Technical Contact:                          USDL: 04-288
      (202) 691-6199  ocltinfo@bls.gov
 Media Contact:                              FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. (EST)
      (202) 691-5902                         THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2004
 Internet address:
      http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm


          EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION-DECEMBER 2003

     Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged
$24.59 per hour worked in December 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Wages and salaries, which
averaged $17.56, accounted for 71.4 percent of these costs, while benefits,
which averaged $7.03, accounted for the remaining 28.6 percent.  (See table
1.)  Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, from the National
Compensation Survey, measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and
employee benefits for nonfarm private and State and local government
workers.

     Costs for legally required benefits, including Social Security,
Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation, averaged $1.96
per hour (8.0 percent of total compensation), representing the largest non-
wage employer cost.  Employer costs for paid leave benefits (vacations,
holidays, sick leave, and other leave) averaged $1.65 (6.7 percent); life,
health, and disability insurance benefits averaged $1.88 (7.6 percent); and
retirement and savings benefits averaged 90 cents (3.7 percent) per hour
worked.

Private Industry

     In December 2003, private industry employer compensation costs
averaged $22.92 per hour worked.  Wages and salaries averaged $16.49 per
hour (71.9 percent), while benefits averaged $6.43 (28.1 percent.)  (See
table 5.)

     Employer costs for insurance benefits averaged $1.62 per hour worked
(7.1 percent), paid leave averaged $1.48 per hour worked (6.5 percent),
retirement and savings averaged 70 cents (3.1 percent), supplemental pay
averaged 64 cents (2.8 percent), and legally required benefits averaged
$1.96 (8.6 percent) per hour worked.

Legally required benefit costs in private industry

     The average cost for legally required benefits was $1.96 per hour
worked in private industry (8.6 percent of total compensation) in December
2003.  Included in this amount were employer costs for Social Security,
Federal and State unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation.

     Employer costs for legally required benefits varied by industry,
occupation, bargaining status, region, and establishment size.  Costs for
legally required benefits were higher in goods-producing industries ($2.49
per hour or 9.2 percent of total compensation) than in service-producing
industries ($1.81 per hour or 8.3 percent of total compensation).  (See
table 5.)

     The average cost per hour worked for legally required benefits was
$1.20 for service occupations, $2.08 for white-collar occupations, and
$2.20 for blue-collar occupations.  Although the overall costs of legally
required benefits for white-collar and blue-collar workers were comparable,
the costs for components varied considerably.  The cost of workers'
compensation was 78 cents for blue-collar workers, compared with 27 cents
for white-collar workers.  Conversely, Social Security costs were $1.67 per
hour for white-collar workers, versus $1.26 for blue-collar workers.  The
proportion of total compensation represented by legally required benefits
were the highest among service workers, 10.4 percent and 10.3 percent for
blue-collar workers, compared with 7.4 percent for white-collar
occupations.  (See table 6.)

     Employer costs for legally required benefits were higher for union
workers, $2.78 per hour, than for nonunion workers, $1.86 per hour.  As a
proportion of total compensation, legally required benefits accounted for
8.7 percent of total compensation for union workers and 8.5 percent for
nonunion workers.  (See table 7.)  Legally required benefit costs increased
in average dollar amount per hour with establishment size:  $1.78 in
establishments with fewer than 100 employees; $1.98 in establishments with
100-499 employees; and $2.37 in establishments with 500 employees or more.
Conversely, legally required costs decreased as a proportion of total
compensation with establishment size.  Legally required costs in
establishments with fewer than 100 employees averaged 9.2 percent; in
establishments with 100-499 employees, 8.4 percent; and in establishments
with 500 workers or more, 7.5 percent of total compensation.  (See table
8.)

Paid leave benefit costs in private industry

     Paid leave costs in goods-producing industries were $1.74 per hour
(6.5 percent of total compensation), compared with $1.41 (6.5 percent of
total compensation) for service-producing industries in December 2003.
(See table 5.)  Included in this amount were employer costs for vacations,
holidays, sick leave, and other leave, such as personal leave, jury duty
leave, military leave, and funeral leave.

     Among major occupational groups, employer costs for paid leave
benefits were highest for white-collar occupations, $2.02 per hour or 7.2
percent of total compensation.  Costs were lowest among service
occupations, 47 cents or 4.1 percent of total compensation.  In blue-collar
occupations, employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.19 or 5.5 percent of
compensation.  (See table 6.)

     Employer costs for paid leave benefits were significantly higher for
union workers, averaging $2.26 per hour (7.1 percent), than for nonunion
workers, averaging $1.39 per hour (6.4 percent).  (See table 7.)  Paid
leave 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 $1.04 per hour (5.4 percent); those
with 100-499 employees averaged $1.55 per hour (6.6 percent); and those
with 500 employees or more averaged $2.56 per hour (8.1 percent).  (See
table 8.)


                            Table of Contents:

Table 1.    Civilian workers, by major occupational group                5
Table 2.    Civilian workers, by occupational and industry group         6
Table 3.    State and local government, by selected characteristics      7
Table 4.    State and local government, by occupational and industry
            group                                                        8

Table 5.    Private industry, by major industry group                    9
Table 6.    Private industry, by major occupational group               10
Table 7.    Private industry, by region and bargaining status           11
Table 8.    Private industry, by establishment employment size          12

Table 9.    Private industry, by major occupational and industry group,
            and full-time and part-time status                          13
Table 10.   Private industry, by occupational and industry group        14
Table 11.   Private industry, workers in goods-producing and service-
            producing industries, by occupational group                 15
Table 12.   Private industry, workers in manufacturing and
            nonmanufacturing industries, by occupational group          16

Table 13.   Private industry, by bargaining status, and major industry
            and occupational group                                      17
Table 14.   Private industry, by establishment employment size, and
            major industry and occupational group                       18
Table 15.   Private industry, workers in health services, by industry
            and occupational group                                      19
Table 16.   Private industry, workers in transportation equipment
            manufacturing and public utilities, by industry and
            occupational group                                          20

Explanatory notes                                                       21

Appendix table.Employer costs per hour worked for components of
compensation, and relative standard errors, by major industry and
occupational categories, December 2003                                  24



Table 1.  Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: Civilian
workers, by major occupational group, December 2003



                                                  Civilian workers      White collar        Blue collar           Service
                 Compensation
                   component

                                                   Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent


Total compensation.............................   $24.59    100.0     $29.81    100.0     $21.76    100.0     $13.90    100.0

  Wages and salaries...........................    17.56     71.4      21.63     72.6      14.81     68.1      10.04     72.2

  Total benefits...............................     7.03     28.6       8.19     27.5       6.95     31.9       3.86     27.8

    Paid leave.................................     1.65      6.7       2.15      7.2       1.27      5.8        .79      5.7
      Vacation.................................      .76      3.1        .97      3.3        .63      2.9        .36      2.6
      Holiday..................................      .56      2.3        .73      2.4        .45      2.1        .26      1.9
      Sick.....................................      .25      1.0        .34      1.1        .13       .6        .14      1.0
      Other....................................      .08       .3        .11       .4        .05       .2        .04       .3

    Supplemental pay...........................      .59      2.4        .62      2.1        .77      3.5        .24      1.7
      Premium(1)...............................      .23       .9        .11       .4        .52      2.4        .13       .9
      Shift differentials......................      .06       .2        .06       .2        .07       .3        .05       .4
      Nonproduction bonuses....................      .30      1.2        .45      1.5        .18       .8        .06       .4

    Insurance..................................     1.88      7.6       2.17      7.3       1.90      8.7       1.07      7.7
      Life.....................................      .04       .2        .06       .2        .04       .2        .02       .1
      Health...................................     1.76      7.2       2.02      6.8       1.79      8.2       1.02      7.3
      Short-term disability....................      .04       .2        .05       .2        .06       .3        .02       .1
      Long-term disability.....................      .03       .1        .05       .2        .02       .1      (2)       (3)

    Retirement and savings.....................      .90      3.7       1.11      3.7        .79      3.6        .48      3.5
      Defined benefit..........................      .51      2.1        .57      1.9        .50      2.3        .37      2.7
      Defined contribution.....................      .39      1.6        .54      1.8        .29      1.3        .11       .8

    Legally required benefits..................     1.96      8.0       2.09      7.0       2.18     10.0       1.27      9.1
      Social Security(4).......................     1.41      5.7       1.69      5.7       1.26      5.8        .83      6.0
        OASDI..................................     1.12      4.6       1.34      4.5       1.02      4.7        .66      4.7
        Medicare...............................      .28      1.1        .35      1.2        .24      1.1        .17      1.2
      Federal unemployment insurance...........      .03       .1        .03       .1        .03       .1        .03       .2
      State unemployment insurance.............      .10       .4        .10       .3        .13       .6        .09       .6
      Workers' compensation....................      .42      1.7        .28       .9        .77      3.5        .32      2.3

    Other benefits(5)..........................      .04       .2        .05       .2        .03       .1      (2)       (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 Less than .05 percent.
  4 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
portion and a Medicare portion.
  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, December 2003


                                                                                             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...............................   $24.59   $17.56    $7.03   $1.65   $0.59     $1.88     $0.90     $1.96     $0.04

              Occupational group

  White-collar occupations.....................    29.81    21.63     8.19    2.15     .62      2.17      1.11      2.09       .05
    Professional specialty and technical.......    39.97    29.25    10.72    2.86     .65      2.81      1.68      2.67       .07
      Professional specialty...................    42.65    31.35    11.30    3.02     .63      2.96      1.84      2.78       .08
        Nurses.................................    36.74    26.25    10.49    3.03    1.34      2.19      1.13      2.77       .02
        Teachers...............................    45.11    33.93    11.18    2.35     .10      3.50      2.51      2.62       .09
      Technical................................    30.52    21.83     8.69    2.30     .70      2.27      1.11      2.29       .02
    Executive, administrative, and
    managerial.................................    44.76    31.94    12.82    3.81    1.44      2.81      1.77      2.89       .09
    Administrative support, including
    clerical...................................    19.50    13.72     5.78    1.40     .36      1.89       .64      1.47       .03

