     .68     .60      1.28      1.01      2.63     (3)   
    Manufacturing................................    22.29    15.22     7.07    1.68     .91      1.70       .76      1.93       .08 
      Durables...................................    24.03    16.17     7.85    1.85    1.08      1.89       .84      2.08       .12 
      Nondurables................................    19.74    13.82     5.91    1.44     .67      1.43       .65      1.69       .02 
  Service-producing industries(5)................    17.31    12.88     4.42    1.07     .47       .94       .46      1.48     (3)   
    Transportation and public utilities(6).......    23.46    16.26     7.20    1.68     .65      1.76      1.01      2.05       .04 
    Wholesale trade..............................    20.88    15.20     5.68    1.30     .63      1.33       .62      1.78       .02 
    Retail trade.................................    10.33     8.17     2.16     .38     .18       .40       .13      1.07     (3)   
    Finance, insurance, and real estate..........    24.18    17.15     7.03    1.75    1.17      1.52       .90      1.66       .04 
  Services.......................................    18.38    13.84     4.54    1.19     .44       .92       .45      1.53     (3)   
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers in private industry..................   100.0%    72.8%    27.1%    6.3%    3.0%      5.9%      3.0%      8.8%      0.2% 
                                                                                                                                     
               Occupational group                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                     
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     73.9     26.1     7.0     2.8       5.5       2.9       7.6        .1  
    Professional specialty and technical.........   100.0     73.8     26.2     7.3     2.9       5.1       3.1       7.6        .1  
      Professional specialty.....................   100.0     74.0     26.0     7.4     3.0       4.9       3.1       7.5        .1  
      Technical..................................   100.0     73.0     27.0     7.3     2.6       5.7       3.3       8.0        .2  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....   100.0     72.8     27.2     8.4     3.4       4.8       3.4       7.1        .2  
    Sales(2).....................................   100.0     78.3     21.7     4.4     2.5       4.2       2.1       8.4      (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     72.3     27.7     6.9     2.3       7.7       2.8       7.8        .1  
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     69.2     30.8     5.5     3.9       7.2       3.5      10.4        .2  
    Precision production, craft, and repair......   100.0     69.4     30.5     5.8     3.6       6.9       3.9      10.2        .2  
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   100.0     67.1     32.9     6.2     5.1       8.5       3.1       9.7        .3  
    Transportation and material moving...........   100.0     69.7     30.3     5.0     3.5       7.0       3.5      11.3      (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................   100.0     70.9     29.0     4.3     3.5       6.7       3.2      11.3      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................   100.0     77.4     22.6     4.1     1.5       4.6       1.4      11.1      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
                 Industry group                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(4)..................   100.0     69.0     31.0     6.6     3.8       7.3       3.7       9.4        .3  
    Construction(2)..............................   100.0     71.4     28.6     3.1     2.8       5.9       4.7      12.1      (3)   
    Manufacturing................................   100.0     68.3     31.7     7.5     4.1       7.6       3.4       8.7        .4  
      Durables...................................   100.0     67.3     32.7     7.7     4.5       7.9       3.5       8.7        .5  
      Nondurables................................   100.0     70.0     29.9     7.3     3.4       7.2       3.3       8.6        .1  
  Service-producing industries(5)................   100.0     74.4     25.5     6.2     2.7       5.4       2.7       8.5      (3)   
    Transportation and public utilities(6).......   100.0     69.3     30.7     7.2     2.8       7.5       4.3       8.7        .2  
    Wholesale trade..............................   100.0     72.8     27.2     6.2     3.0       6.4       3.0       8.5        .1  
    Retail trade.................................   100.0     79.1     20.9     3.7     1.7       3.9       1.3      10.4      (3)   
    Finance, insurance, and real estate..........   100.0     70.9     29.1     7.2     4.8       6.3       3.7       6.9        .2  
  Services.......................................   100.0     75.3     24.7     6.5     2.4       5.0       2.4       8.3      (3)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  4 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  5 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate;
and service industries.
  6 Estimates for transportation and public utilities, which were not published in 1997, are now available and reflect the changes in
SIC coding.  See Explanatory Notes for further information.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 11.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Goods-producing and
service-producing industry workers, by occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                    Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                        compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, goods-producing industries(2).......   $22.26   $15.35    $6.91   $1.47   $0.85     $1.62     $0.82     $2.09     $0.07 
  White-collar occupations.......................    29.71    21.27     8.44    2.47     .75      1.86      1.01      2.25       .09 
    Professional specialty and technical.........    35.69    25.62    10.07    3.21     .77      2.20      1.12      2.63       .13 
      Professional specialty.....................    38.63    27.93    10.70    3.54     .73      2.31      1.19      2.81       .13 
      Technical..................................    27.07    18.86     8.21    2.25     .90      1.90       .93      2.09       .14 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....    40.03    28.54    11.49    3.41    1.13      2.14      1.74      2.96       .11 
    Administrative support, including clerical...    16.84    11.95     4.89    1.17     .49      1.40       .42      1.38       .04 
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    19.42    13.09     6.33    1.07     .89      1.53       .76      2.04       .05 
    Precision production, craft, and repair......    24.26    16.48     7.78    1.30     .99      1.74      1.06      2.61       .07 
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    17.36    11.48     5.88    1.10     .94      1.55       .58      1.66       .06 
    Transportation and material moving...........    19.06    12.75     6.30     .99     .93      1.47       .74      2.15     (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................    14.09     9.77     4.32     .57     .52      1.02       .53      1.66       .02 
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(4).........................    16.48    10.86     5.62    1.09     .86      1.39       .53      1.68       .08 
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, service-producing industries(5).....    17.31    12.88     4.42    1.07     .47       .94       .46      1.48     (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................    21.25    15.81     5.44    1.43     .61      1.14       .61      1.63       .02 
    Professional specialty and technical.........    28.16    20.94     7.23    1.94     .88      1.35       .88      2.16       .02 
      Professional specialty.....................    29.95    22.32     7.63    2.05     .99      1.38       .93      2.26       .02 
      Technical..................................    23.70    17.49     6.21    1.66     .58      1.28       .77      1.90       .02 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....    32.96    24.15     8.81    2.76    1.16      1.53      1.01      2.29       .05 
    Sales(4).....................................    15.28    11.99     3.29     .66     .38       .64       .31      1.28     (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...    15.68    11.37     4.31    1.08     .34      1.20       .46      1.22       .02 
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    15.32    11.03     4.29     .82     .46       .97       .45      1.59     (3)   
    Precision production, craft, and repair......    21.04    15.23     5.81    1.38     .58      1.30       .63      1.92       .02 
    Transportation and material moving...........    16.93    11.99     4.94     .83     .50      1.13       .57      1.91     (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................    11.65     8.38     3.27     .51     .38       .74       .34      1.28     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(4).........................     9.21     7.16     2.04     .36     .13       .41       .12      1.03     (3)   
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, goods-producing industries(2).......   100.0%    69.0%    31.0%    6.6%    3.8%      7.3%      3.7%      9.4%      0.3% 
