Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical Contact: USDL: 06-2069 

(202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov 

Media Contact: FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. E.S.T. 

(202) 691-5902 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2006 

Internet address: 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm 

EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION—SEPTEMBER 2006 

 

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $27.31 per hour worked in September 2006, the 

U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged 

$19.12, accounted for 70 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.18, accounted for the 

remaining 30 percent. (See table 1.) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, a product of the National 

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

and state and local government workers. 

 Employer costs for insurance benefits – life, health, and disability – averaged $2.22 per hour (8.1 percent 

of total compensation). Legally required benefits, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment 

insurance, and workers’ compensation, averaged $2.19 per hour (8.0 percent of total compensation); paid leave 

benefits (vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave) averaged $1.91 (7.0 percent); and retirement and 

savings benefits averaged $1.18 (4.3 percent) per hour worked. 

 

Private industry

 In September 2006, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $25.52 per hour worked. 

Wages and salaries averaged $18.04 per hour (70.7 percent), while benefits averaged $7.48 (29.3 percent). 

Employer costs for legally required benefits averaged $2.18 (8.6 percent) per hour worked, insurance benefits 

averaged $1.89 (7.4 percent), paid leave averaged $1.73 (6.8 percent), retirement and savings averaged 93 cents 

(3.6 percent), and supplemental pay averaged 75 cents (2.9 percent). (See table 5.) 

Compensation costs in state and local governments

In September 2006, employer costs in state and local governments averaged $37.91 per hour worked. 

Wages and salaries, which accounted for 67.3 percent of the total, averaged $25.53, while benefits, which 

accounted for the remaining 32.7 percent, averaged $12.38. (See table 3.) Benefit costs increased from 31.4 

percent of total compensation and $10.89 per hour for state and local government workers in September 2004. 

United States 

Department News of Labor
2

 Among state and local government employees, average hourly compensation costs were higher for 

management, professional, and related occupations ($46.66) than for service occupations ($28.72) and sales and 

office occupations ($25.85). Wages and salaries averaged $32.96 per hour worked for management, 

professional, and related occupations; $17.48 for service occupations; and $16.03 for sales and office 

occupations. Wages and salaries accounted for about the same proportion of total compensation for service 

employees (60.9 percent) and sales and office employees (62.0 percent); for management, professional, and 

related employees, wages and salaries represented a significantly higher proportion of total compensation (70.6 

percent). (See table 3.) 

For state and local government employees, employer costs for insurance benefits ranged from $3.45 per 

hour, or 12.0 percent of total compensation for service occupations, to $4.57 per hour worked, or 9.8 percent of 

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

employer insurance costs averaged $3.96, or 15.3 percent of compensation. The largest component of insurance 

costs was health insurance, which averaged $4.05, or 10.7 percent of total compensation for state and local 

government employees. Health insurance costs in September 2004 were $3.49 and 10.0 percent of total 

compensation. 

In September 2006, the average cost for retirement and savings benefits was $2.68 per hour worked in 

state and local governments (7.1 percent of total compensation). Included in this amount were employer costs 

for defined benefit plans, which averaged $2.39 per hour (6.3 percent), and defined contribution plans, which 

averaged 29 cents (0.8 percent). Defined benefit costs were $1.97 per hour and 5.7 percent of total 

compensation in September 2004. Defined benefit plans specify a formula for determining future benefits, 

while defined contribution plans specify employer contributions but do not guarantee future benefits. 

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

leave such as personal leave, military leave, and funeral leave. The average cost for paid leave was $2.98 per 

hour worked for state and local government employees. Among occupational groups, the average cost for 

management, professional, and related workers was $3.29, significantly higher than the costs for sales and office 

workers, which averaged $2.47, and for service workers, which averaged $2.63. 

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

state and federal), and workers’ compensation, averaged $2.22 per hour worked for state and local government 

employees. The average cost for management, professional, and related workers was $2.58 per hour worked 

(5.5 percent of total compensation); greater than the costs for sales and office workers which averaged $1.61 

(6.2 percent), and service workers which averaged $1.79 (6.2 percent). 
3

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

Q Wages and salaries Benefits

Chart A. Relative importance of employer costs 

for employee compensation, September 2006

Legally required 8.0 5.9 8.6

Defined contribution 1.6 0.8 1.8

Defined benefit 2.7 6.3 1.8

Retirement & savings 4.3 7.1 3.6

Health benefits 7.6 10.7 6.9

Insurance 8.1 11.0 7.4

Supplemental pay 2.5 0.9 2.9

Paid leave 7.0 7.8 6.8

Benefits 30.0 32.7 29.3

Wages and salaries 70.0% 67.3% 70.7%

Private 

industry

State and local 

government

Civilian 

workers

Compensation

component

Bureau of Labor Statistics • Employer Costs for Employee Compensation • 202.691.6199 • ncsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ect • Dec 2006

Chart B. Employer costs for employee compensation, State and local government, September 2006

Cost per hour worked

All Workers

Occupational group:

Management, professional, and related

Professional and related

Teachers

Primary, secondary, and special education teachers

Sales and office

Office and administrative support

Service

Industry group:

Education and health services

Educational services

Elementary and secondary schools

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities

Health care and social assistance

Hospitals

Public administration

.

.
4

Table of Contents: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 occupational group 18 

Table 10. Private industry workers, by industry group 19 

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

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

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

 employment size and bargaining unit status 22 

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

 and occupational group 23 

Explanatory Note 24 
5

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

compensation: Civilian workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2006

Compensation

component

Occupational group

All

workers1

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $27.31 100.0 $45.77 100.0 $20.73 100.0 $14.97 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.12 70.0 32.46 70.9 14.78 71.3 10.63 71.0

Total benefits ........................................................ 8.18 30.0 13.31 29.1 5.95 28.7 4.34 29.0

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.91 7.0 3.67 8.0 1.40 6.8 0.87 5.8

Vacation ........................................................ 0.89 3.3 1.66 3.6 0.67 3.2 0.41 2.7

Holiday .......................................................... 0.63 2.3 1.18 2.6 0.47 2.3 0.27 1.8

Sick ............................................................... 0.29 1.1 0.62 1.3 0.20 1.0 0.14 0.9

Other ............................................................. 0.10 0.4 0.21 0.5 0.06 0.3 0.05 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.69 2.5 1.12 2.4 0.45 2.2 0.27 1.8

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.25 0.9 0.16 0.3 0.13 0.6 0.15 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.06 0.2 0.09 0.2 0.02 0.1 0.05 0.4

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.37 1.4 0.87 1.9 0.29 1.4 0.06 0.4

Insurance .......................................................... 2.22 8.1 3.30 7.2 1.80 8.7 1.23 8.2

Life ................................................................ 0.05 0.2 0.08 0.2 0.03 0.2 0.02 0.1

Health ........................................................... 2.09 7.6 3.07 6.7 1.70 8.2 1.18 7.9

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.05 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.03 0.2 0.02 0.1

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

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.18 4.3 2.19 4.8 0.65 3.2 0.57 3.8

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.74 2.7 1.33 2.9 0.31 1.5 0.46 3.1

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.44 1.6 0.87 1.9 0.35 1.7 0.11 0.7

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.19 8.0 3.03 6.6 1.64 7.9 1.40 9.3

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.54 5.6 2.48 5.4 1.23 5.9 0.87 5.8

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.22 4.5 1.95 4.3 0.99 4.8 0.70 4.6

Medicare ................................................... 0.31 1.1 0.53 1.2 0.24 1.2 0.17 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.15 0.5 0.14 0.3 0.14 0.7 0.12 0.8

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.48 1.8 0.39 0.8 0.25 1.2 0.37 2.5

See footnotes at end of table.
6

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

compensation: Civilian workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2006 — Continued

Compensation

component

Occupational group Industry group

Natural

resources,

construction,

and

maintenance

Production,

transportation,

and

material

moving

Goodsproducing2Serviceproviding3

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $29.08 100.0 $21.92 100.0 $29.91 100.0 $26.76 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.58 67.3 14.53 66.3 19.77 66.1 18.99 70.9

Total benefits ........................................................ 9.50 32.7 7.39 33.7 10.13 33.9 7.78 29.1

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.55 5.3 1.35 6.2 1.87 6.3 1.92 7.2

Vacation ........................................................ 0.80 2.8 0.67 3.0 0.98 3.3 0.87 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.52 1.8 0.48 2.2 0.67 2.2 0.62 2.3

Sick ............................................................... 0.15 0.5 0.15 0.7 0.16 0.5 0.32 1.2

Other ............................................................. 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.3 0.07 0.2 0.11 0.4

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.88 3.0 0.76 3.5 1.21 4.0 0.58 2.2

Overtime and premium4 ............................... 0.63 2.2 0.48 2.2 0.57 1.9 0.18 0.7

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.05 0.2 0.10 0.4 0.09 0.3 0.06 0.2

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.20 0.7 0.18 0.8 0.55 1.9 0.34 1.3

Insurance .......................................................... 2.48 8.5 2.21 10.1 2.70 9.0 2.12 7.9

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

Health ........................................................... 2.34 8.0 2.08 9.5 2.52 8.4 2.00 7.5

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.3 0.08 0.3 0.04 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.57 5.4 0.89 4.1 1.53 5.1 1.11 4.1

Defined benefit ............................................. 1.11 3.8 0.60 2.7 0.99 3.3 0.68 2.6

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.46 1.6 0.29 1.3 0.54 1.8 0.42 1.6

Legally required benefits .................................. 3.03 10.4 2.18 9.9 2.83 9.5 2.05 7.7

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.63 5.6 1.25 5.7 1.69 5.7 1.50 5.6

Social Security7 ........................................ 1.32 4.5 1.01 4.6 1.36 4.5 1.19 4.5

Medicare ................................................... 0.32 1.1 0.24 1.1 0.33 1.1 0.31 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.20 0.7 0.17 0.8 0.22 0.7 0.13 0.5

Workers’ compensation ................................ 1.17 4.0 0.73 3.3 0.89 3.0 0.39 1.5

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy excluding

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

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

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

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

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

(OASDI) program.