  Blue-collar occupations......................    21.76    14.81     6.95    1.27     .77      1.90       .79      2.18       .03

  Service occupations..........................    13.90    10.04     3.86     .79     .24      1.07       .48      1.27     (2)

                Industry group

  Services.....................................    26.00    19.11     6.89    1.77     .36      1.92       .90      1.92       .02
    Health services............................    25.23    18.21     7.02    1.96     .60      1.79       .70      1.96     (2)
      Hospitals................................    29.15    20.17     8.98    2.55     .86      2.45       .95      2.15       .02
    Educational services.......................    35.79    26.08     9.71    2.26     .13      3.21      1.94      2.12       .06
      Elementary and secondary education.......    35.09    25.63     9.46    1.97     .11      3.53      1.82      1.95       .09
      Higher education.........................    38.11    27.65    10.46    2.82     .15      2.87      2.22      2.39     (2)

                                                                           Percent of total compensation



Civilian workers...............................   100.0      71.4    28.6     6.7      2.4      7.6       3.7       8.0       0.2

              Occupational group

  White-collar occupations.....................   100.0      72.6    27.5     7.2      2.1      7.3       3.7       7.0        .2
    Professional specialty and technical.......   100.0      73.2    26.8     7.2      1.6      7.0       4.2       6.7        .2
      Professional specialty...................   100.0      73.5    26.5     7.1      1.5      6.9       4.3       6.5        .2
        Nurses.................................   100.0      71.4    28.6     8.2      3.6      6.0       3.1       7.5        .1
        Teachers...............................   100.0      75.2    24.8     5.2       .2      7.8       5.6       5.8        .2
      Technical................................   100.0      71.5    28.5     7.5      2.3      7.4       3.6       7.5        .1
    Executive, administrative, and
    managerial.................................   100.0      71.4    28.6     8.5      3.2      6.3       4.0       6.5        .2
    Administrative support, including
    clerical...................................   100.0      70.4    29.6     7.2      1.8      9.7       3.3       7.5        .2

  Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0      68.1    31.9     5.8      3.5      8.7       3.6      10.0        .1

  Service occupations..........................   100.0      72.2    27.8     5.7      1.7      7.7       3.5       9.1      (3)

                Industry group

  Services.....................................   100.0      73.5    26.5     6.8      1.4      7.4       3.5       7.4        .1
    Health services............................   100.0      72.2    27.8     7.8      2.4      7.1       2.8       7.8      (3)
      Hospitals................................   100.0      69.2    30.8     8.7      3.0      8.4       3.3       7.4        .1
    Educational services.......................   100.0      72.9    27.1     6.3       .4      9.0       5.4       5.9        .2
      Elementary and secondary education.......   100.0      73.0    27.0     5.6       .3     10.1       5.2       5.6        .3
      Higher education.........................   100.0      72.6    27.4     7.4       .4      7.5       5.8       6.3      (3)

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 Less than .05 percent.

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) December 2003


                                                     All workers           White collar      Service occupations    Service industries
                 Compensation                                              occupations
                   component

                                                   Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent     Cost      Percent


Total compensation.............................   $33.91      100.0     $37.78      100.0     $25.42      100.0     $35.01      100.0

  Wages and salaries...........................    23.56       69.5      26.97       71.4      16.14       63.5      25.07       71.6

  Total benefits...............................    10.35       30.5      10.82       28.6       9.28       36.5       9.95       28.4

    Paid leave.................................     2.58        7.6       2.69        7.1       2.32        9.1       2.35        6.7
      Vacation.................................      .88        2.6        .83        2.2        .99        3.9        .66        1.9
      Holiday..................................      .86        2.5        .90        2.4        .75        3.0        .80        2.3
      Sick.....................................      .64        1.9        .73        1.9        .42        1.7        .69        2.0
      Other....................................      .20         .6        .22         .6        .16         .6        .21         .6

    Supplemental pay...........................      .29         .9        .18         .5        .60        2.4        .20         .6
      Premium(2)...............................      .13         .4        .05         .1        .31        1.2        .06         .2
      Shift differentials......................      .06         .2        .04         .1        .14         .6        .05         .1
      Nonproduction bonuses....................      .10         .3        .09         .2        .16         .6        .08         .2

    Insurance..................................     3.39       10.0       3.59        9.5       2.76       10.9       3.39        9.7
      Life.....................................      .06         .2        .06         .2        .04         .2        .06         .2
      Health...................................     3.26        9.6       3.46        9.2       2.62       10.3       3.27        9.3
      Short-term disability....................      .03         .1        .02         .1        .08         .3        .02         .1
      Long-term disability.....................      .04         .1        .04         .1        .02         .1        .04         .1

    Retirement and savings.....................     2.03        6.0       2.15        5.7       1.95        7.7       1.94        5.5
      Defined benefit..........................     1.79        5.3       1.87        4.9       1.82        7.2       1.70        4.9
      Defined contribution.....................      .24         .7        .28         .7        .13         .5        .24         .7

    Legally required benefits..................     1.99        5.9       2.14        5.7       1.60        6.3       2.00        5.7
      Social Security(3).......................     1.56        4.6       1.79        4.7       1.00        3.9       1.66        4.7
        OASDI..................................     1.20        3.5       1.38        3.7        .76        3.0       1.28        3.7
        Medicare...............................      .36        1.1        .41        1.1        .24         .9        .37        1.1
      Federal unemployment insurance...........     (4)        (5)        (4)        (5)        (4)        (5)        (4)        (5)
      State unemployment insurance.............      .05         .1        .05         .1        .07         .3        .05         .1
      Workers' compensation....................      .38        1.1        .30         .8        .53        2.1        .29         .8

    Other benefits(6)..........................      .07         .2        .07         .2        .06         .2        .07         .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 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) portion and a
Medicare portion.
  4 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  5 Less than .05 percent.
  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, December 2003


                                                                                             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.............   $33.91   $23.56   $10.35   $2.58   $0.29     $3.39     $2.03     $1.99     $0.07

              Occupational group

  White-collar occupations.....................    37.78    26.97    10.82    2.69     .18      3.59      2.15      2.14       .07
    Professional specialty and technical.......    44.29    32.52    11.77    2.68     .20      3.80      2.56      2.44       .10
      Professional specialty...................    45.64    33.66    11.98    2.68     .17      3.89      2.65      2.49       .10
        Teachers...............................    47.21    35.23    11.98    2.47     .10      3.95      2.83      2.51       .12
      Technical................................    28.76    19.43     9.33    2.64     .50      2.75      1.55      1.85       .05
    Executive, administrative, and
    managerial.................................    41.90    28.83    13.07    4.18     .18      3.80      2.49      2.38       .04
    Administrative support, including
    clerical...................................    21.66    14.08     7.58    1.91     .13      3.03      1.10      1.36       .04

  Blue-collar occupations......................    26.46    16.94     9.52    2.43     .44      3.32      1.42      1.88       .04

  Service occupations..........................    25.42    16.14     9.28    2.32     .60      2.76      1.95      1.60       .06

                Industry group

  Services.....................................    35.01    25.07     9.95    2.35     .20      3.39      1.94      2.00       .07
    Health services............................    27.89    18.53     9.36    2.80     .74      2.66      1.20      1.93       .04
      Hospitals................................    28.73    19.16     9.57    2.90     .70      2.67      1.26      2.00       .04
    Educational services.......................    36.46    26.43    10.03    2.27     .12      3.48      2.07      2.01       .08
      Elementary and secondary education.......    35.79    26.09     9.70    1.99     .10      3.68      1.91      1.91       .10
      Higher education.........................    38.68    27.82    10.86    2.93     .17      3.08      2.43      2.24     (2)
  Public administration........................    32.22    21.10    11.13    3.03     .46      3.37      2.27      1.94       .06

                                                                           Percent of total compensation



State and local government workers.............   100.0      69.5    30.5     7.6      0.9     10.0       6.0       5.9       0.2

              Occupational group

  White-collar occupations.....................   100.0      71.4    28.6     7.1       .5      9.5       5.7       5.7        .2
    Professional specialty and technical.......   100.0      73.4    26.6     6.1       .5      8.6       5.8       5.5        .2
      Professional specialty...................   100.0      73.8    26.2     5.9       .4      8.5       5.8       5.5        .2
        Teachers...............................   100.0      74.6    25.4     5.2       .2      8.4       6.0       5.3        .3
      Technical................................   100.0      67.6    32.4     9.2      1.7      9.6       5.4       6.4        .2
    Executive, administrative, and
    managerial.................................   100.0      68.8    31.2    10.0       .4      9.1       5.9       5.7        .1
    Administrative support, including
    clerical...................................   100.0      65.0    35.0     8.8       .6     14.0       5.1       6.3        .2

  Blue-collar occupations......................   100.0      64.0    36.0     9.2      1.7     12.5       5.4       7.1        .2

  Service occupations..........................   100.0      63.5    36.5     9.1      2.4     10.9       7.7       6.3        .2

                Industry group

  Services.....................................   100.0      71.6    28.4     6.7       .6      9.7       5.5       5.7        .2
    Health services............................   100.0      66.4    33.6    10.0      2.7      9.5       4.3       6.9        .1
      Hospitals................................   100.0      66.7    33.3    10.1      2.4      9.3       4.4       7.0        .1
    Educational services.......................   100.0      72.5    27.5     6.2       .3      9.5       5.7       5.5        .2
      Elementary and secondary education.......   100.0      72.9    27.1     5.6       .3     10.3       5.3       5.3        .3
      Higher education.........................   100.0      71.9    28.1     7.6       .4      8.0       6.3       5.8      (3)
  Public administration........................   100.0      65.5    34.5     9.4      1.4     10.5       7.0       6.0        .2

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003



                                                   All workers          Goods            Service        Manufacturing    Nonmanufacturing
                 Compensation                                        producing(1)      producing(2)
                   component


                                                  Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent


Total compensation.............................  $22.92    100.0   $26.92    100.0   $21.82    100.0   $26.59    100.0   $22.26    100.0