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     71.6     28.4     8.3     2.5       6.3       3.4       7.6        .3  
    Professional specialty and technical.........   100.0     71.8     28.2     9.0     2.2       6.2       3.1       7.4        .4  
      Professional specialty.....................   100.0     72.3     27.7     9.2     1.9       6.0       3.1       7.3        .3  
      Technical..................................   100.0     69.7     30.3     8.3     3.3       7.0       3.4       7.7        .5  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....   100.0     71.3     28.7     8.5     2.8       5.3       4.3       7.4        .3  
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     71.0     29.0     6.9     2.9       8.3       2.5       8.2        .2  
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     67.4     32.6     5.5     4.6       7.9       3.9      10.5        .3  
    Precision production, craft, and repair......   100.0     67.9     32.1     5.4     4.1       7.2       4.4      10.8        .3  
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   100.0     66.1     33.9     6.3     5.4       8.9       3.3       9.6        .3  
    Transportation and material moving...........   100.0     66.9     33.1     5.2     4.9       7.7       3.9      11.3      (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................   100.0     69.3     30.7     4.0     3.7       7.2       3.8      11.8        .1  
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(4).........................   100.0     65.9     34.1     6.6     5.2       8.4       3.2      10.2        .5  
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, service-producing industries(5).....   100.0     74.4     25.5     6.2     2.7       5.4       2.7       8.5      (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     74.4     25.6     6.7     2.9       5.4       2.9       7.7        .1  
    Professional specialty and technical.........   100.0     74.4     25.7     6.9     3.1       4.8       3.1       7.7        .1  
      Professional specialty.....................   100.0     74.5     25.5     6.8     3.3       4.6       3.1       7.5        .1  
      Technical..................................   100.0     73.8     26.2     7.0     2.4       5.4       3.2       8.0        .1  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....   100.0     73.3     26.7     8.4     3.5       4.6       3.1       6.9        .2  
    Sales(4).....................................   100.0     78.5     21.5     4.3     2.5       4.2       2.0       8.4      (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     72.5     27.5     6.9     2.2       7.7       2.9       7.8        .1  
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     72.0     28.0     5.4     3.0       6.3       2.9      10.4      (3)   
    Precision production, craft, and repair......   100.0     72.4     27.6     6.6     2.8       6.2       3.0       9.1        .1  
    Transportation and material moving...........   100.0     70.8     29.2     4.9     3.0       6.7       3.4      11.3      (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................   100.0     71.9     28.1     4.4     3.3       6.4       2.9      11.0      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(4).........................   100.0     77.7     22.1     3.9     1.4       4.5       1.3      11.2      (3)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  4 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.
  5 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate;
and service industries.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 12.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Manufacturing and
nonmanufacturing industry workers, by occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                    Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                        compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, manufacturing industries............   $22.29   $15.22    $7.07   $1.68   $0.91     $1.70     $0.76     $1.93     $0.08 
  White-collar occupations.......................    30.31    21.59     8.72    2.63     .78      1.93      1.05      2.23       .10 
    Professional specialty and technical.........    35.75    25.57    10.18    3.25     .79      2.24      1.13      2.63       .14 
      Professional specialty.....................    38.45    27.70    10.75    3.55     .74      2.33      1.19      2.80       .14 
      Technical..................................    27.64    19.17     8.46    2.35     .93      1.96       .96      2.12       .14 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....    41.78    29.67    12.11    3.78    1.23      2.23      1.91      2.83       .14 
    Administrative support, including clerical...    17.15    12.07     5.09    1.26     .49      1.44       .45      1.40       .05 
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    18.65    12.34     6.31    1.25     .97      1.60       .63      1.79       .07 
    Precision production, craft, and repair......    24.39    15.93     8.45    1.91    1.31      1.96       .87      2.27       .13 
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    17.27    11.42     5.85    1.10     .93      1.54       .57      1.64       .06 
    Transportation and material moving...........    18.30    12.40     5.90    1.09     .84      1.45       .57      1.93       .02 
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................    14.12     9.57     4.56     .76     .60      1.25       .50      1.41       .03 
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................    17.67    11.45     6.22    1.25     .97      1.55       .59      1.78       .09 
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, nonmanufacturing industries.........    17.66    13.09     4.57    1.05     .48       .97       .50      1.56     (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................    21.37    15.90     5.48    1.44     .61      1.15       .61      1.65       .02 
    Professional specialty and technical.........    28.27    21.02     7.25    1.95     .87      1.35       .89      2.16       .02 
      Professional specialty.....................    30.12    22.45     7.67    2.07     .99      1.38       .93      2.27       .02 
      Technical..................................    23.65    17.45     6.20    1.65     .58      1.27       .77      1.90       .03 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....    33.06    24.20     8.86    2.74    1.14      1.55      1.02      2.36       .04 
    Sales(2).....................................    15.34    12.03     3.30     .66     .38       .65       .31      1.29     (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...    15.67    11.37     4.30    1.07     .34      1.20       .46      1.22     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    16.86    12.04     4.82     .77     .51      1.06       .61      1.86     (3)   
    Precision production, craft, and repair......    22.47    16.04     6.42    1.07     .63      1.41       .92      2.38       .02 
    Transportation and material moving...........    17.32    12.15     5.17     .83     .56      1.17       .62      1.98     (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................    12.05     8.67     3.39     .48     .39       .73       .38      1.40     (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................     9.21     7.16     2.04     .36     .13       .41       .12      1.03     (3)   
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, manufacturing industries............   100.0%    68.3%    31.7%    7.5%    4.1%      7.6%      3.4%      8.7%      0.4% 
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     71.2     28.8     8.7     2.6       6.4       3.5       7.4        .3  
    Professional specialty and technical.........   100.0     71.5     28.5     9.1     2.2       6.3       3.2       7.4        .4  
      Professional specialty.....................   100.0     72.0     28.0     9.2     1.9       6.1       3.1       7.3        .4  
      Technical..................................   100.0     69.4     30.6     8.5     3.4       7.1       3.5       7.7        .5  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....   100.0     71.0     29.0     9.0     2.9       5.3       4.6       6.8        .3  
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     70.4     29.7     7.3     2.9       8.4       2.6       8.2        .3  
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     66.2     33.8     6.7     5.2       8.6       3.4       9.6        .4  
    Precision production, craft, and repair......   100.0     65.3     34.6     7.8     5.4       8.0       3.6       9.3        .5  
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   100.0     66.1     33.9     6.4     5.4       8.9       3.3       9.5        .3  
    Transportation and material moving...........   100.0     67.8     32.2     6.0     4.6       7.9       3.1      10.5        .1  
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................   100.0     67.8     32.3     5.4     4.2       8.9       3.5      10.0        .2  
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................   100.0     64.8     35.2     7.1     5.5       8.8       3.3      10.1        .5  
                                                                                                                                     