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

rounding.
7

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

compensation: Civilian workers, by occupational and industry group, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

Civilian workers1 ....................................................... $27.31 $19.12 $8.18 $1.91 $0.69 $2.22 $1.18 $2.19

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 45.77 32.46 13.31 3.67 1.12 3.30 2.19 3.03

Management, business, and financial ...... 50.17 34.77 15.40 4.53 1.87 3.33 2.35 3.31

Professional and related ........................... 43.85 31.45 12.40 3.29 0.79 3.29 2.13 2.91

Teachers2 ............................................. 49.51 36.67 12.84 2.64 0.10 4.21 3.07 2.82

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 47.49 34.69 12.80 2.44 0.09 4.67 3.04 2.56

Registered nurses ................................ 42.01 29.73 12.28 3.49 1.42 2.72 1.45 3.21

Sales and office ............................................ 20.73 14.78 5.95 1.40 0.45 1.80 0.65 1.64

Sales and related ...................................... 19.39 14.67 4.73 1.05 0.50 1.14 0.41 1.63

Office and administrative support ............. 21.50 14.84 6.66 1.61 0.42 2.18 0.79 1.65

Service .......................................................... 14.97 10.63 4.34 0.87 0.27 1.23 0.57 1.40

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ............................................... 29.08 19.58 9.50 1.55 0.88 2.48 1.57 3.03

Construction and extraction ...................... 29.63 19.86 9.77 1.22 0.89 2.53 1.80 3.33

Installation, maintenance, and repair ........ 28.78 19.47 9.31 2.00 0.87 2.45 1.30 2.68

Production, transportation, and material

moving ........................................................ 21.92 14.53 7.39 1.35 0.76 2.21 0.89 2.18

Production ................................................ 22.84 14.92 7.92 1.52 0.94 2.40 0.92 2.16

Transportation and material moving ......... 21.05 14.17 6.88 1.19 0.59 2.03 0.87 2.19

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 32.71 23.35 9.37 2.37 0.38 2.92 1.49 2.20

Educational services ................................. 39.94 28.55 11.39 2.60 0.13 3.94 2.40 2.32

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 39.29 27.98 11.31 2.24 0.11 4.37 2.42 2.17

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 43.38 30.85 12.53 3.59 0.19 3.48 2.65 2.62

Health care and social assistance ............ 27.06 19.28 7.78 2.20 0.58 2.12 0.78 2.10

Hospitals ............................................... 32.61 22.10 10.51 2.97 0.99 2.92 1.23 2.40

Percent of total compensation

Civilian workers1 ....................................................... 100.0 70.0 30.0 7.0 2.5 8.1 4.3 8.0

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 70.9 29.1 8.0 2.4 7.2 4.8 6.6

Management, business, and financial ...... 100.0 69.3 30.7 9.0 3.7 6.6 4.7 6.6

Professional and related ........................... 100.0 71.7 28.3 7.5 1.8 7.5 4.8 6.6

Teachers2 ............................................. 100.0 74.1 25.9 5.3 0.2 8.5 6.2 5.7

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 100.0 73.0 27.0 5.1 0.2 9.8 6.4 5.4

Registered nurses ................................ 100.0 70.8 29.2 8.3 3.4 6.5 3.4 7.6

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 71.3 28.7 6.8 2.2 8.7 3.2 7.9

Sales and related ...................................... 100.0 75.6 24.4 5.4 2.6 5.9 2.1 8.4

Office and administrative support ............. 100.0 69.0 31.0 7.5 2.0 10.2 3.7 7.7

Service .......................................................... 100.0 71.0 29.0 5.8 1.8 8.2 3.8 9.3

Natural resources, construction, and

maintenance ............................................... 100.0 67.3 32.7 5.3 3.0 8.5 5.4 10.4

Construction and extraction ...................... 100.0 67.0 33.0 4.1 3.0 8.6 6.1 11.2

Installation, maintenance, and repair ........ 100.0 67.7 32.3 6.9 3.0 8.5 4.5 9.3

Production, transportation, and material

moving ........................................................ 100.0 66.3 33.7 6.2 3.5 10.1 4.1 9.9

Production ................................................ 100.0 65.3 34.7 6.6 4.1 10.5 4.0 9.4

Transportation and material moving ......... 100.0 67.3 32.7 5.7 2.8 9.7 4.1 10.4

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 71.4 28.6 7.3 1.2 8.9 4.6 6.7

Educational services ................................. 100.0 71.5 28.5 6.5 0.3 9.9 6.0 5.8

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 100.0 71.2 28.8 5.7 0.3 11.1 6.2 5.5

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 100.0 71.1 28.9 8.3 0.4 8.0 6.1 6.0

Health care and social assistance ............ 100.0 71.2 28.8 8.1 2.1 7.8 2.9 7.8

Hospitals ............................................... 100.0 67.8 32.2 9.1 3.0 8.9 3.8 7.4

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy excluding

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

special education teachers; and other teachers and instructors.

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

rounding.
8

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

government workers, by major occupational and industry group, September 2006

Compensation

component

Occupational group1 Industry group

All

workers

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service Service-providing2

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $37.91 100.0 $46.66 100.0 $25.85 100.0 $28.72 100.0 $38.10 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 25.53 67.3 32.96 70.6 16.03 62.0 17.48 60.9 25.68 67.4

Total benefits ........................................................ 12.38 32.7 13.71 29.4 9.81 38.0 11.24 39.1 12.42 32.6

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.98 7.8 3.29 7.0 2.47 9.6 2.63 9.2 2.98 7.8

Vacation ........................................................ 1.04 2.7 0.97 2.1 1.01 3.9 1.13 3.9 1.04 2.7

Holiday .......................................................... 0.95 2.5 1.06 2.3 0.79 3.1 0.82 2.9 0.95 2.5

Sick ............................................................... 0.74 2.0 0.96 2.0 0.51 2.0 0.49 1.7 0.75 2.0

Other ............................................................. 0.24 0.6 0.30 0.6 0.16 0.6 0.19 0.7 0.25 0.6

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.32 0.9 0.19 0.4 0.18 0.7 0.63 2.2 0.32 0.9

Overtime and premium3 ............................... 0.16 0.4 0.05 0.1 0.09 0.3 0.33 1.2 0.16 0.4

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.07 0.2 0.05 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.15 0.5 0.07 0.2

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.09 0.2 0.09 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.14 0.5 0.09 0.2

Insurance .......................................................... 4.18 11.0 4.57 9.8 3.96 15.3 3.45 12.0 4.19 11.0

Life ................................................................ 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.06 0.2

Health ........................................................... 4.05 10.7 4.42 9.5 3.85 14.9 3.32 11.6 4.06 10.6

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.02 4 ( ) 0.02 0.1 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 2.68 7.1 3.08 6.6 1.60 6.2 2.74 9.5 2.70 7.1

Defined benefit ............................................. 2.39 6.3 2.73 5.8 1.43 5.5 2.60 9.0 2.41 6.3

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.29 0.8 0.35 0.8 0.17 0.7 0.14 0.5 0.29 0.8

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.22 5.9 2.58 5.5 1.61 6.2 1.79 6.2 2.23 5.8

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.70 4.5 2.13 4.6 1.24 4.8 1.11 3.9 1.71 4.5

Social Security5 ........................................ 1.30 3.4 1.63 3.5 0.97 3.8 0.83 2.9 1.31 3.4

Medicare ................................................... 0.39 1.0 0.50 1.1 0.26 1.0 0.27 1.0 0.40 1.0

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 6 ( ) 4 ( ) 6 ( ) 4 ( ) 6 ( ) 4 ( ) 6 ( ) 4 ( ) 6 ( ) 4 ( )

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.2

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.46 1.2 0.39 0.8 0.32 1.2 0.61 2.1 0.46 1.2

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

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

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

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

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

(such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 4 Less than .05 percent. 5 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

program. 6 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less.