  Wages and salaries...........................   16.49     71.9    18.18     67.5    16.02     73.4    17.73     66.7    16.26     73.0

  Total benefits...............................    6.43     28.1     8.73     32.4     5.80     26.6     8.86     33.3     5.99     26.9

    Paid leave.................................    1.48      6.5     1.74      6.5     1.41      6.5     2.00      7.5     1.39      6.2
      Vacation.................................     .74      3.2      .90      3.3      .69      3.2     1.00      3.8      .69      3.1
      Holiday..................................     .51      2.2      .63      2.3      .47      2.2      .74      2.8      .47      2.1
      Sick.....................................     .18       .8      .14       .5      .19       .9      .17       .6      .18       .8
      Other....................................     .06       .3      .08       .3      .06       .3      .10       .4      .06       .3

    Supplemental pay...........................     .64      2.8     1.14      4.2      .51      2.3     1.19      4.5      .55      2.5
      Premium(3)...............................     .24      1.0      .56      2.1      .16       .7      .58      2.2      .18       .8
      Shift differentials......................     .06       .3      .09       .3      .05       .2      .12       .5      .05       .2
      Nonproduction bonuses....................     .34      1.5      .50      1.9      .30      1.4      .49      1.8      .31      1.4

    Insurance..................................    1.62      7.1     2.25      8.4     1.44      6.6     2.37      8.9     1.48      6.6
      Life.....................................     .04       .2      .06       .2      .04       .2      .06       .2      .04       .2
      Health...................................    1.50      6.5     2.08      7.7     1.34      6.1     2.18      8.2     1.37      6.2
      Short-term disability....................     .05       .2      .08       .3      .04       .2      .09       .3      .04       .2
      Long-term disability.....................     .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .04       .2      .03       .1

    Retirement and savings.....................     .70      3.1     1.04      3.9      .61      2.8      .96      3.6      .66      3.0
      Defined benefit..........................     .28      1.2      .56      2.1      .21      1.0      .46      1.7      .25      1.1
      Defined contribution.....................     .42      1.8      .48      1.8      .40      1.8      .50      1.9      .40      1.8

    Legally required benefits..................    1.96      8.6     2.49      9.2     1.81      8.3     2.24      8.4     1.90      8.5
      Social Security(4).......................    1.38      6.0     1.56      5.8     1.33      6.1     1.54      5.8     1.35      6.1
        OASDI..................................    1.11      4.8     1.26      4.7     1.07      4.9     1.24      4.7     1.09      4.9
        Medicare...............................     .27      1.2      .30      1.1      .26      1.2      .30      1.1      .27      1.2
      Federal unemployment insurance...........     .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1
      State unemployment insurance.............     .11       .5      .15       .6      .10       .5      .14       .5      .11       .5
      Workers' compensation....................     .43      1.9      .76      2.8      .34      1.6      .53      2.0      .41      1.8

    Other benefits(5)..........................     .03       .1      .07       .3      .02       .1      .10       .4      .02       .1

  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 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) portion and a
Medicare portion.
  5 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

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, December 2003



                                                    All workers         White collar        Blue collar           Service
                 Compensation
                   component

                                                   Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent     Cost    Percent


Total compensation.............................   $22.92    100.0     $27.92    100.0     $21.45    100.0     $11.54    100.0

  Wages and salaries...........................    16.49     71.9      20.36     72.9      14.67     68.4       8.79     76.2

  Total benefits...............................     6.43     28.1       7.56     27.1       6.78     31.6       2.75     23.8

    Paid leave.................................     1.48      6.5       2.02      7.2       1.19      5.5        .47      4.1
      Vacation.................................      .74      3.2       1.00      3.6        .60      2.8        .23      2.0
      Holiday..................................      .51      2.2        .68      2.4        .43      2.0        .15      1.3
      Sick.....................................      .18       .8        .25       .9        .11       .5        .08       .7
      Other....................................      .06       .3        .09       .3        .05       .2        .02       .2

    Supplemental pay...........................      .64      2.8        .73      2.6        .79      3.7        .17      1.5
      Premium(1)...............................      .24      1.0        .13       .5        .53      2.5        .09       .8
      Shift differentials......................      .06       .3        .06       .2        .07       .3        .03       .3
      Nonproduction bonuses....................      .34      1.5        .54      1.9        .19       .9        .04       .3

    Insurance..................................     1.62      7.1       1.83      6.6       1.81      8.4        .72      6.2
      Life.....................................      .04       .2        .05       .2        .04       .2      (2)       (3)
      Health...................................     1.50      6.5       1.67      6.0       1.69      7.9        .69      6.0
      Short-term disability....................      .05       .2        .05       .2        .06       .3      (2)       (3)
      Long-term disability.....................      .03       .1        .05       .2        .02       .1      (2)       (3)

    Retirement and savings.....................      .70      3.1        .86      3.1        .75      3.5        .18      1.6
      Defined benefit..........................      .28      1.2        .26       .9        .46      2.1        .07       .6
      Defined contribution.....................      .42      1.8        .60      2.1        .30      1.4        .10       .9

    Legally required benefits..................     1.96      8.6       2.08      7.4       2.20     10.3       1.20     10.4
      Social Security(4).......................     1.38      6.0       1.67      6.0       1.26      5.9        .79      6.8
        OASDI..................................     1.11      4.8       1.33      4.8       1.02      4.8        .64      5.5
        Medicare...............................      .27      1.2        .34      1.2        .24      1.1        .15      1.3
      Federal unemployment insurance...........      .03       .1        .03       .1        .03       .1        .04       .3
      State unemployment insurance.............      .11       .5        .11       .4        .13       .6        .10       .9
      Workers' compensation....................      .43      1.9        .27      1.0        .78      3.6        .28      2.4

    Other benefits(5)..........................      .03       .1        .04       .1        .03       .1      (2)       (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 Less than .05 percent.
  4 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
portion and a Medicare portion.
  5 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, December 2003


                                                                       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.....................  $25.70    100.0   $20.52    100.0   $23.11    100.0   $23.89    100.0   $31.82    100.0   $21.85    100.0

  Wages and salaries...................   18.27     71.1    14.97     73.0    16.50     71.4    17.22     72.1    20.56     64.6    16.00     73.2

  Total benefits.......................    7.43     28.9     5.56     27.1     6.61     28.6     6.67     27.9    11.26     35.4     5.85     26.8

    Paid leave.........................    1.78      6.9     1.29      6.3     1.45      6.3     1.55      6.5     2.26      7.1     1.39      6.4
      Vacation.........................     .86      3.3      .64      3.1      .72      3.1      .78      3.3     1.16      3.6      .68      3.1
      Holiday..........................     .62      2.4      .44      2.1      .50      2.2      .52      2.2      .73      2.3      .48      2.2
      Sick.............................     .22       .9      .15       .7      .15       .6      .20       .8      .27       .8      .17       .8
      Other............................     .08       .3      .05       .2      .07       .3      .05       .2      .10       .3      .06       .3

    Supplemental pay...................     .81      3.2      .52      2.5      .74      3.2      .57      2.4     1.12      3.5      .59      2.7
      Premium(2).......................     .22       .9      .22      1.1      .30      1.3      .24      1.0      .69      2.2      .19       .9
      Shift differentials..............     .07       .3      .05       .2      .08       .3      .05       .2      .18       .6      .05       .2
      Nonproduction bonuses............     .52      2.0      .25      1.2      .36      1.6      .29      1.2      .25       .8      .35      1.6

    Insurance..........................    1.81      7.0     1.43      7.0     1.73      7.5     1.59      6.7     3.22     10.1     1.42      6.5
      Life.............................     .05       .2      .04       .2      .04       .2      .04       .2      .06       .2      .04       .2
      Health...........................    1.67      6.5     1.32      6.4     1.60      6.9     1.49      6.2     3.01      9.5     1.31      6.0
      Short-term disability............     .06       .2      .04       .2      .05       .2      .03       .1      .10       .3      .04       .2
      Long-term disability.............     .04       .2      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .05       .2      .03       .1

    Retirement and savings.............     .85      3.3      .57      2.8      .74      3.2      .73      3.1     1.80      5.7      .57      2.6
      Defined benefit..................     .33      1.3      .21      1.0      .35      1.5      .29      1.2     1.31      4.1      .16       .7
      Defined contribution.............     .52      2.0      .37      1.8      .38      1.6      .44      1.8      .49      1.5      .41      1.9

    Legally required benefits..........    2.14      8.3     1.72      8.4     1.90      8.2     2.22      9.3     2.78      8.7     1.86      8.5
      Social Security(3)...............    1.54      6.0     1.26      6.1     1.37      5.9     1.44      6.0     1.77      5.6     1.33      6.1
        OASDI..........................    1.23      4.8     1.01      4.9     1.10      4.8     1.16      4.9     1.43      4.5     1.07      4.9
        Medicare.......................     .31      1.2      .24      1.2      .27      1.2      .28      1.2      .34      1.1      .26      1.2
      Federal unemployment insurance...     .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1
      State unemployment insurance.....     .16       .6      .08       .4      .11       .5      .13       .5      .16       .5      .11       .5
      Workers' compensation............     .41      1.6      .35      1.7      .39      1.7      .61      2.6      .82      2.6      .38      1.7

    Other benefits(4)..................     .04       .2      .02       .1      .04       .2      .02       .1      .08       .3      .03       .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 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) portion and a Medicare portion.
  4 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, December 2003


                                                   All workers       1-99 workers     100 workers or   100-499 workers    500 workers or
                 Compensation                                                              more                                more
                   component

                                                  Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent   Cost    Percent


Total compensation.............................  $22.92    100.0   $19.29    100.0   $27.21    100.0   $23.49    100.0   $31.67    100.0

  Wages and salaries...........................   16.49     71.9    14.38     74.5    18.98     69.8    16.71     71.1    21.71     68.6

  Total benefits...............................    6.43     28.1     4.91     25.5     8.23     30.2     6.78     28.9     9.96     31.4