All workers, nonmanufacturing industries.........   100.0     74.1     25.9     5.9     2.7       5.5       2.8       8.8      (3)   
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     74.4     25.6     6.7     2.9       5.4       2.9       7.7        .1  
    Professional specialty and technical.........   100.0     74.4     25.6     6.9     3.1       4.8       3.1       7.6        .1  
      Professional specialty.....................   100.0     74.5     25.5     6.9     3.3       4.6       3.1       7.5        .1  
      Technical..................................   100.0     73.8     26.2     7.0     2.5       5.4       3.3       8.0        .1  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial....   100.0     73.2     26.8     8.3     3.4       4.7       3.1       7.1        .1  
    Sales(2).....................................   100.0     78.4     21.5     4.3     2.5       4.2       2.0       8.4      (3)   
    Administrative support, including clerical...   100.0     72.6     27.4     6.8     2.2       7.7       2.9       7.8      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     71.4     28.6     4.6     3.0       6.3       3.6      11.0      (3)   
    Precision production, craft, and repair......   100.0     71.4     28.6     4.8     2.8       6.3       4.1      10.6        .1  
    Transportation and material moving...........   100.0     70.2     29.8     4.8     3.2       6.8       3.6      11.4      (3)   
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                       
    laborers.....................................   100.0     72.0     28.1     4.0     3.2       6.1       3.2      11.6      (3)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations(2).........................   100.0     77.7     22.1     3.9     1.4       4.5       1.3      11.2      (3)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 13.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
workers, by bargaining status, and major industry and occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                    Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                        compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All union workers, private industry..............   $23.59   $15.38    $8.22   $1.57   $0.95     $2.15     $1.29     $2.18     $0.08 
    Blue-collar occupations......................    24.86    15.75     9.12    1.58    1.15      2.35      1.54      2.40       .10 
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries.....................    25.37    16.01     9.36    1.58    1.22      2.46      1.50      2.46       .13 
  Service-producing industries...................    21.94    14.78     7.16    1.56     .69      1.86      1.09      1.93       .03 
                                                                                                                                     
  Manufacturing..................................    22.75    14.20     8.55    1.74    1.33      2.22      1.00      2.10       .16 
    Blue-collar occupations......................    22.62    13.98     8.64    1.69    1.40      2.22      1.04      2.12       .17 
  Nonmanufacturing...............................    24.10    16.09     8.01    1.47     .71      2.10      1.46      2.23       .03 
                                                                                                                                     