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

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

compensation: State and local government workers, by occupational and industry group, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

State and local government workers ........................ $37.91 $25.53 $12.38 $2.98 $0.32 $4.18 $2.68 $2.22

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 46.66 32.96 13.71 3.29 0.19 4.57 3.08 2.58

Professional and related ........................... 46.47 33.15 13.32 2.99 0.20 4.56 3.03 2.54

Teachers1 ............................................. 51.93 38.04 13.89 2.77 0.10 4.76 3.53 2.73

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 50.18 36.47 13.71 2.57 0.09 5.08 3.40 2.58

Sales and office ............................................ 25.85 16.03 9.81 2.47 0.18 3.96 1.60 1.61

Office and administrative support ............. 25.85 16.04 9.81 2.47 0.18 3.95 1.61 1.60

Service .......................................................... 28.72 17.48 11.24 2.63 0.63 3.45 2.74 1.79

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 40.38 28.31 12.06 2.83 0.21 4.24 2.56 2.22

Educational services ................................. 41.04 29.04 11.99 2.64 0.13 4.35 2.66 2.22

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 40.08 28.39 11.69 2.29 0.11 4.58 2.58 2.13

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 44.16 31.13 13.03 3.71 0.20 3.71 2.93 2.47

Health care and social assistance ............ 36.43 23.94 12.49 3.95 0.68 3.61 1.98 2.27

Hospitals ............................................... 32.09 20.87 11.22 3.30 0.76 3.29 1.74 2.14

Public administration .................................... 34.15 21.31 12.85 3.21 0.49 4.08 2.95 2.12

Percent of total compensation

State and local government workers ........................ 100.0 67.3 32.7 7.8 0.9 11.0 7.1 5.9

Occupational group

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 70.6 29.4 7.0 0.4 9.8 6.6 5.5

Professional and related ........................... 100.0 71.3 28.7 6.4 0.4 9.8 6.5 5.5

Teachers1 ............................................. 100.0 73.3 26.7 5.3 0.2 9.2 6.8 5.3

Primary, secondary, and special

education school teachers .............. 100.0 72.7 27.3 5.1 0.2 10.1 6.8 5.1

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 62.0 38.0 9.6 0.7 15.3 6.2 6.2

Office and administrative support ............. 100.0 62.0 38.0 9.6 0.7 15.3 6.2 6.2

Service .......................................................... 100.0 60.9 39.1 9.2 2.2 12.0 9.5 6.2

Industry group

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 70.1 29.9 7.0 0.5 10.5 6.3 5.5

Educational services ................................. 100.0 70.8 29.2 6.4 0.3 10.6 6.5 5.4

Elementary and secondary schools ...... 100.0 70.8 29.2 5.7 0.3 11.4 6.4 5.3

Junior colleges, colleges, and

 universities ......................................... 100.0 70.5 29.5 8.4 0.5 8.4 6.6 5.6

Health care and social assistance ............ 100.0 65.7 34.3 10.8 1.9 9.9 5.4 6.2

Hospitals ............................................... 100.0 65.0 35.0 10.3 2.4 10.2 5.4 6.7

Public administration .................................... 100.0 62.4 37.6 9.4 1.4 11.9 8.6 6.2

1 Includes postsecondary teachers; primary, secondary, and

special education teachers; and other teachers and instructors.

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

rounding.
10

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

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

September 2006

Compensation

component

Occupational group

All

workers

Management,

professional,

and

related

Sales

and

office

Service

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $25.52 100.0 $45.43 100.0 $20.31 100.0 $12.48 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 18.04 70.7 32.27 71.0 14.67 72.3 9.39 75.2

Total benefits ........................................................ 7.48 29.3 13.16 29.0 5.64 27.7 3.09 24.8

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.73 6.8 3.81 8.4 1.31 6.5 0.55 4.4

Vacation ........................................................ 0.87 3.4 1.92 4.2 0.64 3.1 0.28 2.2

Holiday .......................................................... 0.57 2.2 1.23 2.7 0.44 2.2 0.17 1.4

Sick ............................................................... 0.21 0.8 0.48 1.1 0.18 0.9 0.08 0.6

Other ............................................................. 0.08 0.3 0.18 0.4 0.05 0.3 0.02 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.75 2.9 1.48 3.3 0.47 2.3 0.21 1.7

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.26 1.0 0.20 0.4 0.14 0.7 0.12 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.06 0.2 0.11 0.2 0.02 0.1 0.04 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.42 1.7 1.17 2.6 0.31 1.5 0.05 0.4

Insurance .......................................................... 1.89 7.4 2.81 6.2 1.62 8.0 0.83 6.7

Life ................................................................ 0.04 0.2 0.09 0.2 0.03 0.2 2 ( ) 3 ( )

Health ........................................................... 1.76 6.9 2.54 5.6 1.53 7.5 0.80 6.4

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.05 0.2 0.09 0.2 0.04 0.2 2 ( ) 3 ( )

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

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.93 3.6 1.85 4.1 0.58 2.8 0.18 1.4

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.46 1.8 0.78 1.7 0.22 1.1 0.07 0.6

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.47 1.8 1.07 2.3 0.36 1.8 0.11 0.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.18 8.6 3.21 7.1 1.65 8.1 1.32 10.6

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.51 5.9 2.62 5.8 1.23 6.0 0.83 6.6

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.21 4.7 2.07 4.6 0.99 4.9 0.67 5.4

Medicare ................................................... 0.30 1.2 0.54 1.2 0.24 1.2 0.16 1.3

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.16 0.6 0.17 0.4 0.15 0.7 0.13 1.1

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.48 1.9 0.39 0.8 0.24 1.2 0.33 2.6

See footnotes at end of table.
11

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

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

September 2006 — Continued

Compensation

component

Occupational group Bargaining unit status

Natural

resources,

construction,

and

maintenance

Production,

transportation,

and

material

moving

Union Nonunion

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $28.78 100.0 $21.47 100.0 $35.08 100.0 $24.37 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.53 67.9 14.32 66.7 21.73 62.0 17.60 72.2

Total benefits ........................................................ 9.25 32.1 7.15 33.3 13.35 38.0 6.77 27.8

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.39 4.8 1.28 6.0 2.65 7.6 1.62 6.6

Vacation ........................................................ 0.74 2.6 0.64 3.0 1.33 3.8 0.81 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.47 1.6 0.46 2.1 0.82 2.3 0.54 2.2

Sick ............................................................... 0.11 0.4 0.13 0.6 0.34 1.0 0.20 0.8

Other ............................................................. 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.17 0.5 0.07 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.91 3.2 0.77 3.6 1.20 3.4 0.69 2.8

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.65 2.3 0.49 2.3 0.76 2.2 0.21 0.8

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

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.22 0.7 0.19 0.9 0.26 0.8 0.44 1.8

Insurance .......................................................... 2.35 8.2 2.09 9.7 3.94 11.2 1.65 6.8

Life ................................................................ 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.08 0.2 0.04 0.2

Health ........................................................... 2.21 7.7 1.96 9.1 3.69 10.5 1.53 6.3

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.3 0.12 0.3 0.04 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.03 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.49 5.2 0.83 3.9 2.47 7.0 0.74 3.0

Defined benefit ............................................. 1.03 3.6 0.54 2.5 1.88 5.4 0.29 1.2

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.46 1.6 0.29 1.3 0.59 1.7 0.45 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 3.10 10.8 2.18 10.2 3.10 8.8 2.07 8.5

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.65 5.7 1.24 5.8 1.91 5.5 1.46 6.0

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.34 4.6 1.00 4.7 1.54 4.4 1.17 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.32 1.1 0.24 1.1 0.37 1.1 0.29 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.21 0.7 0.17 0.8 0.23 0.7 0.15 0.6

Workers’ compensation ................................ 1.21 4.2 0.74 3.4 0.91 2.6 0.43 1.8

1 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular

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

Insurance (OASDI) program.

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

rounding.
12

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

workers, by major industry group, September 2006

Compensation

component

Goods-producing1 Service-providing2

All goodsproducing1 Construction Manufacturing

All

serviceproviding2

Trade,

transportation,

and

utilities

Information

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

Total compensation .................................................. $29.95 100.0 $29.41 100.0 $29.87 100.0 $24.42 100.0 $21.21 100.0 $38.09 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.82 66.2 20.18 68.6 19.44 65.1 17.60 72.1 15.13 71.3 26.17 68.7

Total benefits ........................................................ 10.13 33.8 9.22 31.4 10.43 34.9 6.82 27.9 6.09 28.7 11.92 31.3

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.87 6.2 1.06 3.6 2.29 7.7 1.70 6.9 1.27 6.0 3.60 9.5

Vacation ........................................................ 0.98 3.3 0.59 2.0 1.18 3.9 0.84 3.4 0.64 3.0 1.77 4.6

Holiday .......................................................... 0.67 2.2 0.37 1.2 0.82 2.8 0.55 2.3 0.41 1.9 1.10 2.9

Sick ............................................................... 0.15 0.5 0.07 0.2 0.20 0.7 0.23 0.9 0.17 0.8 0.46 1.2

Other ............................................................. 0.07 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.09 0.3 0.08 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.26 0.7

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.22 4.1 1.18 4.0 1.22 4.1 0.63 2.6 0.51 2.4 0.93 2.4

Overtime and premium3 ............................... 0.57 1.9 0.59 2.0 0.54 1.8 0.19 0.8 0.25 1.2 0.37 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.09 0.3 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.14 0.5 0.05 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.56 1.9 0.58 2.0 0.54 1.8 0.39 1.6 0.24 1.1 0.52 1.4

Insurance .......................................................... 2.68 9.0 2.18 7.4 2.91 9.7 1.70 6.9 1.62 7.6 3.05 8.0

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

Health ........................................................... 2.50 8.4 2.07 7.0 2.71 9.1 1.57 6.4 1.53 7.2 2.75 7.2

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.08 0.3 0.04 0.1 0.10 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.17 0.5

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.08 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.52 5.1 1.47 5.0 1.46 4.9 0.78 3.2 0.74 3.5 1.61 4.2

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.98 3.3 0.96 3.3 0.92 3.1 0.33 1.3 0.41 1.9 0.89 2.3

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.54 1.8 0.51 1.7 0.54 1.8 0.45 1.8 0.34 1.6 0.71 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.84 9.5 3.35 11.4 2.55 8.6 2.02 8.3 1.94 9.2 2.73 7.2

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.70 5.7 1.67 5.7 1.70 5.7 1.46 6.0 1.26 6.0 2.21 5.8

Social Security6 ........................................ 1.37 4.6 1.35 4.6 1.37 4.6 1.17 4.8 1.02 4.8 1.77 4.6

Medicare ................................................... 0.33 1.1 0.32 1.1 0.33 1.1 0.29 1.2 0.24 1.2 0.44 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.22 0.7 0.27 0.9 0.20 0.7 0.15 0.6 0.14 0.7 0.18 0.5

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.90 3.0 1.38 4.7 0.63 2.1 0.38 1.5 0.50 2.4 0.31 0.8