    Paid leave.................................    1.48      6.5     1.04      5.4     2.01      7.4     1.55      6.6     2.56      8.1
      Vacation.................................     .74      3.2      .50      2.6     1.01      3.7      .78      3.3     1.29      4.1
      Holiday..................................     .51      2.2      .37      1.9      .68      2.5      .53      2.3      .85      2.7
      Sick.....................................     .18       .8      .13       .7      .23       .8      .17       .7      .31      1.0
      Other....................................     .06       .3      .04       .2      .09       .3      .07       .3      .12       .4

    Supplemental pay...........................     .64      2.8      .49      2.5      .83      3.1      .68      2.9     1.02      3.2
      Premium(1)...............................     .24      1.0      .19      1.0      .31      1.1      .27      1.1      .36      1.1
      Shift differentials......................     .06       .3      .02       .1      .11       .4      .06       .3      .17       .5
      Nonproduction bonuses....................     .34      1.5      .28      1.5      .41      1.5      .35      1.5      .48      1.5

    Insurance..................................    1.62      7.1     1.18      6.1     2.13      7.8     1.81      7.7     2.52      8.0
      Life.....................................     .04       .2      .03       .2      .05       .2      .04       .2      .07       .2
      Health...................................    1.50      6.5     1.11      5.8     1.96      7.2     1.67      7.1     2.30      7.3
      Short-term disability....................     .05       .2      .03       .2      .07       .3      .06       .3      .08       .3
      Long-term disability.....................     .03       .1      .02       .1      .05       .2      .03       .1      .07       .2

    Retirement and savings.....................     .70      3.1      .42      2.2     1.04      3.8      .74      3.2     1.40      4.4
      Defined benefit..........................     .28      1.2      .13       .7      .47      1.7      .32      1.4      .64      2.0
      Defined contribution.....................     .42      1.8      .29      1.5      .57      2.1      .41      1.7      .75      2.4

    Legally required benefits..................    1.96      8.6     1.78      9.2     2.16      7.9     1.98      8.4     2.37      7.5
      Social Security(2).......................    1.38      6.0     1.19      6.2     1.60      5.9     1.40      6.0     1.85      5.8
        OASDI..................................    1.11      4.8      .96      5.0     1.29      4.7     1.13      4.8     1.48      4.7
        Medicare...............................     .27      1.2      .23      1.2      .32      1.2      .27      1.1      .37      1.2
      Federal unemployment insurance...........     .03       .1      .04       .2      .03       .1      .03       .1      .03       .1
      State unemployment insurance.............     .11       .5      .11       .6      .12       .4      .13       .6      .11       .3
      Workers' compensation....................     .43      1.9      .45      2.3      .40      1.5      .42      1.8      .38      1.2

    Other benefits(3)..........................     .03       .1     (4)      (5)       .06       .2      .03       .1      .10       .3

  1 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays).
  2 The total employer's cost for Social Security is comprised of an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) portion and a
Medicare portion.
  3 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  4 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003


                                                                                                  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...........   $26.02   $18.42    $7.60   $1.81   $0.79     $1.96     $0.86     $2.14     $0.04
  White-collar occupations..........................    31.12    22.41     8.71    2.40     .86      2.16      1.02      2.23       .05
    Sales...........................................    22.88    17.24     5.64    1.25     .56      1.49       .54      1.80     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical......    20.26    14.25     6.01    1.48     .45      1.90       .62      1.54       .03
  Blue-collar occupations...........................    22.69    15.40     7.29    1.31     .87      1.95       .82      2.30       .04
  Service occupations...............................    13.92    10.08     3.83     .77     .25      1.18       .30      1.34     (2)

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................    27.33    18.41     8.92    1.79    1.17      2.31      1.06      2.51       .07
    Construction....................................    27.16    18.99     8.18     .96    1.03      1.83      1.23      3.12     (2)
    Manufacturing...................................    27.07    18.00     9.07    2.06    1.23      2.44       .98      2.27       .10
  Service-producing industries(4)...................    25.54    18.43     7.11    1.82     .64      1.83       .78      2.00       .03
    Transportation and public utilities.............    33.61    22.83    10.77    2.60    1.18      2.85      1.41      2.68       .06
    Wholesale trade.................................    25.58    18.04     7.54    1.68     .78      2.09       .83      2.12       .03
    Retail trade....................................    16.21    12.38     3.83     .80     .25       .98       .31      1.48     (2)
    Finance, insurance, and real estate.............    33.81    23.75    10.05    2.49    1.49      2.41      1.38      2.18       .10
    Services........................................    25.58    18.70     6.88    1.93     .46      1.77       .70      2.01     (2)

All part-time workers in private industry...........    12.49    10.00     2.50     .37     .17       .45       .17      1.33     (2)
  White-collar occupations..........................    15.53    12.43     3.10     .57     .24       .56       .25      1.49     (2)
    Sales...........................................     9.47     7.74     1.73     .20     .09       .25       .14      1.05     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical......    13.99    11.02     2.97     .54     .22       .68       .24      1.27       .02
  Blue-collar occupations...........................    12.44     9.39     3.05     .33     .20       .73       .28      1.51     (2)
  Service occupations...............................     8.88     7.34     1.54     .15     .08       .22       .04      1.05     (2)

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................    13.46    10.71     2.75     .30     .14       .33       .21      1.76     (2)
  Service-producing industries(4)...................    12.47     9.97     2.49     .37     .17       .46       .17      1.31     (2)
    Retail trade....................................     8.83     7.20     1.64     .16     .08       .26       .11      1.03     (2)
    Service industries..............................    16.04    12.93     3.10     .56     .25       .54       .18      1.56     (2)

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All full-time workers in private industry...........   100.0      70.8    29.2     7.0      3.0      7.5       3.3       8.2       0.2
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      72.0    28.0     7.7      2.8      6.9       3.3       7.2        .2
    Sales...........................................   100.0      75.3    24.7     5.5      2.4      6.5       2.4       7.9      (5)
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      70.3    29.7     7.3      2.2      9.4       3.1       7.6        .1
  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      67.9    32.1     5.8      3.8      8.6       3.6      10.1        .2
  Service occupations...............................   100.0      72.4    27.5     5.5      1.8      8.5       2.2       9.6      (5)

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................   100.0      67.4    32.6     6.5      4.3      8.5       3.9       9.2        .3
    Construction....................................   100.0      69.9    30.1     3.5      3.8      6.7       4.5      11.5      (5)
    Manufacturing...................................   100.0      66.5    33.5     7.6      4.5      9.0       3.6       8.4        .4
  Service-producing industries(4)...................   100.0      72.2    27.8     7.1      2.5      7.2       3.1       7.8        .1
    Transportation and public utilities.............   100.0      67.9    32.0     7.7      3.5      8.5       4.2       8.0        .2
    Wholesale trade.................................   100.0      70.5    29.5     6.6      3.0      8.2       3.2       8.3        .1
    Retail trade....................................   100.0      76.4    23.6     4.9      1.5      6.0       1.9       9.1      (5)
    Finance, insurance, and real estate.............   100.0      70.2    29.7     7.4      4.4      7.1       4.1       6.4        .3
    Services........................................   100.0      73.1    26.9     7.5      1.8      6.9       2.7       7.9      (5)

All part-time workers in private industry...........   100.0      80.1    20.0     3.0      1.4      3.6       1.4      10.6      (5)
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      80.0    20.0     3.7      1.5      3.6       1.6       9.6      (5)
    Sales...........................................   100.0      81.7    18.3     2.1      1.0      2.6       1.5      11.1      (5)
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      78.8    21.2     3.9      1.6      4.9       1.7       9.1        .1
  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      75.5    24.5     2.7      1.6      5.9       2.3      12.1      (5)
  Service occupations...............................   100.0      82.7    17.3     1.7       .9      2.5        .5      11.8      (5)

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................   100.0      79.6    20.4     2.2      1.0      2.5       1.6      13.1      (5)
  Service-producing industries(4)...................   100.0      80.0    20.0     3.0      1.4      3.7       1.4      10.5      (5)
    Retail trade....................................   100.0      81.5    18.6     1.8       .9      2.9       1.2      11.7      (5)
    Service industries..............................   100.0      80.6    19.3     3.5      1.6      3.4       1.1       9.7      (5)

  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.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003


                                                                                                  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.....................   $22.92   $16.49    $6.43   $1.48   $0.64     $1.62     $0.70     $1.96     $0.03

                 Occupational group

  White-collar occupations..........................    27.92    20.36     7.56    2.02     .73      1.83       .86      2.08       .04
    Professional specialty and technical............    37.79    27.60    10.20    2.95     .88      2.30      1.24      2.78       .05
      Professional specialty........................    40.69    29.84    10.86    3.24     .94      2.34      1.31      2.96       .06
      Technical.....................................    30.76    22.16     8.60    2.25     .73      2.20      1.05      2.35       .02
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......    45.39    32.63    12.76    3.73    1.72      2.59      1.61      3.01       .11
    Sales...........................................    17.31    13.30     4.01     .81     .37       .97       .37      1.49     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical......    19.09    13.65     5.45    1.30     .41      1.67       .55      1.49       .03

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    21.45    14.67     6.78    1.19     .79      1.81       .75      2.20       .03
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........    27.95    19.17     8.78    1.67     .95      2.17      1.13      2.82       .05
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...    19.65    12.97     6.68    1.25    1.03      1.90       .59      1.86       .05
    Transportation and material moving..............    20.88    14.34     6.54    1.03     .70      1.75       .77      2.27       .02
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................    15.26    10.76     4.50     .64     .43      1.30       .41      1.70     (2)

  Service occupations...............................    11.54     8.79     2.75     .47     .17       .72       .18      1.20     (2)