All nonunion workers, private industry...........    17.80    13.21     4.58    1.11     .51       .96       .45      1.55       .02 
    Blue-collar occupations......................    15.13    10.96     4.17     .75     .54       .91       .31      1.64     (2)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries.....................    21.27    15.14     6.13    1.43     .73      1.35       .61      1.97       .04 
  Service-producing industries...................    16.89    12.71     4.18    1.02     .45       .85       .41      1.44     (2)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Manufacturing..................................    22.13    15.56     6.57    1.66     .77      1.53       .69      1.87       .05 
    Blue-collar occupations......................    16.73    11.54     5.19    1.04     .76      1.30       .43      1.62       .03 
  Nonmanufacturing...............................    17.00    12.78     4.22    1.00     .46       .85       .40      1.49     (2)   
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All union workers, private industry..............   100.0%    65.2%    34.8%    6.7%    4.0%      9.1%      5.5%      9.2%      0.3% 
    Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0     63.4     36.7     6.4     4.6       9.5       6.2       9.7        .4  
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries.....................   100.0     63.1     36.9     6.2     4.8       9.7       5.9       9.7        .5  
  Service-producing industries...................   100.0     67.4     32.6     7.1     3.1       8.5       5.0       8.8        .1  
                                                                                                                                     
  Manufacturing..................................   100.0     62.4     37.6     7.6     5.8       9.8       4.4       9.2        .7  
    Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0     61.8     38.2     7.5     6.2       9.8       4.6       9.4        .8  
  Nonmanufacturing...............................   100.0     66.8     33.2     6.1     2.9       8.7       6.1       9.3        .1  
                                                                                                                                     
All nonunion workers, private industry...........   100.0     74.2     25.7     6.2     2.9       5.4       2.5       8.7        .1  
    Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0     72.4     27.6     5.0     3.6       6.0       2.0      10.8      (2)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries.....................   100.0     71.2     28.8     6.7     3.4       6.3       2.9       9.3        .2  
  Service-producing industries...................   100.0     75.3     24.7     6.0     2.7       5.0       2.4       8.5      (2)   
                                                                                                                                     
  Manufacturing..................................   100.0     70.3     29.7     7.5     3.5       6.9       3.1       8.5        .2  
    Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0     69.0     31.0     6.2     4.5       7.8       2.6       9.7        .2  
  Nonmanufacturing...............................   100.0     75.2     24.8     5.9     2.7       5.0       2.4       8.8      (2)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 14.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
workers, by establishment employment size, and major industry and occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                               Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                     
        Industry and occupational group,            Total     Wages                                                                  
               and employment size                 compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                    sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                      Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                         savings                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                  
                                                                                 Cost per hour worked
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers in private industry..................   $18.50   $13.47    $5.02   $1.16   $0.56     $1.10     $0.55     $1.63     $0.03 
  1-99 workers...................................    15.92    12.01     3.91     .81     .43       .80       .35      1.51     (2)   
  100 or more workers............................    21.20    15.01     6.19    1.53     .69      1.42       .75      1.75       .05 
    100-499 workers..............................    17.52    12.67     4.85    1.08     .57      1.11       .51      1.57     (2)   
    500 or more workers..........................    25.56    17.78     7.78    2.07     .84      1.78      1.04      1.97       .08 
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(3)..................    22.26    15.35     6.91    1.47     .85      1.62       .82      2.09       .07 
    1-99 workers.................................    18.54    13.40     5.13     .80     .54      1.10       .58      2.10     (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................    24.70    16.62     8.08    1.90    1.05      1.96       .99      2.09       .10 
      100-499 workers............................    20.61    14.10     6.52    1.32     .88      1.62       .74      1.94       .02 
      500 or more workers........................    28.63    19.05     9.58    2.46    1.21      2.29      1.22      2.23       .18 
                                                                                                                                     
  Service-producing industries(4)................    17.31    12.88     4.42    1.07     .47       .94       .46      1.48     (2)   
    1-99 workers.................................    15.32    11.69     3.63     .81     .41       .73       .30      1.37     (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................    19.72    14.33     5.39    1.38     .54      1.19       .66      1.61       .02 
      100-499 workers............................    16.37    12.14     4.24     .99     .45       .92       .43      1.43     (2)   
      500 or more workers........................    24.03    17.15     6.89    1.88     .66      1.53       .95      1.84       .04 
                                                                                                                                     
  White-collar occupations.......................    22.38    16.54     5.84    1.57     .63      1.24       .66      1.71       .03 
    1-99 workers.................................    19.18    14.57     4.61    1.15     .55       .95       .44      1.52     (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................    25.54    18.48     7.05    1.99     .71      1.52       .88      1.90       .05 
      100-499 workers............................    21.22    15.61     5.61    1.43     .65      1.24       .60      1.67       .02 
      500 or more workers........................    29.53    21.14     8.39    2.50     .76      1.79      1.14      2.12       .07 
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................    17.56    12.15     5.41     .96     .69      1.27       .62      1.83       .03 
    1-99 workers.................................    16.10    11.68     4.42     .67     .49       .96       .43      1.86     (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................    18.99    12.62     6.37    1.24     .89      1.57       .80      1.80       .06 
      100-499 workers............................    16.83    11.58     5.25     .96     .67      1.29       .60      1.71     (2)   
      500 or more workers........................    21.89    14.01     7.88    1.61    1.18      1.96      1.07      1.93       .13 
                                                  