See footnotes at end of table.
13

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

Private industry workers, by major industry group, September 2006 — Continued

Compensation

component

Service-providing2

Financial activities

Professional

and

business

services

Education

and

health

services

Leisure

and

hospitality

Other services

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $34.33 100.0 $29.77 100.0 $27.61 100.0 $10.96 100.0 $22.07 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 23.30 67.9 21.86 73.4 20.04 72.6 8.64 78.9 16.09 72.9

Total benefits ........................................................ 11.03 32.1 7.92 26.6 7.57 27.4 2.32 21.1 5.98 27.1

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.78 8.1 2.16 7.3 2.07 7.5 0.36 3.2 1.54 7.0

Vacation ........................................................ 1.39 4.1 1.07 3.6 1.00 3.6 0.20 1.9 0.73 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.89 2.6 0.73 2.4 0.66 2.4 0.10 0.9 0.55 2.5

Sick ............................................................... 0.36 1.0 0.28 1.0 0.30 1.1 0.04 0.4 0.20 0.9

Other ............................................................. 0.14 0.4 0.08 0.3 0.11 0.4 0.02 0.2 0.06 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 1.78 5.2 0.80 2.7 0.50 1.8 0.14 1.3 0.34 1.5

Overtime and premium3 ............................... 0.13 0.4 0.20 0.7 0.20 0.7 0.08 0.7 0.10 0.5

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.02 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.18 0.6 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.02 0.1

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 1.63 4.8 0.57 1.9 0.12 0.4 0.05 0.5 0.22 1.0

Insurance .......................................................... 2.61 7.6 1.72 5.8 2.04 7.4 0.51 4.6 1.57 7.1

Life ................................................................ 0.07 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.03 0.1 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.07 0.3

Health ........................................................... 2.41 7.0 1.56 5.2 1.92 6.9 0.49 4.4 1.45 6.6

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.07 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.02 0.1

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 0.03 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.57 4.6 0.87 2.9 0.78 2.8 0.10 0.9 0.60 2.7

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.66 1.9 0.34 1.1 0.23 0.8 0.02 0.2 0.18 0.8

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.91 2.7 0.53 1.8 0.56 2.0 0.08 0.7 0.42 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.29 6.7 2.35 7.9 2.18 7.9 1.22 11.1 1.94 8.8

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.89 5.5 1.78 6.0 1.65 6.0 0.78 7.2 1.34 6.1

Social Security6 ........................................ 1.49 4.3 1.42 4.8 1.33 4.8 0.63 5.8 1.08 4.9

Medicare ................................................... 0.40 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.33 1.2 0.15 1.4 0.26 1.2

Federal unemployment insurance ................ 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.4 0.03 0.1

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.15 0.4 0.17 0.6 0.14 0.5 0.12 1.1 0.15 0.7

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.22 0.6 0.37 1.2 0.36 1.3 0.27 2.5 0.41 1.9

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

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

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

and leasing; professional and technical services; management of

companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services;

educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,

entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; and

other services, except public administration.

3 Includes premium pay for work in addition to the regular work

schedule (such as overtime, weekends, and holidays). 4 Cost per hour worked is $0.01 or less. 5 Less than .05 percent. 6 Comprises the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

program.

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

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

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2006

Compensation

component

Census region and division1

Northeast Northeast divisions South South divisions

Cost Percent

New England Middle Atlantic

Cost Percent

South Atlantic

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $29.02 100.0 $27.96 100.0 $29.47 100.0 $22.83 100.0 $24.04 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 20.29 69.9 19.88 71.1 20.46 69.5 16.52 72.4 17.47 72.6

Total benefits ........................................................ 8.73 30.1 8.09 28.9 9.00 30.5 6.31 27.6 6.58 27.4

Paid leave ......................................................... 2.18 7.5 2.02 7.2 2.25 7.6 1.44 6.3 1.55 6.5

Vacation ........................................................ 1.06 3.7 0.99 3.6 1.09 3.7 0.73 3.2 0.79 3.3

Holiday .......................................................... 0.71 2.5 0.70 2.5 0.72 2.4 0.48 2.1 0.51 2.1

Sick ............................................................... 0.29 1.0 0.24 0.8 0.32 1.1 0.17 0.7 0.18 0.8

Other ............................................................. 0.11 0.4 0.09 0.3 0.12 0.4 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.95 3.3 0.80 2.9 1.01 3.4 0.58 2.5 0.57 2.4

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.27 0.9 0.25 0.9 0.28 0.9 0.23 1.0 0.23 1.0

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.07 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.05 0.2

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.61 2.1 0.49 1.8 0.67 2.3 0.29 1.3 0.29 1.2

Insurance .......................................................... 2.09 7.2 1.90 6.8 2.16 7.3 1.64 7.2 1.68 7.0

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

Health ........................................................... 1.93 6.7 1.78 6.4 2.00 6.8 1.51 6.6 1.55 6.4

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

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

Retirement and savings .................................... 1.09 3.7 1.00 3.6 1.13 3.8 0.75 3.3 0.78 3.3

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.50 1.7 0.41 1.5 0.53 1.8 0.35 1.5 0.34 1.4

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.59 2.0 0.58 2.1 0.59 2.0 0.40 1.8 0.44 1.8

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.42 8.3 2.37 8.5 2.44 8.3 1.91 8.3 1.99 8.3

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.69 5.8 1.67 6.0 1.70 5.8 1.37 6.0 1.44 6.0

Social Security3 ........................................ 1.35 4.7 1.34 4.8 1.36 4.6 1.10 4.8 1.15 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.34 1.2 0.33 1.2 0.34 1.2 0.27 1.2 0.29 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.23 0.8 0.23 0.8 0.22 0.8 0.11 0.5 0.10 0.4

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.47 1.6 0.43 1.6 0.49 1.7 0.40 1.8 0.42 1.7

See footnotes at end of table.
15

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

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2006 — Continued

Compensation

component

Census region and division1

South divisions Midwest Midwest divisions

East South

Central

West South

Central Cost Percent

East North Central West North

Central

Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $19.78 100.0 $22.35 100.0 $25.07 100.0 $26.42 100.0 $21.93 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 14.14 71.5 16.14 72.2 17.36 69.2 18.21 68.9 15.39 70.2

Total benefits ........................................................ 5.64 28.5 6.21 27.8 7.71 30.8 8.21 31.1 6.54 29.8

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.13 5.7 1.41 6.3 1.70 6.8 1.82 6.9 1.43 6.5

Vacation ........................................................ 0.60 3.0 0.69 3.1 0.86 3.4 0.91 3.4 0.75 3.4

Holiday .......................................................... 0.37 1.9 0.49 2.2 0.56 2.2 0.60 2.3 0.47 2.1

Sick ............................................................... 0.11 0.5 0.18 0.8 0.18 0.7 0.20 0.7 0.16 0.7

Other ............................................................. 0.05 0.3 0.05 0.2 0.09 0.4 0.10 0.4 0.06 0.3

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.53 2.7 0.62 2.8 0.76 3.0 0.83 3.2 0.60 2.8

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.23 1.2 0.24 1.1 0.30 1.2 0.32 1.2 0.27 1.2

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.07 0.4 0.04 0.2 0.08 0.3 0.09 0.3 0.06 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.23 1.2 0.34 1.5 0.38 1.5 0.43 1.6 0.28 1.3

Insurance .......................................................... 1.63 8.3 1.56 7.0 2.08 8.3 2.22 8.4 1.76 8.0

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

Health ........................................................... 1.52 7.7 1.44 6.4 1.94 7.7 2.06 7.8 1.65 7.5

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.05 0.3 0.04 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2

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

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.57 2.9 0.79 3.6 1.04 4.1 1.14 4.3 0.81 3.7

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.22 1.1 0.42 1.9 0.59 2.4 0.68 2.6 0.40 1.8

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.35 1.7 0.37 1.7 0.45 1.8 0.46 1.8 0.41 1.9

Legally required benefits .................................. 1.78 9.0 1.84 8.2 2.12 8.5 2.21 8.4 1.93 8.8

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.23 6.2 1.32 5.9 1.48 5.9 1.55 5.8 1.31 6.0

Social Security3 ........................................ 0.99 5.0 1.06 4.7 1.19 4.7 1.24 4.7 1.06 4.8

Medicare ................................................... 0.24 1.2 0.26 1.2 0.29 1.1 0.30 1.1 0.25 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.10 0.5 0.11 0.5 0.16 0.6 0.17 0.7 0.14 0.6

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.42 2.1 0.37 1.7 0.45 1.8 0.46 1.7 0.44 2.0

See footnotes at end of table.
16

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

Private industry workers, by census region and division, and area, September 2006 — Continued

Compensation

component

Census region and division1 Area

West West divisions Metropolitan

area

Nonmetropolitan

area

Cost Percent

Mountain Pacific

Cost Percent Cost Percent

Cost Percent Cost Percent

Total compensation .................................................. $27.08 100.0 $23.61 100.0 $28.51 100.0 $26.74 100.0 $18.68 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 19.20 70.9 17.10 72.4 20.07 70.4 18.90 70.7 13.26 71.0

Total benefits ........................................................ 7.88 29.1 6.51 27.6 8.45 29.6 7.84 29.3 5.42 29.0

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.80 6.6 1.43 6.0 1.95 6.9 1.85 6.9 1.04 5.6

Vacation ........................................................ 0.91 3.4 0.74 3.1 0.98 3.5 0.93 3.5 0.54 2.9

Holiday .......................................................... 0.60 2.2 0.47 2.0 0.65 2.3 0.61 2.3 0.35 1.9