                   Industry group

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................    26.92    18.18     8.73    1.74    1.14      2.25      1.04      2.49       .07
    Construction....................................    26.92    18.87     8.05     .94    1.01      1.79      1.20      3.11     (2)
    Manufacturing...................................    26.59    17.73     8.86    2.00    1.19      2.37       .96      2.24       .10
      Durables......................................    28.23    18.63     9.60    2.16    1.39      2.57       .99      2.37       .13
      Nondurables...................................    24.25    16.45     7.80    1.77     .90      2.09       .92      2.06       .05
  Service-producing industries(4)...................    21.82    16.02     5.80    1.41     .51      1.44       .61      1.81       .02
    Transportation and public utilities.............    31.35    21.32    10.03    2.35    1.05      2.67      1.32      2.59       .05
    Wholesale trade.................................    24.62    17.43     7.19    1.58     .75      1.97       .78      2.08       .03
    Retail trade....................................    12.47     9.75     2.72     .48     .16       .62       .20      1.26     (2)
    Finance, insurance, and real estate.............    31.62    22.29     9.33    2.28    1.36      2.24      1.26      2.09       .09
    Services........................................    23.18    17.25     5.93    1.59     .41      1.46       .57      1.89     (2)

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All workers in private industry.....................   100.0      71.9    28.1     6.5      2.8      7.1       3.1       8.6       0.1

                 Occupational group

  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      72.9    27.1     7.2      2.6      6.6       3.1       7.4        .1
    Professional specialty and technical............   100.0      73.0    27.0     7.8      2.3      6.1       3.3       7.4        .1
      Professional specialty........................   100.0      73.3    26.7     8.0      2.3      5.8       3.2       7.3        .1
      Technical.....................................   100.0      72.0    28.0     7.3      2.4      7.2       3.4       7.6        .1
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......   100.0      71.9    28.1     8.2      3.8      5.7       3.5       6.6        .2
    Sales...........................................   100.0      76.8    23.2     4.7      2.1      5.6       2.1       8.6      (5)
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      71.5    28.5     6.8      2.1      8.7       2.9       7.8        .2

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      68.4    31.6     5.5      3.7      8.4       3.5      10.3        .1
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........   100.0      68.6    31.4     6.0      3.4      7.8       4.0      10.1        .2
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...   100.0      66.0    34.0     6.4      5.2      9.7       3.0       9.5        .3
    Transportation and material moving..............   100.0      68.7    31.3     4.9      3.4      8.4       3.7      10.9        .1
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................   100.0      70.5    29.5     4.2      2.8      8.5       2.7      11.1      (5)

  Service occupations...............................   100.0      76.2    23.8     4.1      1.5      6.2       1.6      10.4      (5)

                   Industry group

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................   100.0      67.5    32.4     6.5      4.2      8.4       3.9       9.2        .3
    Construction....................................   100.0      70.1    29.9     3.5      3.8      6.6       4.5      11.6      (5)
    Manufacturing...................................   100.0      66.7    33.3     7.5      4.5      8.9       3.6       8.4        .4
      Durables......................................   100.0      66.0    34.0     7.7      4.9      9.1       3.5       8.4        .5
      Nondurables...................................   100.0      67.8    32.2     7.3      3.7      8.6       3.8       8.5        .2
  Service-producing industries(4)...................   100.0      73.4    26.6     6.5      2.3      6.6       2.8       8.3        .1
    Transportation and public utilities.............   100.0      68.0    32.0     7.5      3.3      8.5       4.2       8.3        .2
    Wholesale trade.................................   100.0      70.8    29.2     6.4      3.0      8.0       3.2       8.4        .1
    Retail trade....................................   100.0      78.2    21.8     3.8      1.3      5.0       1.6      10.1      (5)
    Finance, insurance, and real estate.............   100.0      70.5    29.5     7.2      4.3      7.1       4.0       6.6        .3
    Services........................................   100.0      74.4    25.6     6.9      1.8      6.3       2.5       8.2      (5)

  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.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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: Private industry
goods-producing and service-producing workers, by occupational group, December 2003


                                                                                                  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)..........   $26.92   $18.18    $8.73   $1.74   $1.14     $2.25     $1.04     $2.49     $0.07
  White-collar occupations..........................    35.52    24.54    10.98    2.86    1.45      2.66      1.30      2.59       .12
    Professional specialty and technical............    41.26    28.36    12.90    3.65    1.25      3.14      1.72      2.94       .18
      Professional specialty........................    46.62    32.29    14.33    4.28    1.29      3.21      2.01      3.28       .26
      Technical.....................................    31.42    21.15    10.27    2.51    1.19      3.01      1.19      2.32       .05
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......    48.23    32.90    15.33    3.92    3.03      3.02      1.78      3.45       .13
    Administrative support, including clerical......    21.91    15.09     6.81    1.56     .74      2.12       .62      1.70       .06

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    23.71    15.80     7.91    1.32    1.03      2.10       .94      2.47       .05
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........    28.83    19.48     9.34    1.52    1.03      2.30      1.34      3.09       .06
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...    21.26    13.72     7.54    1.42    1.20      2.18       .71      1.97       .06
    Transportation and material moving..............    25.61    16.54     9.07    1.35    1.26      2.47      1.06      2.88       .05
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................    16.89    11.81     5.08     .67     .57      1.35       .51      1.98     (3)

  Service occupations...............................    16.79    11.56     5.23     .96     .54      1.65       .50      1.52       .06

All workers, service-producing industries(4)........    21.82    16.02     5.80    1.41     .51      1.44       .61      1.81       .02
  White-collar occupations..........................    26.92    19.81     7.11    1.91     .64      1.72       .80      2.01       .03
    Professional specialty and technical............    37.21    27.47     9.74    2.83     .81      2.16      1.15      2.76       .03
      Professional specialty........................    39.79    29.46    10.32    3.08     .88      2.21      1.20      2.92       .04
      Technical.....................................    30.62    22.38     8.25    2.20     .63      2.03      1.02      2.36     (3)
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......    44.75    32.57    12.18    3.69    1.42      2.49      1.58      2.91       .10
    Sales...........................................    16.87    12.96     3.91     .78     .37       .94       .35      1.46     (3)
    Administrative support, including clerical......    18.72    13.46     5.26    1.27     .36      1.61       .54      1.46       .02

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    19.13    13.52     5.62    1.06     .54      1.50       .56      1.93     (3)
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........    26.69    18.72     7.97    1.88     .84      1.98       .83      2.42       .02
    Transportation and material moving..............    19.67    13.78     5.89     .95     .56      1.56       .70      2.11       .02
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................    14.41    10.22     4.19     .63     .35      1.27       .37      1.56     (3)

  Service occupations...............................    11.48     8.76     2.72     .47     .17       .71       .17      1.20     (3)

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All workers, goods-producing industries(2)..........   100.0      67.5    32.4     6.5      4.2      8.4       3.9       9.2       0.3
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      69.1    30.9     8.1      4.1      7.5       3.7       7.3        .3
    Professional specialty and technical............   100.0      68.7    31.3     8.8      3.0      7.6       4.2       7.1        .4
      Professional specialty........................   100.0      69.3    30.7     9.2      2.8      6.9       4.3       7.0        .6
      Technical.....................................   100.0      67.3    32.7     8.0      3.8      9.6       3.8       7.4        .2
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......   100.0      68.2    31.8     8.1      6.3      6.3       3.7       7.2        .3
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      68.9    31.1     7.1      3.4      9.7       2.8       7.8        .3

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      66.6    33.4     5.6      4.3      8.9       4.0      10.4        .2
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........   100.0      67.6    32.4     5.3      3.6      8.0       4.6      10.7        .2
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...   100.0      64.5    35.5     6.7      5.6     10.3       3.3       9.3        .3
    Transportation and material moving..............   100.0      64.6    35.4     5.3      4.9      9.6       4.1      11.2        .2
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................   100.0      69.9    30.1     4.0      3.4      8.0       3.0      11.7      (5)

  Service occupations...............................   100.0      68.9    31.1     5.7      3.2      9.8       3.0       9.1        .4

All workers, service-producing industries(4)........   100.0      73.4    26.6     6.5      2.3      6.6       2.8       8.3        .1
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      73.6    26.4     7.1      2.4      6.4       3.0       7.5        .1
    Professional specialty and technical............   100.0      73.8    26.2     7.6      2.2      5.8       3.1       7.4        .1
      Professional specialty........................   100.0      74.0    25.9     7.7      2.2      5.6       3.0       7.3        .1
      Technical.....................................   100.0      73.1    26.9     7.2      2.1      6.6       3.3       7.7      (5)
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......   100.0      72.8    27.2     8.2      3.2      5.6       3.5       6.5        .2
    Sales...........................................   100.0      76.8    23.2     4.6      2.2      5.6       2.1       8.7      (5)
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      71.9    28.1     6.8      1.9      8.6       2.9       7.8        .1

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      70.7    29.4     5.5      2.8      7.8       2.9      10.1      (5)
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........   100.0      70.1    29.9     7.0      3.1      7.4       3.1       9.1        .1
    Transportation and material moving..............   100.0      70.1    29.9     4.8      2.8      7.9       3.6      10.7        .1
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................   100.0      70.9    29.1     4.4      2.4      8.8       2.6      10.8      (5)

  Service occupations...............................   100.0      76.3    23.7     4.1      1.5      6.2       1.5      10.5      (5)

  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 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and
service industries.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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: Private industry
manufacturing and nonmanufacturing workers, by occupational group, December 2003


                                                                                                  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...............   $26.59   $17.73    $8.86   $2.00   $1.19     $2.37     $0.96     $2.24     $0.10
  White-collar occupations..........................    35.89    24.73    11.16    3.05    1.27      2.78      1.35      2.56       .15
    Professional specialty and technical............    41.57    28.54    13.03    3.76    1.20      3.14      1.75      2.97       .20
      Professional specialty........................    46.03    31.91    14.12    4.27    1.21      3.17      1.94      3.26       .27
      Technical.....................................    32.31    21.55    10.76    2.72    1.18      3.07      1.36      2.37       .06
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......    49.30    33.92    15.38    4.38    2.53      3.14      1.83      3.30       .19
    Administrative support, including clerical......    22.42    15.24     7.18    1.67     .76      2.29       .66      1.72       .07

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    22.39    14.56     7.83    1.52    1.16      2.19       .78      2.10       .07
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........    28.38    18.51     9.87    2.12    1.38      2.53      1.13      2.58       .13
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...    21.21    13.66     7.55    1.42    1.21      2.19       .71      1.95       .06
    Transportation and material moving..............    23.35    14.99     8.36    1.46    1.23      2.16       .88      2.54       .09
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................    16.16    10.94     5.22     .90     .60      1.60       .42      1.69     (2)