                                                                             Percent of total compensation
                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
All workers in private industry..................   100.0%    72.8%    27.1%    6.3%    3.0%      5.9%      3.0%      8.8%      0.2% 
  1-99 workers...................................   100.0     75.4     24.6     5.1     2.7       5.0       2.2       9.5      (2)   
  100 or more workers............................   100.0     70.8     29.2     7.2     3.3       6.7       3.5       8.3        .2  
    100-499 workers..............................   100.0     72.3     27.7     6.2     3.3       6.3       2.9       9.0      (2)   
    500 or more workers..........................   100.0     69.6     30.4     8.1     3.3       7.0       4.1       7.7        .3  
                                                                                                                                     
  Goods-producing industries(3)..................   100.0     69.0     31.0     6.6     3.8       7.3       3.7       9.4        .3  
    1-99 workers.................................   100.0     72.3     27.7     4.3     2.9       5.9       3.1      11.3      (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................   100.0     67.3     32.7     7.7     4.3       7.9       4.0       8.5        .4  
      100-499 workers............................   100.0     68.4     31.6     6.4     4.3       7.9       3.6       9.4        .1  
      500 or more workers........................   100.0     66.5     33.5     8.6     4.2       8.0       4.3       7.8        .6  
                                                                                                                                     
  Service-producing industries(4)................   100.0     74.4     25.5     6.2     2.7       5.4       2.7       8.5      (2)   
    1-99 workers.................................   100.0     76.3     23.7     5.3     2.7       4.8       2.0       8.9      (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................   100.0     72.7     27.3     7.0     2.7       6.0       3.3       8.2        .1  
      100-499 workers............................   100.0     74.2     25.9     6.0     2.7       5.6       2.6       8.7      (2)   
      500 or more workers........................   100.0     71.4     28.7     7.8     2.7       6.4       4.0       7.7        .2  
                                                                                                                                     
  White-collar occupations.......................   100.0     73.9     26.1     7.0     2.8       5.5       2.9       7.6        .1  
    1-99 workers.................................   100.0     76.0     24.0     6.0     2.9       5.0       2.3       7.9      (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................   100.0     72.4     27.6     7.8     2.8       6.0       3.4       7.4        .2  
      100-499 workers............................   100.0     73.6     26.4     6.7     3.1       5.8       2.8       7.9        .1  
      500 or more workers........................   100.0     71.6     28.4     8.5     2.6       6.1       3.9       7.2        .2  
                                                                                                                                     
  Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0     69.2     30.8     5.5     3.9       7.2       3.5      10.4        .2  
    1-99 workers.................................   100.0     72.5     27.5     4.2     3.0       6.0       2.7      11.6      (2)   
    100 or more workers..........................   100.0     66.5     33.5     6.5     4.7       8.3       4.2       9.5        .3  
      100-499 workers............................   100.0     68.8     31.2     5.7     4.0       7.7       3.6      10.2      (2)   
      500 or more workers........................   100.0     64.0     36.0     7.4     5.4       9.0       4.9       8.8        .6  

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  4 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate;
and service industries.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 15.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Private industry
health services workers, by industry and occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                              Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                    
                                                   Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                       compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                   sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                     Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                        savings                     
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                 
                                                                                Cost per hour worked
                                                 
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Health services.................................   $18.90   $14.01    $4.89   $1.37   $0.45     $1.06     $0.48     $1.51     (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........    25.90    19.36     6.54    1.91     .70      1.25       .66      2.02     (2)   
      Professional specialty....................    29.51    22.05     7.46    2.28     .82      1.34       .76      2.25     (2)   
        Nurses..................................    28.21    20.72     7.48    2.22    1.04      1.33       .65      2.24     (2)   
      Technical.................................    20.08    15.01     5.07    1.33     .50      1.10       .49      1.66     (2)   
    Administrative support, including clerical..    15.57    10.97     4.60    1.20     .30      1.37       .54      1.17     (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................    11.13     8.38     2.75     .64     .24       .64       .22      1.01     (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Hospitals.....................................    22.15    15.85     6.31    1.85     .69      1.48       .57      1.70     (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........    27.15    19.56     7.58    2.23     .99      1.57       .69      2.09     (2)   
      Professional specialty....................    29.79    21.64     8.15    2.42    1.12      1.56       .75      2.29     (2)   
        Nurses..................................    29.78    21.42     8.36    2.44    1.33      1.54       .71      2.32     (2)   
      Technical.................................    20.93    14.67     6.25    1.78     .67      1.60       .56      1.63     (2)   
    Administrative support, including clerical..    15.69    11.01     4.68    1.37     .30      1.40       .43      1.18     (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................    13.20     9.05     4.15    1.00     .43      1.34       .33      1.04     (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Nursing homes.................................    12.82     9.70     3.12     .79     .27       .63       .16      1.27     (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........    18.86    14.45     4.40    1.14     .43       .73       .22      1.88     (2)   
      Professional specialty....................    20.85    16.16     4.68    1.24     .36       .78       .25      2.05     (2)   
      Technical.................................    17.02    12.88     4.15    1.04     .50       .68       .19      1.72     (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................    10.19     7.61     2.58     .60     .23       .58       .13      1.05     (2)   
                                                 