Sick ............................................................... 0.23 0.9 0.17 0.7 0.26 0.9 0.23 0.9 0.10 0.6

Other ............................................................. 0.06 0.2 0.04 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.08 0.3 0.04 0.2

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.80 3.0 0.66 2.8 0.87 3.0 0.78 2.9 0.55 2.9

Overtime and premium2 ............................... 0.26 1.0 0.20 0.9 0.28 1.0 0.26 1.0 0.28 1.5

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.05 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.3

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.49 1.8 0.40 1.7 0.53 1.9 0.46 1.7 0.21 1.1

Insurance .......................................................... 1.89 7.0 1.66 7.0 1.98 7.0 1.96 7.3 1.53 8.2

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

Health ........................................................... 1.78 6.6 1.56 6.6 1.86 6.5 1.81 6.8 1.45 7.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.06 0.2 0.03 0.2

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.04 0.1 0.03 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.04 0.1 0.02 0.1

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.91 3.4 0.71 3.0 0.99 3.5 0.99 3.7 0.54 2.9

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.43 1.6 0.26 1.1 0.51 1.8 0.50 1.9 0.25 1.3

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.47 1.8 0.45 1.9 0.49 1.7 0.50 1.9 0.29 1.6

Legally required benefits .................................. 2.48 9.2 2.06 8.7 2.65 9.3 2.26 8.4 1.77 9.4

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.60 5.9 1.42 6.0 1.67 5.9 1.57 5.9 1.14 6.1

Social Security3 ........................................ 1.28 4.7 1.14 4.8 1.34 4.7 1.26 4.7 0.92 5.0

Medicare ................................................... 0.32 1.2 0.28 1.2 0.33 1.2 0.31 1.2 0.22 1.2

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.19 0.7 0.13 0.6 0.21 0.7 0.17 0.6 0.13 0.7

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.66 2.4 0.48 2.0 0.73 2.6 0.48 1.8 0.46 2.5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

program.

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

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

workers, by establishment employment size, September 2006

Compensation

component

1-99 workers 100 workers or more

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

more 100-499 workers 500 workers ormore

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

Total compensation .................................................. $20.74 100.0 $20.41 100.0 $21.71 100.0 $30.88 100.0 $26.68 100.0 $36.10 100.0

Wages and salaries .............................................. 15.28 73.7 15.20 74.4 15.55 71.6 21.13 68.4 18.72 70.2 24.13 66.8

Total benefits ........................................................ 5.45 26.3 5.22 25.6 6.16 28.4 9.74 31.6 7.95 29.8 11.97 33.2

Paid leave ......................................................... 1.12 5.4 1.08 5.3 1.22 5.6 2.41 7.8 1.83 6.8 3.15 8.7

Vacation ........................................................ 0.55 2.7 0.54 2.6 0.60 2.8 1.22 4.0 0.93 3.5 1.59 4.4

Holiday .......................................................... 0.39 1.9 0.38 1.9 0.43 2.0 0.77 2.5 0.61 2.3 0.98 2.7

Sick ............................................................... 0.13 0.6 0.13 0.6 0.15 0.7 0.30 1.0 0.21 0.8 0.41 1.1

Other ............................................................. 0.04 0.2 0.03 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.12 0.4 0.08 0.3 0.17 0.5

Supplemental pay ............................................. 0.54 2.6 0.54 2.6 0.55 2.5 0.98 3.2 0.78 2.9 1.22 3.4

Overtime and premium1 ............................... 0.19 0.9 0.16 0.8 0.28 1.3 0.35 1.1 0.31 1.2 0.39 1.1

Shift differentials ........................................... 0.02 0.1 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 0.03 0.1 0.11 0.4 0.06 0.2 0.17 0.5

Nonproduction bonuses ................................ 0.33 1.6 0.36 1.8 0.24 1.1 0.52 1.7 0.41 1.5 0.66 1.8

Insurance .......................................................... 1.34 6.5 1.23 6.0 1.68 7.8 2.51 8.1 2.10 7.9 3.01 8.3

Life ................................................................ 0.03 0.2 0.03 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.05 0.2 0.07 0.2

Health ........................................................... 1.26 6.1 1.16 5.7 1.57 7.2 2.32 7.5 1.96 7.3 2.77 7.7

Short-term disability ...................................... 0.03 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.08 0.2 0.06 0.2 0.09 0.3

Long-term disability ...................................... 0.02 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.02 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.04 0.1 0.07 0.2

Retirement and savings .................................... 0.50 2.4 0.44 2.2 0.66 3.0 1.41 4.6 1.00 3.7 1.91 5.3

Defined benefit ............................................. 0.18 0.9 0.15 0.7 0.28 1.3 0.77 2.5 0.51 1.9 1.09 3.0

Defined contribution ...................................... 0.32 1.5 0.30 1.4 0.38 1.8 0.64 2.1 0.49 1.8 0.82 2.3

Legally required benefits .................................. 1.95 9.4 1.92 9.4 2.05 9.4 2.44 7.9 2.24 8.4 2.68 7.4

Social Security and Medicare ....................... 1.27 6.1 1.26 6.2 1.31 6.0 1.78 5.8 1.54 5.8 2.06 5.7

Social Security4 ........................................ 1.02 4.9 1.01 5.0 1.05 4.8 1.42 4.6 1.23 4.6 1.65 4.6

Medicare ................................................... 0.25 1.2 0.25 1.2 0.25 1.2 0.36 1.2 0.31 1.2 0.41 1.1

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

State unemployment insurance .................... 0.16 0.8 0.15 0.8 0.17 0.8 0.16 0.5 0.18 0.7 0.15 0.4

Workers’ compensation ................................ 0.49 2.4 0.48 2.3 0.54 2.5 0.47 1.5 0.49 1.9 0.43 1.2

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

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

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

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

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

industry workers, goods-producing and service-providing industries, by occupational group, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers in private industry .................................................... $25.52 $18.04 $7.48 $1.73 $0.75 $1.89 $0.93 $2.18

Management, professional, and related ............................. 45.43 32.27 13.16 3.81 1.48 2.81 1.85 3.21

Management, business, and financial ............................ 50.61 35.27 15.34 4.48 2.18 3.11 2.17 3.40

Professional and related ................................................. 42.53 30.59 11.94 3.44 1.09 2.64 1.67 3.10

Sales and office .................................................................. 20.31 14.67 5.64 1.31 0.47 1.62 0.58 1.65

Sales and related ............................................................ 19.38 14.66 4.72 1.05 0.50 1.13 0.41 1.63

Office and administrative support ................................... 20.92 14.68 6.23 1.49 0.46 1.95 0.68 1.66

Service ................................................................................ 12.48 9.39 3.09 0.55 0.21 0.83 0.18 1.32

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 28.78 19.53 9.25 1.39 0.91 2.35 1.49 3.10

Construction and extraction ............................................ 29.58 19.99 9.60 1.05 0.94 2.40 1.76 3.44

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 28.17 19.22 8.95 1.85 0.89 2.32 1.18 2.70

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 21.47 14.32 7.15 1.28 0.77 2.09 0.83 2.18

Production ...................................................................... 22.62 14.80 7.82 1.48 0.94 2.36 0.87 2.17

Transportation and material moving ............................... 20.33 13.84 6.48 1.08 0.60 1.81 0.79 2.20

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... 29.95 19.82 10.13 1.87 1.22 2.68 1.52 2.84

Management, professional, and related ............................. 51.25 34.13 17.11 4.42 2.53 3.50 2.99 3.68

Sales and office .................................................................. 25.18 17.46 7.73 1.68 0.81 2.26 0.95 2.03

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 29.53 19.81 9.72 1.14 1.00 2.47 1.74 3.37

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 24.10 15.45 8.65 1.58 1.05 2.69 0.99 2.34

All workers, service-providing industries2 ........................ 24.42 17.60 6.82 1.70 0.63 1.70 0.78 2.02

Management, professional, and related ............................. 44.55 31.99 12.57 3.72 1.33 2.70 1.68 3.13

Sales and office .................................................................. 19.95 14.47 5.48 1.29 0.45 1.58 0.55 1.62

Service ................................................................................ 12.40 9.35 3.05 0.54 0.20 0.82 0.17 1.32

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 27.50 19.07 8.43 1.81 0.76 2.16 1.06 2.64

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 19.29 13.39 5.91 1.03 0.54 1.59 0.70 2.05

Percent of total compensation

All workers in private industry .................................................... 100.0 70.7 29.3 6.8 2.9 7.4 3.6 8.6

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 71.0 29.0 8.4 3.3 6.2 4.1 7.1

Management, business, and financial ............................ 100.0 69.7 30.3 8.9 4.3 6.1 4.3 6.7

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 71.9 28.1 8.1 2.6 6.2 3.9 7.3

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 72.3 27.7 6.5 2.3 8.0 2.8 8.1

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 75.7 24.3 5.4 2.6 5.8 2.1 8.4

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 70.2 29.8 7.1 2.2 9.3 3.3 7.9

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 75.2 24.8 4.4 1.7 6.7 1.4 10.6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 67.9 32.1 4.8 3.2 8.2 5.2 10.8

Construction and extraction ............................................ 100.0 67.6 32.4 3.5 3.2 8.1 5.9 11.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 100.0 68.2 31.8 6.6 3.2 8.2 4.2 9.6

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 66.7 33.3 6.0 3.6 9.7 3.9 10.2

Production ...................................................................... 100.0 65.4 34.6 6.5 4.2 10.4 3.9 9.6

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 68.1 31.9 5.3 3.0 8.9 3.9 10.8

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... 100.0 66.2 33.8 6.2 4.1 9.0 5.1 9.5

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 66.6 33.4 8.6 4.9 6.8 5.8 7.2

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 69.3 30.7 6.7 3.2 9.0 3.8 8.0

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 67.1 32.9 3.9 3.4 8.3 5.9 11.4

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 64.1 35.9 6.6 4.3 11.2 4.1 9.7

All workers, service-providing industries2 ........................ 100.0 72.1 27.9 6.9 2.6 6.9 3.2 8.3

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 71.8 28.2 8.4 3.0 6.1 3.8 7.0

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 72.5 27.5 6.5 2.2 7.9 2.8 8.1

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 75.4 24.6 4.4 1.6 6.6 1.4 10.6

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 69.3 30.7 6.6 2.8 7.8 3.9 9.6

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 69.4 30.6 5.3 2.8 8.2 3.6 10.6

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

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

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

leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies

and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; 

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

accommodation and food services; and other services, except public

administration.