  Service occupations...............................    17.63    11.89     5.74    1.09     .61      1.91       .59      1.47       .07

All workers, nonmanufacturing industries............    22.26    16.26     5.99    1.39     .55      1.48       .66      1.90       .02
  White-collar occupations..........................    27.09    19.90     7.19    1.91     .67      1.73       .81      2.03       .03
    Professional specialty and technical............    37.23    27.45     9.77    2.83     .83      2.17      1.16      2.76       .03
      Professional specialty........................    39.93    29.54    10.39    3.09     .90      2.22      1.22      2.92       .04
      Technical.....................................    30.50    22.27     8.23    2.17     .65      2.05      1.00      2.35     (2)
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......    44.82    32.44    12.38    3.63    1.60      2.50      1.58      2.96       .09
    Sales...........................................    17.00    13.07     3.93     .79     .37       .94       .35      1.47     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical......    18.75    13.48     5.27    1.26     .37      1.61       .54      1.47       .02

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    20.97    14.74     6.24    1.02     .60      1.61       .74      2.26     (2)
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........    27.81    19.40     8.41    1.51     .80      2.04      1.13      2.90       .02
    Transportation and material moving..............    20.56    14.26     6.30     .98     .63      1.69       .75      2.23     (2)
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................    15.04    10.72     4.33     .58     .39      1.23       .41      1.70     (2)

  Service occupations...............................    11.48     8.76     2.72     .47     .17       .71       .17      1.20     (2)

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All workers, manufacturing industries...............   100.0      66.7    33.3     7.5      4.5      8.9       3.6       8.4       0.4
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      68.9    31.1     8.5      3.5      7.7       3.8       7.1        .4
    Professional specialty and technical............   100.0      68.7    31.3     9.0      2.9      7.6       4.2       7.1        .5
      Professional specialty........................   100.0      69.3    30.7     9.3      2.6      6.9       4.2       7.1        .6
      Technical.....................................   100.0      66.7    33.3     8.4      3.7      9.5       4.2       7.3        .2
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......   100.0      68.8    31.2     8.9      5.1      6.4       3.7       6.7        .4
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      68.0    32.0     7.4      3.4     10.2       2.9       7.7        .3

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      65.0    35.0     6.8      5.2      9.8       3.5       9.4        .3
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........   100.0      65.2    34.8     7.5      4.9      8.9       4.0       9.1        .5
    Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...   100.0      64.4    35.6     6.7      5.7     10.3       3.3       9.2        .3
    Transportation and material moving..............   100.0      64.2    35.8     6.3      5.3      9.3       3.8      10.9        .4
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................   100.0      67.7    32.3     5.6      3.7      9.9       2.6      10.5      (3)

  Service occupations...............................   100.0      67.4    32.6     6.2      3.5     10.8       3.3       8.3        .4

All workers, nonmanufacturing industries............   100.0      73.0    26.9     6.2      2.5      6.6       3.0       8.5        .1
  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      73.5    26.5     7.1      2.5      6.4       3.0       7.5        .1
    Professional specialty and technical............   100.0      73.7    26.2     7.6      2.2      5.8       3.1       7.4        .1
      Professional specialty........................   100.0      74.0    26.0     7.7      2.3      5.6       3.1       7.3        .1
      Technical.....................................   100.0      73.0    27.0     7.1      2.1      6.7       3.3       7.7      (3)
    Executive, administrative, and managerial.......   100.0      72.4    27.6     8.1      3.6      5.6       3.5       6.6        .2
    Sales...........................................   100.0      76.9    23.1     4.6      2.2      5.5       2.1       8.6      (3)
    Administrative support, including clerical......   100.0      71.9    28.1     6.7      2.0      8.6       2.9       7.8        .1

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      70.3    29.8     4.9      2.9      7.7       3.5      10.8      (3)
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........   100.0      69.8    30.2     5.4      2.9      7.3       4.1      10.4        .1
    Transportation and material moving..............   100.0      69.4    30.6     4.8      3.1      8.2       3.6      10.8      (3)
    Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
    laborers........................................   100.0      71.3    28.8     3.9      2.6      8.2       2.7      11.3      (3)

  Service occupations...............................   100.0      76.3    23.7     4.1      1.5      6.2       1.5      10.5      (3)

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003


                                                                                                  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.................   $31.82   $20.56   $11.26   $2.26   $1.12     $3.22     $1.80     $2.78     $0.08
    Blue-collar occupations.........................    32.18    20.14    12.04    2.17    1.31      3.43      2.04      2.98       .10

  Goods-producing industries(2).....................    34.37    21.25    13.12    2.21    1.77      3.58      2.23      3.19       .14
  Service-producing industries(3)...................    30.01    20.07     9.93    2.30     .66      2.96      1.49      2.49       .03

  Manufacturing.....................................    30.95    19.11    11.84    2.49    1.89      3.22      1.46      2.61       .18
    Blue-collar occupations.........................    30.45    18.59    11.86    2.46    1.93      3.21      1.45      2.63       .18
  Nonmanufacturing..................................    32.18    21.15    11.02    2.17     .81      3.22      1.94      2.85       .03

All nonunion workers, private industry..............    21.85    16.00     5.85    1.39     .59      1.42       .57      1.86       .03
    Blue-collar occupations.........................    18.37    13.10     5.27     .91     .64      1.34       .38      1.98     (4)

  Goods-producing industries(2).....................    24.98    17.38     7.60    1.62     .98      1.91       .73      2.31       .05
  Service-producing industries(3)...................    21.11    15.67     5.44    1.33     .50      1.31       .53      1.75       .02

  Manufacturing.....................................    25.49    17.38     8.11    1.88    1.01      2.16       .83      2.15       .07
    Blue-collar occupations.........................    19.43    13.07     6.36    1.18     .88      1.81       .54      1.91       .03
  Nonmanufacturing..................................    21.28    15.78     5.50    1.31     .52      1.31       .53      1.81       .02

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All union workers, private industry.................   100.0      64.6    35.4     7.1      3.5     10.1       5.7       8.7       0.3
    Blue-collar occupations.........................   100.0      62.6    37.4     6.7      4.1     10.7       6.3       9.3        .3

  Goods-producing industries(2).....................   100.0      61.8    38.2     6.4      5.1     10.4       6.5       9.3        .4
  Service-producing industries(3)...................   100.0      66.9    33.1     7.7      2.2      9.9       5.0       8.3        .1

  Manufacturing.....................................   100.0      61.7    38.3     8.0      6.1     10.4       4.7       8.4        .6
    Blue-collar occupations.........................   100.0      61.1    38.9     8.1      6.3     10.5       4.8       8.6        .6
  Nonmanufacturing..................................   100.0      65.7    34.2     6.7      2.5     10.0       6.0       8.9        .1

All nonunion workers, private industry..............   100.0      73.2    26.8     6.4      2.7      6.5       2.6       8.5        .1
    Blue-collar occupations.........................   100.0      71.3    28.7     5.0      3.5      7.3       2.1      10.8      (5)

  Goods-producing industries(2).....................   100.0      69.6    30.4     6.5      3.9      7.6       2.9       9.2        .2
  Service-producing industries(3)...................   100.0      74.2    25.8     6.3      2.4      6.2       2.5       8.3        .1

  Manufacturing.....................................   100.0      68.2    31.8     7.4      4.0      8.5       3.3       8.4        .3
    Blue-collar occupations.........................   100.0      67.3    32.7     6.1      4.5      9.3       2.8       9.8        .2
  Nonmanufacturing..................................   100.0      74.2    25.8     6.2      2.4      6.2       2.5       8.5        .1

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
  3 Includes transportation, communication, and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and
service industries.
  4 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003


                                                                                                  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.....................   $22.92   $16.49    $6.43   $1.48   $0.64     $1.62     $0.70     $1.96     $0.03
  1-99 workers......................................    19.29    14.38     4.91    1.04     .49      1.18       .42      1.78     (2)
  100 or more workers...............................    27.21    18.98     8.23    2.01     .83      2.13      1.04      2.16       .06
    100-499 workers.................................    23.49    16.71     6.78    1.55     .68      1.81       .74      1.98       .03
    500 or more workers.............................    31.67    21.71     9.96    2.56    1.02      2.52      1.40      2.37       .10

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................    26.92    18.18     8.73    1.74    1.14      2.25      1.04      2.49       .07
    1-99 workers....................................    22.73    16.07     6.66    1.09     .85      1.62       .61      2.49     (2)
    100 or more workers.............................    30.43    19.96    10.48    2.30    1.38      2.78      1.40      2.49       .12
      100-499 workers...............................    25.89    17.31     8.58    1.66    1.12      2.49       .99      2.27       .04
      500 or more workers...........................    35.72    23.03    12.68    3.04    1.69      3.12      1.87      2.75       .22

  Service-producing industries(4)...................    21.82    16.02     5.80    1.41     .51      1.44       .61      1.81       .02
    1-99 workers....................................    18.53    14.00     4.52    1.03     .41      1.08       .38      1.63     (2)
    100 or more workers.............................    26.10    18.65     7.46    1.91     .64      1.91       .91      2.04       .04
      100-499 workers...............................    22.67    16.50     6.17    1.51     .53      1.58       .65      1.88       .02
      500 or more workers...........................    30.25    21.24     9.01    2.40     .78      2.30      1.23      2.24       .05

  White-collar occupations..........................    27.92    20.36     7.56    2.02     .73      1.83       .86      2.08       .04
    1-99 workers....................................    23.36    17.56     5.80    1.45     .59      1.40       .54      1.81     (2)
    100 or more workers.............................    32.66    23.27     9.39    2.61     .88      2.27      1.20      2.36       .07
      100-499 workers...............................    28.64    20.80     7.83    2.10     .72      1.95       .87      2.15       .04
      500 or more workers...........................    36.64    25.71    10.93    3.11    1.03      2.59      1.52      2.57       .10

