In its latest Employer Costs for Employee Compensation report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the average employer had overall payroll costs of more than $28 per hour per employee.
According to the report, employers in the private and public sectors spent varying amounts of money on employee benefits. Private companies spent 29.6 percent of payroll costs on benefits compared with 34.6 percent for government and civil service agencies.
Overall, the BLS says that on average, private employers spent $28.13 based on each hour worked by each of their their staff members – $8.32 for benefits and the remaining $19.81 for salary.
Other than required benefits such as workers compensation, Social Security and Medicare, insurance plans were the biggest benefit cost, accounting for 8.3 percent of payroll expenses. Paid leave made up 6.7 percent of compensation costs, while retirement plans account for 3.7 percent.
Total compensation for public employees was much higher, according to the BLS, with costs averaging $40.40 for each employee hour worked.