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

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

industry workers, by industry group, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... $29.95 $19.82 $10.13 $1.87 $1.22 $2.68 $1.52 $2.84

Construction ....................................................................... 29.41 20.18 9.22 1.06 1.18 2.18 1.47 3.35

Manufacturing ..................................................................... 29.87 19.44 10.43 2.29 1.22 2.91 1.46 2.55

All workers, service-providing industries2 ........................ 24.42 17.60 6.82 1.70 0.63 1.70 0.78 2.02

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................................... 21.21 15.13 6.09 1.27 0.51 1.62 0.74 1.94

Wholesale trade .............................................................. 27.73 19.55 8.19 1.89 0.84 2.23 0.88 2.34

Retail trade ..................................................................... 15.67 11.88 3.79 0.74 0.28 0.98 0.28 1.50

Transportation and warehousing .................................... 27.97 18.66 9.31 1.86 0.68 2.67 1.35 2.73

Utilities ............................................................................ 48.38 27.95 20.43 4.33 1.91 4.11 6.74 3.35

Information .......................................................................... 38.09 26.17 11.92 3.60 0.93 3.05 1.61 2.73

Financial activities .............................................................. 34.33 23.30 11.03 2.78 1.78 2.61 1.57 2.29

Finance and insurance ................................................... 38.57 25.81 12.76 3.23 2.25 2.91 1.96 2.40

Credit intermediation and related activities ................. 31.90 21.65 10.25 2.62 1.30 2.63 1.63 2.06

Insurance carriers and related activities ..................... 36.24 24.22 12.02 3.01 1.53 3.06 1.98 2.44

Real estate and rental and leasing ................................. 22.50 16.29 6.22 1.50 0.47 1.79 0.47 1.99

Professional and business services ................................... 29.77 21.86 7.92 2.16 0.80 1.72 0.87 2.35

Professional and technical services ............................... 40.59 29.66 10.92 3.38 1.11 2.37 1.16 2.90

Administrative and waste services ................................. 17.90 13.66 4.24 0.78 0.41 0.95 0.34 1.77

Education and health services ............................................ 27.61 20.04 7.57 2.07 0.50 2.04 0.78 2.18

Educational services ....................................................... 36.04 26.79 9.25 2.45 0.13 2.50 1.49 2.68

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities ................. 42.06 30.37 11.70 3.39 0.16 3.09 2.18 2.88

Health care and social assistance .................................. 25.99 18.74 7.24 2.00 0.57 1.95 0.65 2.08

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................ 10.96 8.64 2.32 0.36 0.14 0.51 0.10 1.22

Accommodation and food services ................................. 9.88 7.85 2.03 0.27 0.11 0.45 0.07 1.14

Other services .................................................................... 22.07 16.09 5.98 1.54 0.34 1.57 0.60 1.94

Percent of total compensation

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ......................... 100.0 66.2 33.8 6.2 4.1 9.0 5.1 9.5

Construction ....................................................................... 100.0 68.6 31.4 3.6 4.0 7.4 5.0 11.4

Manufacturing ..................................................................... 100.0 65.1 34.9 7.7 4.1 9.7 4.9 8.6

All workers, service-providing industries2 ........................ 100.0 72.1 27.9 6.9 2.6 6.9 3.2 8.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities ...................................... 100.0 71.3 28.7 6.0 2.4 7.6 3.5 9.2

Wholesale trade .............................................................. 100.0 70.5 29.5 6.8 3.0 8.1 3.2 8.4

Retail trade ..................................................................... 100.0 75.8 24.2 4.8 1.8 6.3 1.8 9.6

Transportation and warehousing .................................... 100.0 66.7 33.3 6.7 2.4 9.6 4.8 9.8

Utilities ............................................................................ 100.0 57.8 42.2 9.0 3.9 8.5 13.9 6.9

Information .......................................................................... 100.0 68.7 31.3 9.5 2.4 8.0 4.2 7.2

Financial activities .............................................................. 100.0 67.9 32.1 8.1 5.2 7.6 4.6 6.7

Finance and insurance ................................................... 100.0 66.9 33.1 8.4 5.8 7.5 5.1 6.2

Credit intermediation and related activities ................. 100.0 67.9 32.1 8.2 4.1 8.2 5.1 6.5

Insurance carriers and related activities ..................... 100.0 66.8 33.2 8.3 4.2 8.5 5.5 6.7

Real estate and rental and leasing ................................. 100.0 72.4 27.6 6.7 2.1 8.0 2.1 8.8

Professional and business services ................................... 100.0 73.4 26.6 7.3 2.7 5.8 2.9 7.9

Professional and technical services ............................... 100.0 73.1 26.9 8.3 2.7 5.8 2.9 7.1

Administrative and waste services ................................. 100.0 76.3 23.7 4.3 2.3 5.3 1.9 9.9

Education and health services ............................................ 100.0 72.6 27.4 7.5 1.8 7.4 2.8 7.9

Educational services ....................................................... 100.0 74.3 25.7 6.8 0.4 6.9 4.1 7.4

Junior colleges, colleges, and universities ................. 100.0 72.2 27.8 8.1 0.4 7.3 5.2 6.8

Health care and social assistance .................................. 100.0 72.1 27.9 7.7 2.2 7.5 2.5 8.0

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................ 100.0 78.9 21.1 3.2 1.3 4.6 0.9 11.1

Accommodation and food services ................................. 100.0 79.4 20.6 2.7 1.1 4.5 0.7 11.5

Other services .................................................................... 100.0 72.9 27.1 7.0 1.5 7.1 2.7 8.8

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

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

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

leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies

and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; 

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

accommodation and food services; and other services, except public

administration.

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

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

industry workers, by occupational group and full-time and part-time status, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All full-time workers in private industry ................................. $29.12 $20.25 $8.87 $2.13 $0.91 $2.29 $1.15 $2.40

Management, professional, and related ............................. 47.05 33.11 13.94 4.12 1.58 2.99 2.02 3.24

Management, business, and financial ............................ 51.13 35.54 15.58 4.57 2.22 3.16 2.21 3.42

Professional and related ................................................. 44.38 31.51 12.87 3.82 1.16 2.88 1.89 3.12

Sales and office .................................................................. 23.39 16.59 6.79 1.67 0.60 2.01 0.72 1.80

Sales and related ............................................................ 25.80 19.14 6.66 1.64 0.77 1.65 0.61 1.99

Office and administrative support ................................... 22.25 15.39 6.86 1.68 0.51 2.18 0.77 1.71

Service ................................................................................ 14.91 10.69 4.22 0.85 0.31 1.31 0.28 1.46

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 29.23 19.76 9.47 1.43 0.94 2.43 1.54 3.12

Construction and extraction ............................................ 29.68 19.99 9.69 1.05 0.95 2.45 1.80 3.44

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 28.85 19.59 9.26 1.93 0.93 2.43 1.24 2.73

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 23.14 15.26 7.88 1.45 0.87 2.33 0.93 2.30

Production ...................................................................... 23.36 15.17 8.20 1.56 0.99 2.51 0.92 2.21

Transportation and material moving ............................... 22.86 15.38 7.48 1.32 0.72 2.10 0.94 2.41

All part-time workers in private industry ................................ 13.77 10.84 2.93 0.44 0.21 0.60 0.20 1.48

Management, professional, and related ............................. 33.00 25.85 7.16 1.48 0.76 1.41 0.56 2.95

Professional and related ................................................. 33.24 25.97 7.27 1.51 0.79 1.43 0.56 2.98

Sales and office .................................................................. 12.29 9.67 2.61 0.39 0.15 0.62 0.20 1.26

Sales and related ............................................................ 10.27 8.30 1.97 0.21 0.10 0.39 0.14 1.13

Office and administrative support ................................... 15.18 11.64 3.54 0.65 0.21 0.94 0.30 1.43

Service ................................................................................ 9.77 7.93 1.83 0.21 0.09 0.30 0.06 1.18

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 12.83 9.44 3.38 0.37 0.25 0.83 0.34 1.59

Transportation and material moving ............................... 12.86 9.32 3.54 0.38 0.25 0.97 0.34 1.60

Percent of total compensation

All full-time workers in private industry ................................. 100.0 69.5 30.5 7.3 3.1 7.9 3.9 8.2

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 70.4 29.6 8.7 3.4 6.4 4.3 6.9

Management, business, and financial ............................ 100.0 69.5 30.5 8.9 4.3 6.2 4.3 6.7

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 71.0 29.0 8.6 2.6 6.5 4.3 7.0

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 70.9 29.1 7.1 2.6 8.6 3.1 7.7

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 74.2 25.8 6.4 3.0 6.4 2.4 7.7

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 69.2 30.8 7.6 2.3 9.8 3.5 7.7

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 71.7 28.3 5.7 2.1 8.8 1.9 9.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance ............ 100.0 67.6 32.4 4.9 3.2 8.3 5.3 10.7

