Comp News – According to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employer costs for employee compensation came out to about $39.01 on average for the month of March 2021.

Total compensation costs for government employers were higher on average than they were for employers in the private industry.

State and local government worker compensation costs for employers averaged $53.68 per hour worked in March 2021. Wages and salaries averaged $33.20 and accounted for 61.9% of employer costs, while benefit costs averaged $20.47 and accounted for 38.1%. Total compensation costs for state and local government workers at the 50th (median) wage percentile were $50.21.

Consequently, the average wage per hour worked in the private sector was lower than in the public sector.

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $36.64 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $25.80 per hour worked and accounted for 70.4% of employer costs. Benefit costs averaged $10.83 per hour worked and accounted for the remaining 29.6%. Median (50th wage percentile) employer costs per employee hour worked were $26.88 for total compensation, $18.91 for wages and salaries, and $7.97 for benefits.

Unionized workers had much high total compensation costs than their non-union counterparts.

All workers covered by unions had total compensation costs of $50.73, with the total being $35.46 for non-union.

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