                                                                            Percent of total compensation
                                                 
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Health services.................................   100.0%    74.1%    25.9%    7.2%    2.4%      5.6%      2.5%      8.0%     (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........   100.0     74.7     25.3     7.4     2.7       4.8       2.5       7.8      (2)   
      Professional specialty....................   100.0     74.7     25.3     7.7     2.8       4.5       2.6       7.6      (2)   
        Nurses..................................   100.0     73.4     26.5     7.9     3.7       4.7       2.3       7.9      (2)   
      Technical.................................   100.0     74.8     25.2     6.6     2.5       5.5       2.4       8.3      (2)   
    Administrative support, including clerical..   100.0     70.5     29.5     7.7     1.9       8.8       3.5       7.5      (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................   100.0     75.3     24.7     5.8     2.2       5.8       2.0       9.1      (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Hospitals.....................................   100.0     71.6     28.5     8.4     3.1       6.7       2.6       7.7      (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........   100.0     72.0     27.9     8.2     3.6       5.8       2.5       7.7      (2)   
      Professional specialty....................   100.0     72.6     27.4     8.1     3.8       5.2       2.5       7.7      (2)   
        Nurses..................................   100.0     71.9     28.1     8.2     4.5       5.2       2.4       7.8      (2)   
      Technical.................................   100.0     70.1     29.9     8.5     3.2       7.6       2.7       7.8      (2)   
    Administrative support, including clerical..   100.0     70.2     29.8     8.7     1.9       8.9       2.7       7.5      (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................   100.0     68.6     31.4     7.6     3.3      10.2       2.5       7.9      (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Nursing homes.................................   100.0     75.7     24.3     6.2     2.1       4.9       1.2       9.9      (2)   
    Professional specialty and technical........   100.0     76.6     23.3     6.0     2.3       3.9       1.2      10.0      (2)   
      Professional specialty....................   100.0     77.5     22.4     5.9     1.7       3.7       1.2       9.8      (2)   
      Technical.................................   100.0     75.7     24.4     6.1     2.9       4.0       1.1      10.1      (2)   
                                                                                                                                    
  Service occupations(3)........................   100.0     74.7     25.3     5.9     2.3       5.7       1.3      10.3      (2)   

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Table 16.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Transportation
equipment manufacturing and public utilities workers, by industry and occupational group, March 1998
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                              Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                    
                                                   Total     Wages                                                                  
                     Series                       compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                   sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                     Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(1) 
                                                                                                        savings                     
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                 
                                                                                Cost per hour worked
                                                 
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Transportation equipment manufacturing (SIC 37).   $32.34   $20.23   $12.11   $2.83   $1.78     $2.85     $1.57     $2.76     $0.32 
  White-collar occupations......................    37.68    25.95    11.73    3.72     .89      2.63      1.50      2.80       .19 
    Professional specialty and technical........    42.58    29.81    12.77    4.17     .90      2.74      1.63      3.15       .18 
    Executive, administrative, and managerial...    41.90    28.95    12.95    4.45     .95      2.66      1.71      3.00       .19 
  Blue-collar occupations.......................    29.22    17.02    12.20    2.30    2.25      2.96      1.60      2.71       .38 
  Service occupations(2)........................    34.69    18.45    16.24    3.17    3.27      3.31      2.16      3.40       .93 
                                                                                                                                    
  Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721).............    34.27    23.32    10.95    3.23    1.08      2.48      1.42      2.69       .04 
    White-collar occupations(2).................    36.97    25.68    11.30    3.52     .77      2.48      1.61      2.88       .04 
    Blue-collar occupations.....................    29.56    19.24    10.32    2.72    1.63      2.49      1.08      2.35       .05 
                                                                                                                                    
Public utilities (SIC's 48, 49).................    27.72    19.11     8.61    2.36     .81      2.24      1.13      1.98       .08 
  White-collar occupations......................    27.57    19.20     8.37    2.34     .67      2.19      1.11      1.96       .11 
  Blue-collar occupations.......................    28.44    19.19     9.25    2.46    1.09      2.41      1.19      2.04       .05 
                                                                                                                                    
  Communications (SIC 48).......................    25.14    17.64     7.51    2.01     .69      2.04       .87      1.81       .09 
    White-collar occupations....................    24.69    17.44     7.25    1.97     .61      1.96       .81      1.81       .10 
    Blue-collar occupations.....................    26.85    18.43     8.41    2.18     .93      2.35      1.06      1.85       .05 
                                                                                                                                    
  Electric, gas, and sanitary services (SIC 49).    32.15    21.64    10.51    2.98    1.00      2.59      1.58      2.28       .08 
    White-collar occupations....................    34.00    23.12    10.88    3.17     .80      2.70      1.79      2.31       .11 
    Blue-collar occupations.....................    30.16    20.01    10.14    2.77    1.26      2.48      1.34      2.25       .05 
                                                 
                                                                            Percent of total compensation
                                                 
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Transportation equipment manufacturing (SIC 37).   100.0%    62.6%    37.4%    8.8%    5.5%      8.8%      4.9%      8.5%      1.0% 
  White-collar occupations......................   100.0     68.9     31.1     9.9     2.4       7.0       4.0       7.4        .5  
    Professional specialty and technical........   100.0     70.0     30.0     9.8     2.1       6.4       3.8       7.4        .4  
    Executive, administrative, and managerial...   100.0     69.1     30.9    10.6     2.3       6.3       4.1       7.2        .5  
  Blue-collar occupations.......................   100.0     58.2     41.8     7.9     7.7      10.1       5.5       9.3       1.3  
  Service occupations(2)........................   100.0     53.2     46.8     9.1     9.4       9.5       6.2       9.8       2.7  
                                                                                                                                    
  Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721).............   100.0     68.0     32.0     9.4     3.2       7.2       4.1       7.8        .1  
    White-collar occupations(2).................   100.0     69.5     30.6     9.5     2.1       6.7       4.4       7.8        .1  
    Blue-collar occupations.....................   100.0     65.1     34.9     9.2     5.5       8.4       3.7       7.9        .2  
                                                                                                                                    
Public utilities (SIC's 48, 49).................   100.0     68.9     31.1     8.5     2.9       8.1       4.1       7.1        .3  
  White-collar occupations......................   100.0     69.6     30.4     8.5     2.4       7.9       4.0       7.1        .4  
  Blue-collar occupations.......................   100.0     67.5     32.5     8.6     3.8       8.5       4.2       7.2        .2  
                                                                                                                                    
  Communications (SIC 48).......................   100.0     70.2     29.9     8.0     2.7       8.1       3.5       7.2        .4  
    White-collar occupations....................   100.0     70.6     29.4     8.0     2.5       7.9       3.3       7.3        .4  
    Blue-collar occupations.....................   100.0     68.6     31.3     8.1     3.5       8.8       3.9       6.9        .2  
                                                                                                                                    
  Electric, gas, and sanitary services (SIC 49).   100.0     67.3     32.7     9.3     3.1       8.1       4.9       7.1        .2  
    White-collar occupations....................   100.0     68.0     32.0     9.3     2.4       7.9       5.3       6.8        .3  
    Blue-collar occupations.....................   100.0     66.3     33.6     9.2     4.2       8.2       4.4       7.5        .2  

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 This series may be discontinued with the March 1999 news release.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
Appendix. Employer costs per hour worked for components of compensation, and relative standard errors,(1) by major industry and
occupation categories, March 1998
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                              Benefit costs                         
                                                                                                                                    
                  Industry or                      Total     Wages                                                                  
               occupation category                compen-     and                    Supple-            Retire-   Legally    Other  
                                                   sation  salaries           Paid   mental               ment    required   bene-  
                                                                     Total   leave     pay   Insurance    and     benefits  fits(2) 
                                                                                                        savings                     
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    
Civilian workers                                                                                                                    
  Cost per hour worked..........................   $19.76   $14.30    $5.47   $1.30   $0.51     $1.25     $0.75     $1.63     $0.03 
  Relative error................................      .7%      .7%     1.0%    1.4%    5.0%      1.3%      2.0%       .7%     11.4% 
                                                                                                                                    
  State and local government workers                                                                                                
    Cost per hour worked........................   $27.28   $19.19    $8.10   $2.11    $.23     $2.15     $1.94     $1.63      $.04 
    Relative error..............................     1.4%     1.4%     1.9%    1.9%    7.1%      2.1%      3.0%      2.1%     23.0% 
                                                                                                                                    
  Private industry workers                                                                                                          
    Cost per hour worked........................   $18.50   $13.47    $5.02   $1.16    $.56     $1.10      $.55     $1.63      $.03 
    Relative error..............................      .9%      .9%     1.2%    1.7%    5.5%      1.6%      2.9%       .7%     12.5% 
                                                                                                                                    
    Goods-producing industries                                                                                                      
      Cost per hour worked......................   $22.26   $15.35    $6.91   $1.47    $.85     $1.62      $.82     $2.09      $.07 
      Relative error............................     1.5%     1.3%     2.0%    2.2%    4.4%      2.7%      5.4%      1.6%     19.6% 
                                                                                                                                    
    Service-producing industries                                                                                                    
      Cost per hour worked......................   $17.31   $12.88    $4.42   $1.07    $.47      $.94      $.46     $1.48     (3)   
      Relative error............................     1.1%     1.1%     1.5%    2.2%    8.1%      1.9%      3.4%       .8%     (3)   
                                                                                                                                    
    Manufacturing                                                                                                                   
      Cost per hour worked......................   $22.29   $15.22    $7.07   $1.68    $.91     $1.70      $.76     $1.93      $.08 
      Relative error............................     1.8%     1.7%     2.2%    2.6%    5.2%      2.7%      5.9%      1.8%     20.6% 
                                                                                                                                    
    Nonmanufacturing                                                                                                                
      Cost per hour worked......................   $17.66   $13.09    $4.57   $1.05    $.48      $.97      $.50     $1.56     (3)   
      Relative error............................     1.0%     1.0%     1.5%    2.2%    7.4%      2.0%      3.4%       .7%     (3)   
                                                                                                                                    
    White-collar workers                                                                                                            
      Cost per hour worked......................   $22.38   $16.54    $5.84   $1.57    $.63     $1.24      $.66     $1.71      $.03 
      Relative error............................     1.2%     1.2%     1.5%    2.1%    9.6%      1.9%      3.1%       .7%     17.8% 
                                                                                                                                    
    Blue-collar workers                                                                                                             
      Cost per hour worked......................   $17.56   $12.15    $5.41    $.96    $.69     $1.27      $.62     $1.83      $.03 
      Relative error............................     1.3%     1.1%     1.9%    2.4%    3.1%      2.8%      5.3%      1.3%     11.0% 
                                                                                                                                    
    Service workers                                                                                                                 
      Cost per hour worked......................    $9.37    $7.25    $2.12    $.38    $.14      $.43      $.13     $1.04     (3)   
      Relative error............................     1.8%     1.7%     3.0%    5.3%    5.4%      5.7%      8.0%      2.2%     (3)   

  1 The relative error is the standard error expressed as a percent of the cost.  One can be 95-percent confident that the interval
around the cost estimate bounded by two times plus and two times minus the  standard error contains the "true" cost.
  2 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  3 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
                             EXPLANATORY NOTES

     Employer Costs for Employee Compensation measures the average cost per
employee hour worked that employers pay for wages and salaries and
benefits.