  Blue-collar occupations...........................    21.45    14.67     6.78    1.19     .79      1.81       .75      2.20       .03
    1-99 workers....................................    19.20    13.73     5.47     .88     .58      1.36       .45      2.19     (2)
    100 or more workers.............................    24.23    15.84     8.40    1.58    1.05      2.35      1.12      2.23       .07
      100-499 workers...............................    21.33    14.33     7.00    1.21     .84      2.04       .81      2.08       .02
      500 or more workers...........................    28.80    18.21    10.59    2.17    1.38      2.84      1.62      2.45       .14

                                                                                Percent of total compensation


All workers in private industry.....................   100.0      71.9    28.1     6.5      2.8      7.1       3.1       8.6       0.1
  1-99 workers......................................   100.0      74.5    25.5     5.4      2.5      6.1       2.2       9.2      (5)
  100 or more workers...............................   100.0      69.8    30.2     7.4      3.1      7.8       3.8       7.9        .2
    100-499 workers.................................   100.0      71.1    28.9     6.6      2.9      7.7       3.2       8.4        .1
    500 or more workers.............................   100.0      68.6    31.4     8.1      3.2      8.0       4.4       7.5        .3

  Goods-producing industries(3).....................   100.0      67.5    32.4     6.5      4.2      8.4       3.9       9.2        .3
    1-99 workers....................................   100.0      70.7    29.3     4.8      3.7      7.1       2.7      11.0      (5)
    100 or more workers.............................   100.0      65.6    34.4     7.6      4.5      9.1       4.6       8.2        .4
      100-499 workers...............................   100.0      66.9    33.1     6.4      4.3      9.6       3.8       8.8        .2
      500 or more workers...........................   100.0      64.5    35.5     8.5      4.7      8.7       5.2       7.7        .6

  Service-producing industries(4)...................   100.0      73.4    26.6     6.5      2.3      6.6       2.8       8.3        .1
    1-99 workers....................................   100.0      75.6    24.4     5.6      2.2      5.8       2.1       8.8      (5)
    100 or more workers.............................   100.0      71.5    28.6     7.3      2.5      7.3       3.5       7.8        .2
      100-499 workers...............................   100.0      72.8    27.2     6.7      2.3      7.0       2.9       8.3        .1
      500 or more workers...........................   100.0      70.2    29.8     7.9      2.6      7.6       4.1       7.4        .2

  White-collar occupations..........................   100.0      72.9    27.1     7.2      2.6      6.6       3.1       7.4        .1
    1-99 workers....................................   100.0      75.2    24.8     6.2      2.5      6.0       2.3       7.7      (5)
    100 or more workers.............................   100.0      71.2    28.8     8.0      2.7      7.0       3.7       7.2        .2
      100-499 workers...............................   100.0      72.6    27.3     7.3      2.5      6.8       3.0       7.5        .1
      500 or more workers...........................   100.0      70.2    29.8     8.5      2.8      7.1       4.1       7.0        .3

  Blue-collar occupations...........................   100.0      68.4    31.6     5.5      3.7      8.4       3.5      10.3        .1
    1-99 workers....................................   100.0      71.5    28.5     4.6      3.0      7.1       2.3      11.4      (5)
    100 or more workers.............................   100.0      65.4    34.7     6.5      4.3      9.7       4.6       9.2        .3
      100-499 workers...............................   100.0      67.2    32.8     5.7      3.9      9.6       3.8       9.8        .1
      500 or more workers...........................   100.0      63.2    36.8     7.5      4.8      9.9       5.6       8.5        .5

  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.
  5 Less than .05 percent.

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, December 2003


                                                                                                 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....................................   $24.94   $18.17    $6.76   $1.87   $0.58     $1.70     $0.64     $1.96     (2)
    Professional specialty and technical...........    35.14    25.77     9.37    2.83     .97      2.00       .93      2.65     (2)
      Professional specialty.......................    40.30    29.43    10.87    3.47    1.16      2.17      1.12      2.93       .02
        Nurses.....................................    35.77    25.49    10.29    2.99    1.37      2.17      1.00      2.75     (2)
      Technical....................................    27.14    20.08     7.05    1.82     .66      1.73       .64      2.20     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical.....    17.00    12.30     4.69    1.10     .26      1.50       .43      1.40     (2)

  Service occupations..............................    14.70    10.58     4.12     .87     .33      1.29       .31      1.31     (2)

  Hospitals........................................    29.25    20.41     8.84    2.47     .90      2.39       .87      2.19       .02
    Professional specialty and technical...........    35.97    25.37    10.60    3.13    1.28      2.45      1.06      2.67     (2)
      Professional specialty.......................    39.63    28.04    11.59    3.52    1.44      2.49      1.20      2.92       .02
        Nurses.....................................    38.93    27.32    11.62    3.45    1.59      2.49      1.16      2.91     (2)
      Technical....................................    26.93    18.76     8.17    2.18     .87      2.36       .71      2.04     (2)
    Administrative support, including clerical.....    19.27    12.86     6.40    1.51     .40      2.44       .61      1.43     (2)

  Service occupations..............................    16.98    11.26     5.71    1.20     .48      2.22       .45      1.36     (2)

  Nursing homes....................................    17.02    12.55     4.47    1.14     .42      1.06       .24      1.60     (2)
    Professional specialty and technical...........    26.33    19.74     6.59    1.81     .80      1.20       .39      2.40     (2)
      Professional specialty.......................    30.51    22.96     7.56    2.25     .85      1.20       .53      2.72     (2)
      Technical....................................    22.54    16.82     5.72    1.40     .75      1.19       .27      2.11     (2)

  Service occupations..............................    12.96     9.40     3.56     .80     .32      1.00       .17      1.27     (2)

                                                                               Percent of total compensation


Health services....................................   100.0      72.9    27.1     7.5      2.3      6.8       2.6       7.9      (3)
    Professional specialty and technical...........   100.0      73.3    26.7     8.1      2.8      5.7       2.6       7.5      (3)
      Professional specialty.......................   100.0      73.0    27.0     8.6      2.9      5.4       2.8       7.3      (3)
        Nurses.....................................   100.0      71.3    28.8     8.4      3.8      6.1       2.8       7.7      (3)
      Technical....................................   100.0      74.0    26.0     6.7      2.4      6.4       2.4       8.1      (3)
    Administrative support, including clerical.....   100.0      72.4    27.6     6.5      1.5      8.8       2.5       8.2      (3)

  Service occupations..............................   100.0      72.0    28.0     5.9      2.2      8.8       2.1       8.9      (3)

  Hospitals........................................   100.0      69.8    30.2     8.4      3.1      8.2       3.0       7.5        .1
    Professional specialty and technical...........   100.0      70.5    29.5     8.7      3.6      6.8       2.9       7.4      (3)
      Professional specialty.......................   100.0      70.8    29.2     8.9      3.6      6.3       3.0       7.4        .1
        Nurses.....................................   100.0      70.2    29.8     8.9      4.1      6.4       3.0       7.5      (3)
      Technical....................................   100.0      69.7    30.3     8.1      3.2      8.8       2.6       7.6      (3)
    Administrative support, including clerical.....   100.0      66.7    33.2     7.8      2.1     12.7       3.2       7.4      (3)

  Service occupations..............................   100.0      66.3    33.6     7.1      2.8     13.1       2.7       8.0      (3)

  Nursing homes....................................   100.0      73.7    26.3     6.7      2.5      6.2       1.4       9.4      (3)
    Professional specialty and technical...........   100.0      75.0    25.0     6.9      3.0      4.6       1.5       9.1      (3)
      Professional specialty.......................   100.0      75.3    24.8     7.4      2.8      3.9       1.7       8.9      (3)
      Technical....................................   100.0      74.6    25.4     6.2      3.3      5.3       1.2       9.4      (3)

  Service occupations..............................   100.0      72.5    27.5     6.2      2.5      7.7       1.3       9.8      (3)

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  2 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  3 Less than .05 percent.

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: Private industry
transportation equipment manufacturing and public  utilities workers, by industry and occupational group, December 2003


                                                                                                 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)....   $37.52   $23.34   $14.19   $3.21   $2.68     $3.41     $1.61     $3.01     $0.26
  White-collar occupations.........................    47.07    31.05    16.03    4.52    2.15      3.68      1.96      3.50       .22
    Professional specialty and technical...........    49.81    32.99    16.82    4.99    2.09      3.86      2.00      3.67       .22
    Executive, administrative, and managerial......    53.58    35.62    17.96    4.98    3.21      3.45      2.20      3.92       .21
  Blue-collar occupations..........................    32.80    19.52    13.28    2.55    2.96      3.26      1.44      2.78       .29
  Service occupations..............................    31.22    18.57    12.65    2.72    1.84      3.69      1.61      2.53       .27

  Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721)................    45.80    28.81    16.98    4.13    2.31      4.25      2.51      3.51       .27
    White-collar occupations.......................    48.72    31.17    17.56    4.66    2.13      4.23      2.61      3.63       .29
    Blue-collar occupations........................    41.18    25.10    16.08    3.26    2.62      4.26      2.34      3.36       .24

Public utilities (SIC's 48, 49)....................    37.85    24.88    12.97    3.50    1.94      3.36      1.30      2.74       .13
  White-collar occupations.........................    37.92    25.30    12.62    3.36    2.13      3.17      1.16      2.63       .16
  Blue-collar occupations..........................    37.95    24.30    13.65    3.75    1.62      3.72      1.54      2.93       .08

  Communications (SIC 48)..........................    36.48    24.56    11.93    3.35    1.49      3.30      1.09      2.57       .12
    White-collar occupations.......................    35.53    24.42    11.11    3.10    1.41      3.02       .97      2.49       .13
    Blue-collar occupations........................    38.89    24.93    13.95    4.00    1.69      3.98      1.39      2.77       .11

  Electric, gas, and sanitary services (SIC 49)....    40.41    25.50    14.91    3.76    2.77      3.49      1.70      3.05       .15
    White-collar occupations.......................    44.55    27.75    16.80    4.10    4.14      3.59      1.70      3.02       .25
    Blue-collar occupations........................    36.97    23.64    13.34    3.49    1.55      3.44      1.70      3.10       .05