Construction and extraction ............................................ 100.0 67.4 32.6 3.5 3.2 8.2 6.1 11.6

Installation, maintenance, and repair .............................. 100.0 67.9 32.1 6.7 3.2 8.4 4.3 9.5

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 66.0 34.0 6.3 3.8 10.1 4.0 9.9

Production ...................................................................... 100.0 64.9 35.1 6.7 4.3 10.8 3.9 9.5

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 67.3 32.7 5.8 3.1 9.2 4.1 10.5

All part-time workers in private industry ................................ 100.0 78.7 21.3 3.2 1.5 4.4 1.5 10.8

Management, professional, and related ............................. 100.0 78.3 21.7 4.5 2.3 4.3 1.7 8.9

Professional and related ................................................. 100.0 78.1 21.9 4.5 2.4 4.3 1.7 9.0

Sales and office .................................................................. 100.0 78.7 21.3 3.2 1.2 5.0 1.7 10.2

Sales and related ............................................................ 100.0 80.8 19.2 2.1 1.0 3.8 1.3 11.0

Office and administrative support ................................... 100.0 76.7 23.3 4.3 1.4 6.2 2.0 9.4

Service ................................................................................ 100.0 81.2 18.8 2.1 0.9 3.1 0.6 12.0

Production, transportation, and material moving ................ 100.0 73.6 26.4 2.9 2.0 6.5 2.6 12.4

Transportation and material moving ............................... 100.0 72.4 27.6 3.0 2.0 7.6 2.7 12.4

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

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

compensation: Private industry workers, by industry group and full-time and part-time status, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All full-time workers in private industry ........... $29.12 $20.25 $8.87 $2.13 $0.91 $2.29 $1.15 $2.40

Goods-producing1 ............................................ 30.41 20.06 10.35 1.92 1.25 2.76 1.56 2.86

Construction ................................................. 29.91 20.44 9.47 1.09 1.21 2.26 1.52 3.38

Manufacturing ............................................... 30.32 19.69 10.63 2.34 1.25 2.98 1.48 2.58

Service-providing2 ............................................ 28.69 20.31 8.37 2.20 0.80 2.13 1.01 2.24

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 25.34 17.78 7.56 1.69 0.66 2.03 0.96 2.21

Information .................................................... 41.30 28.22 13.08 3.88 1.05 3.45 1.83 2.87

Financial activities ........................................ 36.91 24.88 12.03 3.08 1.98 2.84 1.73 2.40

Professional and business services ............. 33.14 24.06 9.07 2.58 0.90 2.02 1.05 2.52

Education and health services ...................... 29.17 20.86 8.31 2.39 0.54 2.28 0.91 2.19

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 13.63 10.30 3.33 0.66 0.22 0.92 0.15 1.36

Other services .............................................. 26.16 18.42 7.74 2.11 0.44 2.18 0.83 2.18

All part-time workers in private industry .......... 13.77 10.84 2.93 0.44 0.21 0.60 0.20 1.48

Service-providing2 ............................................ 13.72 10.80 2.92 0.44 0.21 0.61 0.20 1.46

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 11.93 9.15 2.78 0.33 0.17 0.71 0.24 1.33

Professional and business services ............. 15.03 12.19 2.84 0.33 0.39 0.41 0.09 1.62

Education and health services ...................... 23.04 17.65 5.39 1.14 0.39 1.33 0.40 2.14

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 8.64 7.20 1.44 0.09 0.06 0.15 0.05 1.10

Percent of total compensation

All full-time workers in private industry ........... 100.0 69.5 30.5 7.3 3.1 7.9 3.9 8.2

Goods-producing1 ............................................ 100.0 66.0 34.0 6.3 4.1 9.1 5.1 9.4

Construction ................................................. 100.0 68.3 31.7 3.7 4.1 7.5 5.1 11.3

Manufacturing ............................................... 100.0 64.9 35.1 7.7 4.1 9.8 4.9 8.5

Service-providing2 ............................................ 100.0 70.8 29.2 7.7 2.8 7.4 3.5 7.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 100.0 70.2 29.8 6.7 2.6 8.0 3.8 8.7

Information .................................................... 100.0 68.3 31.7 9.4 2.5 8.4 4.4 6.9

Financial activities ........................................ 100.0 67.4 32.6 8.3 5.4 7.7 4.7 6.5

Professional and business services ............. 100.0 72.6 27.4 7.8 2.7 6.1 3.2 7.6

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 71.5 28.5 8.2 1.8 7.8 3.1 7.5

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 100.0 75.6 24.4 4.9 1.6 6.8 1.1 10.0

Other services .............................................. 100.0 70.4 29.6 8.1 1.7 8.3 3.2 8.3

All part-time workers in private industry .......... 100.0 78.7 21.3 3.2 1.5 4.4 1.5 10.8

Service-providing2 ............................................ 100.0 78.7 21.3 3.2 1.5 4.4 1.4 10.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities ................ 100.0 76.7 23.3 2.7 1.4 6.0 2.0 11.1

Professional and business services ............. 100.0 81.1 18.9 2.2 2.6 2.7 0.6 10.8

Education and health services ...................... 100.0 76.6 23.4 5.0 1.7 5.8 1.8 9.3

Leisure and hospitality .................................. 100.0 83.3 16.7 1.0 0.7 1.7 0.5 12.7

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The

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

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

food services; and other services, except public administration.

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

rounding.
22

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

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

bargaining unit status, September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ... $29.95 $19.82 $10.13 $1.87 $1.22 $2.68 $1.52 $2.84

1-99 workers ..................................................... 25.32 17.71 7.61 1.10 0.96 1.95 0.84 2.76

1-49 workers ................................................. 24.66 17.54 7.11 1.03 0.97 1.65 0.71 2.76

50-99 workers ............................................... 26.83 18.09 8.74 1.28 0.92 2.64 1.13 2.76

100 workers or more ......................................... 34.25 21.77 12.48 2.57 1.47 3.37 2.16 2.91

100-499 workers ........................................... 29.34 19.09 10.24 1.77 1.19 2.99 1.57 2.72

500 workers or more ..................................... 40.42 25.14 15.28 3.58 1.82 3.83 2.89 3.16

Union ................................................................ 38.68 22.93 15.75 2.37 1.74 4.66 3.36 3.63

Nonunion .......................................................... 27.61 18.98 8.63 1.73 1.08 2.15 1.03 2.63

All workers, service-providing industries2 .. 24.42 17.60 6.82 1.70 0.63 1.70 0.78 2.02

1-99 workers ..................................................... 19.72 14.75 4.97 1.12 0.45 1.21 0.42 1.78

1-49 workers ................................................. 19.56 14.72 4.83 1.09 0.45 1.15 0.39 1.76

50-99 workers ............................................... 20.25 14.83 5.42 1.21 0.44 1.41 0.52 1.84

100 workers or more ......................................... 29.93 20.95 8.98 2.37 0.84 2.27 1.20 2.30

100-499 workers ........................................... 25.93 18.62 7.31 1.84 0.67 1.86 0.84 2.11

500 workers or more ..................................... 34.91 23.85 11.06 3.03 1.06 2.78 1.64 2.54

Union ................................................................ 32.75 20.96 11.80 2.84 0.85 3.47 1.89 2.75

Nonunion .......................................................... 23.68 17.31 6.38 1.59 0.61 1.54 0.68 1.95

Percent of total compensation

All workers, goods-producing industries1 ... 100.0 66.2 33.8 6.2 4.1 9.0 5.1 9.5

1-99 workers ..................................................... 100.0 69.9 30.1 4.4 3.8 7.7 3.3 10.9

1-49 workers ................................................. 100.0 71.2 28.8 4.2 3.9 6.7 2.9 11.2

50-99 workers ............................................... 100.0 67.4 32.6 4.8 3.4 9.8 4.2 10.3

100 workers or more ......................................... 100.0 63.6 36.4 7.5 4.3 9.8 6.3 8.5

100-499 workers ........................................... 100.0 65.1 34.9 6.0 4.1 10.2 5.4 9.3

500 workers or more ..................................... 100.0 62.2 37.8 8.9 4.5 9.5 7.2 7.8

Union ................................................................ 100.0 59.3 40.7 6.1 4.5 12.0 8.7 9.4

Nonunion .......................................................... 100.0 68.8 31.2 6.3 3.9 7.8 3.7 9.5

All workers, service-providing industries2 .. 100.0 72.1 27.9 6.9 2.6 6.9 3.2 8.3

1-99 workers ..................................................... 100.0 74.8 25.2 5.7 2.3 6.1 2.1 9.0

1-49 workers ................................................. 100.0 75.3 24.7 5.6 2.3 5.9 2.0 9.0

50-99 workers ............................................... 100.0 73.2 26.8 6.0 2.2 7.0 2.6 9.1

100 workers or more ......................................... 100.0 70.0 30.0 7.9 2.8 7.6 4.0 7.7

100-499 workers ........................................... 100.0 71.8 28.2 7.1 2.6 7.2 3.2 8.1

500 workers or more ..................................... 100.0 68.3 31.7 8.7 3.0 8.0 4.7 7.3

Union ................................................................ 100.0 64.0 36.0 8.7 2.6 10.6 5.8 8.4

Nonunion .......................................................... 100.0 73.1 26.9 6.7 2.6 6.5 2.9 8.3

1 Includes mining, construction, and manufacturing. The

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

and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional and technical services;

management of companies and enterprises; administrative and

waste services; educational services; health care and social

assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and

food services; and other services, except public administration.