     Wages and salaries are defined as the hourly straight-time wage rate.
For workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings are divided
by the hours worked.  Straight-time wage and salary rates are total
earnings before payroll deductions and include production bonuses,
incentive pay, commissions, and cost-of-living allowances.  Not included in
straight-time earnings are nonproduction bonuses, such as lump-sum payments
provided in place of wage increases, shift differentials, and premium pay
for overtime and weekend work; these payments are included in the benefits
component.

     Benefits include: paid leave--vacations, holidays, sick leave, and
other leave; supplemental pay--premium pay for work in addition to the
regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays), shift
differentials, nonproduction bonuses, and lump sum payments provided in
place of wage increases; insurance--life, health, short-term disability,
and long-term disability; retirement and savings--defined benefit and
defined contribution plans; legally required benefits--Social Security,
Federal and State unemployment insurance, and Workers' Compensation; and
other benefits--severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

The 1998 Survey

     Employer Costs for Employee Compensation include data from both
private industry and state and local government. Not included are the self-
employed and farm, household, and federal government workers.  Survey data
are published annually with the payroll period that includes March 12 as
the reference period.

     The cost levels in this release are based on a sample of about 19,600
occupations within approximately 4,600 establishments in private industry
and about 4,300 occupations within approximately 800 establishments in
state and local government.  Sample establishments are classified by
industry categories based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) system, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Within a sample establishment, specific job categories are selected to
represent broader major occupational groups such as professional specialty
and technical occupations.

     Current employment weights are used to calculate cost levels.  The
March 1998 cost levels were calculated using the March 1998 employment
counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics
(CES) program, benchmarked to the 1997 universe of all private nonfarm
establishments.  In most instances, private industry employment counts were
total employment estimates for 2-digit major industry groups, such as
primary metal manufacturing or food stores, as defined by the SIC system.
In a few cases, 3- and 4-digit industry employment counts were used.  These
include the 4-digit aircraft manufacturing industry (3721) and the 3-digit
health care and educational industries.  In transportation and public
utilities, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) coding changes that
were introduced with the 1996 CES benchmark were not incorporated into the
1997 estimates.  However, they were incorporated into the 1998 estimates.
The effect of this coding change was not analyzed for years prior to 1997,
but is thought to be minimal.  For more information on the SIC coding
changes, see "BLS Establishment Estimates Revised to Incorporate March 1996
Benchmarks" in the June 1997 issue of Employment and Earnings.  For state
and local governments, employment counts ranged from those for 3-digit
industries, such as education and health care, to those for major industry
divisions, such as public administration.

     Employment data from these 2-, 3-, and 4-digit industries were
distributed to major occupational groups (such as executives,
administrators, and managers or machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors) using the relative importance of the groups in the Employment
Cost Index (ECI) sample.  Because the ECI establishment sample is
completely replaced over a period of several years, major occupational
group employment counts from the ECI are affected by the age of the sample.
However, a few years difference in the age of the occupational data within
industries is likely to have a small impact on the estimates.

     In contrast, the ECI, which measures the change in employer costs for
employee compensation, is calculated with fixed 1990 employment counts to
prevent employment shifts among occupations and industries from influencing
the changes.  Therefore, year-to-year changes in Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation will differ from those in the ECI.

     More information on the cost levels, including how costs are
calculated, appears in "Analyzing employers' costs for wages, salaries, and
benefits," Monthly Labor Review, October 1987.  The published March 1987
cost levels also appear in the article.

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 each other.  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.  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 error is shown with the cost estimates for some
series in the appendix.  Relative standard errors for all published
estimates are available on request.  For a more detailed explanation of
relative standard errors, see "Analyzing employer's costs for wages,
salaries, and benefits," in the October 1987 issue of the Monthly Labor
Review.  For a detailed explanation of how to use standard error data to
analyze differences in year-to-year changes, see "Analyzing Year-to-Year
Changes in Employer Costs for Employee Compensation," Compensation and
Working Conditions, Spring 1998.  This article supplements two articles
from the Summer 1997 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions which
focus on trends in the ECI and ECEC.  "Measuring Trends in the Structure
and Levels for Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" discussed trends
in the distribution of employer costs among compensation components at
different points in time. "Explaining the Differential Growth Rates of the
ECI and ECEC" 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.  Sampling errors are differences between
the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from
all observations in the population.  Nonsampling errors are not measured
and include survey nonresponse and data collection and processing errors.
Survey nonresponse is when sample members are unwilling or unable to
participate in the survey.  Data collection errors include provision of
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 contain
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.

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.  White-collar occupations (largely
professional 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 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.

Obtaining information

     Articles, bulletins, and other information may be obtained by calling
(202) 606-6199, sending an e-mail message to ocltinfo@bls.gov, or visiting
the Employment Cost Trends site at http://stats.bls.gov/ecthome.htm.