                                                                               Percent of total compensation



Transportation equipment manufacturing (SIC 37)....   100.0      62.2    37.8     8.6      7.1      9.1       4.3       8.0       0.7
  White-collar occupations.........................   100.0      66.0    34.1     9.6      4.6      7.8       4.2       7.4        .5
    Professional specialty and technical...........   100.0      66.2    33.8    10.0      4.2      7.7       4.0       7.4        .4
    Executive, administrative, and managerial......   100.0      66.5    33.5     9.3      6.0      6.4       4.1       7.3        .4
  Blue-collar occupations..........................   100.0      59.5    40.5     7.8      9.0      9.9       4.4       8.5        .9
  Service occupations..............................   100.0      59.5    40.5     8.7      5.9     11.8       5.2       8.1        .9

  Aircraft manufacturing (SIC 3721)................   100.0      62.9    37.1     9.0      5.0      9.3       5.5       7.7        .6
    White-collar occupations.......................   100.0      64.0    36.0     9.6      4.4      8.7       5.4       7.5        .6
    Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0      61.0    39.0     7.9      6.4     10.3       5.7       8.2        .6

Public utilities (SIC's 48, 49)....................   100.0      65.7    34.3     9.2      5.1      8.9       3.4       7.2        .3
  White-collar occupations.........................   100.0      66.7    33.3     8.9      5.6      8.4       3.1       6.9        .4
  Blue-collar occupations..........................   100.0      64.0    36.0     9.9      4.3      9.8       4.1       7.7        .2

  Communications (SIC 48)..........................   100.0      67.3    32.7     9.2      4.1      9.0       3.0       7.0        .3
    White-collar occupations.......................   100.0      68.7    31.3     8.7      4.0      8.5       2.7       7.0        .4
    Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0      64.1    35.9    10.3      4.3     10.2       3.6       7.1        .3

  Electric, gas, and sanitary services (SIC 49)....   100.0      63.1    36.9     9.3      6.9      8.6       4.2       7.5        .4
    White-collar occupations.......................   100.0      62.3    37.7     9.2      9.3      8.1       3.8       6.8        .6
    Blue-collar occupations........................   100.0      63.9    36.1     9.4      4.2      9.3       4.6       8.4        .1

  1 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.



                             EXPLANATORY NOTES

     Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) 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
or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided
by the corresponding hours.  Straight-time wage and salary rates are total
earnings before payroll deductions and include production bonuses,
incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living adjustments.
Not included in straight-time earnings are nonproduction bonuses such as
lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases, shift differentials,
and premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends and holidays; these
payments are included in the benefits component.

     Benefits include:  Paid leave-vacations, holidays, sick leave, and
other leave; supplemental pay-premium pay for work in addition to the
regular work schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays), shift
differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as referral bonuses and lump-
sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases); insurance benefits-life,
health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and
savings benefits-defined benefit and defined contribution plans; legally
required benefits-Social Security, Medicare, Federal and State unemployment
insurance, and workers' compensation; and other benefits-severance pay and
supplemental unemployment plans.

     The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation includes data for the
civilian economy, which includes data from both private industry and State
and local government.  Excluded from private industry are the self-
employed, farm workers, and private household workers.  Federal government
workers are excluded from the public sector.  The private industry series
and the State and local government series provide data for the two sectors
separately.

     The cost levels for this quarter were collected from a probability
sample of about 36,200 occupations within approximately 8,300 sample
establishments in private industry and about 3,600 occupations within
approximately 800 sample establishments in State and local government.
Data are collected for the pay period including the 12th day of the survey
months of March, June, September, and December.

     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 and classified into about 500
occupational classifications according to the 1990 Census of Population.
Individual occupations are combined to represent broader major occupational
groups such as professional specialty and technical occupations.

     Beginning with release of the March 2004 estimates, the ECEC will
designate industry categories based on the 2002 North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) and classify jobs into occupational
categories according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
Manual.  The NAICS and SOC conversions will involve major definitional
changes to many of the currently published series.  Additional information
on the transition to NAICS and SOC will be available the Internet site
(http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm) prior to the release of the March
estimates in June 2004.

     The December 2003 cost levels were calculated using the March 2003
employment counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment
Statistics (CES) program, benchmarked to the 2001 universe of all private
nonfarm establishments.  The CES program converted from the 1987 Standard
Industrial Classification System (SIC) basis to the 2002 North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) with the release of May 2003
estimates.  The ECEC has used the March 2003 SIC employment counts for all
of 2003 cost level estimates but will convert to NAICS employment counts with
the release of the March 2004 ECEC estimates.

     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.  For more information on SIC coding, see
"BLS Establishment Estimates Revised to Incorporate March 2001 Benchmarks"
in the June 2002 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.

     Historical data and related articles on the ECEC are included in the
bulletin, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 1986-99 (Bulletin
2508).  An annual historical summary from March 1986 through March 2002 is
also available on the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm)
or upon request.  Data are now available on a quarterly basis beginning
with June 2002 data.  Information on how costs are calculated appears in
"Measuring Trends in the Structure and Levels of Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation," Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1997.
An article on changes in employer compensation costs, "Tracking Changes in
Benefit Costs," appears in Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring
1999.

Relative Standard Errors

     Because the ECEC is a sample survey, it is subject to sampling errors.
Sampling errors are differences that occur between the results computed
from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in
the population.  The estimates derived from different samples selected
using the same sample design may differ from one another.  A measure of the
variation among these differing estimates is the standard error.  It can be
used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular
sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples.  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 (RSE) is shown with the cost estimates for
some series in the appendix table.  The RSE for all estimates will be
available shortly after the release is issued.  This information can be
obtained directly from the BLS Internet site
(http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm), by e-mail request
(ocltinfo@bls.gov), or by telephone (202) 691-6199.

     For a more detailed explanation of relative standard errors, see
"Measuring Trends in the Structure and Levels of Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation," Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1997.
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 an article from the
Summer 1997 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions, "Explaining the
Differential Growth Rates of the ECI and ECEC," which examined how
differences in the construction of these measures contribute to differing
trends.

     Standard errors relate to differences that occur from sampling errors,
but not from nonsampling errors.  Nonsampling errors are not measured and
include survey nonresponse and data collection and processing errors.
Survey nonresponse occurs when sample members are unwilling or unable to
participate in the survey.  Data collection errors include inaccurate data
by respondents and definitional difficulties.  Processing errors include
errors in recording, coding, and entering data.  Although nonsampling
errors are not measured, BLS quality
assurance programs 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 and
trends between private industry and State and local government may be found
in "Cost of Employee Compensation in Public and Private Sectors," Monthly
Labor Review, May 1993, and "Compensation Cost Trends in Private Industry
and State and Local Governments," Compensation and Working Conditions, Fall
1999.

Obtaining information

     Articles, bulletins, and other information may be obtained by calling
(202) 691-6199, sending an e-mail message to ocltinfo@bls.gov, or visiting
the Internet site (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm).  Information in
this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon
request.  Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service Number:  1-800-
877-8339.



Appendix.  Employer costs per hour worked for components of compensation, and relative standard errors,(1) by major industry and
occupation categories, December 2003


                                                                                                 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.............................   $24.59   $17.56    $7.03   $1.65   $0.59     $1.88     $0.90     $1.96     $0.04
  Relative error...................................     1.0      1.1      1.1     1.4     2.9       1.2       2.1        .7       9.8

  State and local government workers
    Cost per hour worked...........................   $33.91   $23.56   $10.35   $2.58    $.29     $3.39     $2.03     $1.99      $.07
    Relative error.................................     1.6      1.7      1.7     2.1     6.5       1.8       3.6       2.0      26.0

  Private industry workers
    Cost per hour worked...........................   $22.92   $16.49    $6.43   $1.48    $.64     $1.62      $.70     $1.96      $.03
    Relative error.................................     1.2      1.3      1.3     1.7     3.1       1.5       2.6        .8       9.4

    Goods-producing industries(3)
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $26.92   $18.18    $8.73   $1.74   $1.14     $2.25     $1.04     $2.49      $.07
      Relative error...............................     1.8      1.5      2.8     3.1     6.1       2.8       5.4       1.8      16.7

    Service-producing industries(4)
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $21.82   $16.02    $5.80   $1.41    $.51     $1.44      $.61     $1.81      $.02
      Relative error...............................     1.4      1.5      1.3     2.0     2.9       1.7       2.7        .8       8.0

    Manufacturing
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $26.59   $17.73    $8.86   $2.00   $1.19     $2.37      $.96     $2.24      $.10
      Relative error...............................     2.0      1.8      2.8     3.5     5.2       2.5       5.9       1.7      17.1

    Nonmanufacturing
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $22.26   $16.26    $5.99   $1.39    $.55     $1.48      $.66     $1.90      $.02
      Relative error...............................     1.3      1.5      1.3     2.0     3.3       1.7       2.8        .8       7.3

    White-collar workers
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $27.92   $20.36    $7.56   $2.02    $.73     $1.83      $.86     $2.08      $.04
      Relative error...............................     1.5      1.7      1.4     1.9     4.5       1.6       2.8       1.0       8.5

    Blue-collar workers
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $21.45   $14.67    $6.78   $1.19    $.79     $1.81      $.75     $2.20      $.03
      Relative error...............................     1.6      1.3      2.4     3.1     2.8       2.8       5.7       1.4      20.8

    Service workers
      Cost per hour worked.........................   $11.54    $8.79    $2.75    $.47    $.17      $.72      $.18     $1.20     (5)
      Relative error...............................     1.7      1.5      2.8     3.5     6.0       4.9       9.4       1.2      (6)

  1 The relative error is the standard error expressed as a percent of the cost.  One can be 90-percent confident that the interval
around the cost estimate bounded by 1.6 times plus and 1.6 times minus the  standard error contains the "true" cost.
  2 Includes severance pay and supplemental unemployment benefits.
  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.
  5 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.
  6 Relative error is suppressed because cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.