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

rounding.
23

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

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

September 2006

Series

Total

compensation

Wages

and

salaries

Benefit costs

Total Paid

leave

Supplemental

pay

Insurance

Retirement

and

savings

Legally

required

benefits

Cost per hour worked

Health care and social assistance .................... $25.99 $18.74 $7.24 $2.00 $0.57 $1.95 $0.65 $2.08

Management, professional, and related ....... 37.03 27.07 9.96 3.00 0.85 2.33 0.98 2.80

Registered nurses ................................ 41.48 29.24 12.23 3.50 1.48 2.72 1.31 3.23

Sales and office ............................................ 19.61 13.66 5.94 1.52 0.34 1.98 0.54 1.57

Service .......................................................... 15.04 10.64 4.40 0.96 0.33 1.44 0.27 1.41

Hospitals ......................................................... 32.73 22.39 10.34 2.90 1.04 2.83 1.11 2.46

Management, professional, and related ....... 40.51 28.19 12.32 3.70 1.35 2.87 1.37 3.03

Registered nurses ................................ 43.83 30.25 13.58 4.02 1.78 2.97 1.53 3.29

Service .......................................................... 18.84 12.12 6.72 1.40 0.60 2.64 0.56 1.52

Nursing and residential care facilities .......... 18.37 13.27 5.11 1.23 0.43 1.39 0.30 1.76

Management, professional, and related ....... 28.19 20.58 7.61 2.07 0.67 1.77 0.55 2.55

Service .......................................................... 13.99 9.97 4.02 0.84 0.34 1.22 0.19 1.42

Percent of total compensation

Health care and social assistance .................... 100.0 72.1 27.9 7.7 2.2 7.5 2.5 8.0

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 73.1 26.9 8.1 2.3 6.3 2.7 7.6

Registered nurses ................................ 100.0 70.5 29.5 8.4 3.6 6.6 3.1 7.8

Sales and office ............................................ 100.0 69.7 30.3 7.7 1.7 10.1 2.7 8.0

Service .......................................................... 100.0 70.7 29.3 6.4 2.2 9.6 1.8 9.4

Hospitals ......................................................... 100.0 68.4 31.6 8.8 3.2 8.6 3.4 7.5

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 69.6 30.4 9.1 3.3 7.1 3.4 7.5

Registered nurses ................................ 100.0 69.0 31.0 9.2 4.1 6.8 3.5 7.5

Service .......................................................... 100.0 64.3 35.7 7.4 3.2 14.0 3.0 8.1

Nursing and residential care facilities .......... 100.0 72.2 27.8 6.7 2.3 7.5 1.6 9.6

Management, professional, and related ....... 100.0 73.0 27.0 7.4 2.4 6.3 1.9 9.0

Service .......................................................... 100.0 71.3 28.7 6.0 2.5 8.7 1.4 10.2

Note: The sum of individual items may not equal totals due to rounding.
24

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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 end-of-year payments, shift differentials, and premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends and 

holidays; these payments are included in the benefits component. 

Benefits include: Paid leave–vacations, holidays, sick leave, and 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 attendance bonuses); insurance benefits–

life, health, short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and savings benefits–defined benefit and 

defined contribution plans; and legally required benefits–Social Security, Medicare, federal and state 

unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. The collection of other benefits–severance pay and 

supplemental unemployment plans–were discontinued with the release of the March 2006 estimates. 

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 selfemployed and farm and private household workers. Federal government workers are excluded from the public 

sector. The private industry series and the state and local government series provide data for the two sectors 

separately. 

The cost levels for this quarter were collected from a probability sample of approximately 49,000 

occupations within about 11,000 sample establishments in private industry and approximately 3,400 

occupations within about 800 sample establishments in state and local governments. Data are collected for the 

pay period including the 12th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December. 

 When respondents do not provide all the data needed, a procedure for assigning missing values is used in 

the ECEC. A new imputation procedure, comparable to that used for the Employment Cost Index (ECI), was 

implemented with the publication of the March 2006 estimates. For a description of the methodological 

changes, see “Accounting for missing data in the Employment Cost Index,” in the April 2006 issue of the 

Monthly Labor Review on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/04/contents.htm. 

The ECEC percent of total compensation estimates are calculated from dollar aggregates and then 

rounded to the published level of precision. This method provided the most precise estimates of the percent of 

total compensation; however, estimates of the percentage of total compensation calculated from the published 

cost estimates may differ slightly from those calculated from the unpublished dollar aggregates. 

Sample establishments are classified by industry categories based on the 2002 North American Industry 

Classification (NAICS) 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 800 occupational classifications 

according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Individual occupations are 

combined to represent one of eight intermediate aggregations, such as professional and related occupations, or 

one of five higher-level aggregations, such as management, professional, and related occupations. Employees in 

occupations included in the survey receive cash payments from the establishment for services performed, while 

the establishment pays the employer’s portion of Medicare taxes on that individual’s wages. Major exclusions 
25

from the survey are the self-employed, individuals who set their own pay (for example proprietors, owners, 

major stockholders, and partners in unincorporated firms), volunteers, unpaid workers, family members being 

paid token wages, individuals receiving long-term disability compensation, and U.S. citizens working overseas. 

For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background and definitions, see the BLS 

websites: (http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm.) 

Additional occupational and industrial series were introduced in March 2004 with the introduction of the 

NAICS and SOC definitions. For more information, see “Comparing Current and Former Industry and 

Occupational ECEC Series” posted August 25, 2004 in Compensation and Working Conditions Online on the 

Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20040823ar01p1.htm. 

Current employment weights are used to calculate cost levels. The September 2006 cost levels were 

calculated using the September 2006 employment counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current 

Employment Statistics (CES) program, benchmarked to the March 2005 universe of all private nonfarm 

establishments. For more information on the CES updating of employment estimates, see “BLS Establishment 

Estimates Revised to Incorporate March 2005 Benchmarks,” on the Internet site 

http://www.bls.gov/web/cesbmart.htm. 

In most instances, private industry employment counts used in the ECEC were total employment 

estimates for 3-digit sub-sector industry groups, such as machinery manufacturing (NAICS 333) or gasoline 

stations (NAICS 447), as defined by the NAICS system. In a few cases, more detailed private industry 

employment counts were used. These include 4-digit educational establishments--elementary and secondary 

schools (6111), junior colleges (6112), and colleges and universities (6113)--as well as the 6-digit aircraft 

manufacturing industry (336411). For state and local governments, a more aggregated level was used reflecting 

the level of detailed published by the CES program. For both private and government establishments, the 

employment data were apportioned based on the sampling weights assigned to the Employment Cost Index 

(ECI) sample. For more information on NAICS coding, see “Recent changes in the national Current 

Employment Statistics survey” in the June 2003 issue of the Monthly Labor Review on the BLS website 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/06/contents.htm. 

The ECI, which measures the change in employer costs for employee compensation, is calculated with 

fixed 2002 employment counts to prevent employment shifts among occupations and industries from 

influencing the changes. Therefore, year-to-year changes in Employer Costs for Employee Compensation will 

differ from those in the ECI. 

Historical ECEC data, using the industry categories based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification 

System and classifying jobs into occupational classifications according to the Census of Population, are 

available from several sources. Data and related articles are included in the bulletin, Employer Costs for 

Employee Compensation, 1986-99 (Bulletin 2508). An annual historical listing 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 on 

a quarterly basis from June 2002 through December 2003 are also available. 

Beginning with the March 2004 quarter, historical data are available based on the 2002 North American 

Industry Classification System and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification. The new historical tables are 

available on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or upon request. Information on how costs 

are calculated appears in “Measuring Trends in the Structure and Levels of Employer Costs for Employee 

Compensation,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer 1997, on the BLS site 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art1.pdf. An article on changes in employer compensation 

costs, “Tracking Changes in Benefit Costs,” appears in Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 1999, on 

the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/spring1999brief3.pdf. 
26

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) for all estimates will be available shortly after the release is issued and can be 

obtained directly from the BLS Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm. 

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, on the BLS site http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art1.pdf. 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, on the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/spring1998art3.pdf. This article supplements an 

article from the Summer 1997 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions, "Explaining the Differential 

Growth Rates of the ECI and ECEC," which examined how differences in the construction of these measures 

contribute to differing trends. See the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/summer1997art2.pdf

for this article. 

Standard errors relate to differences that occur from sampling errors, but not from nonsampling errors. 

Nonsampling errors are not measured and include survey nonresponse and data collection and processing errors. 

Survey nonresponse occurs when sample members are unwilling or unable to participate in the survey. Data 

collection errors include inaccurate data by respondents and definitional difficulties. Processing errors include 

errors in recording, coding, and entering data. Although nonsampling errors are not measured, BLS quality 

assurance programs include procedures for reducing such errors. These procedures include data collection 

reinterviews, observed interviews, computer data edits, and systematic review of reports on which data are 

recorded. Extensive field economist training also is conducted to maintain high data collection standards. 

Comparing private and public sector data

Aggregate compensation cost levels in state and local government should not be directly compared with 

those in private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such as variation in work 

activities and occupational structures. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make up a large part of private 

industry work activities, but are rare in state and local government. Professional and administrative support 

occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the state and local government workforce, compared 

with one-half of private industry. 

A detailed examination of differences in compensation levels and trends between private industry and 

state and local government may be found in “Cost of Employee Compensation in Public and Private Sectors,” 

Monthly Labor Review, May 1993, on the BLS Internet site http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1993/05/contents.htm

and “Compensation Cost Trends in Private Industry and State and Local Governments,” Compensation and 

Working Conditions, Fall 1999, at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/fall1999art2.pdf. 
27

Obtaining information

Articles, bulletins, and other information may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending an e-mail 

message to NCSinfo@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.