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For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, March 18, 2022 USDL-22-0469 Technical information: (202) 691-6199 * ncsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ect Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * pressoffice@bls.gov EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION - February 2024 Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $40.35 per hour worked in December 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries cost employers $27.83 and accounted for 69.0 percent of total costs, while benefits cost $12.52 and accounted for the remaining 31.0 percent. (See table 1.) //ECEC QCT Test ZUNI3PO 08292024// Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $38.07 per hour worked in December 2021. Wage and salary costs averaged $26.86 and accounted for 70.5 percent of employer costs, while benefit costs were $11.22 and accounted for 29.5 percent. (See tables 1 and 4.) State and local government employer costs averaged $54.96 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $34.09 per hour worked and represented 62.0 percent of total compensation costs, while benefit costs averaged $20.87 and accounted for the remaining 38.0 percent. (See tables 1 and 3.) Within total benefits, supplemental pay costs averaged $1.21 per hour worked or 3.0 percent of total compensation for civilian workers, $1.32 per hour worked (3.5 percent) for private industry workers, and $0.52 per hour worked (0.9 percent) for workers in state and local government. (See table 1.) Supplemental pay includes employer costs for employee shift differentials (extra payments for working a non-traditional work schedule), overtime and premium pay (pay in addition to the regular work schedules, and pay for work on weekends and holidays), and nonproduction bonuses (such as holiday bonuses or end-of-year bonuses which are given at the discretion of the employer and are not tied to a production formula). Supplemental pay costs in private industry For private industry workers, nonproduction bonuses cost employers $0.89 per employee hour worked or 2.3 percent of total compensation, overtime and premium pay cost $0.36 per hour worked (0.9 percent), and shift differentials cost $0.07 per hour worked (0.2 percent). (See table 1.) Supplemental pay costs by occupational group ranged from $0.43 per employee hour worked or 2.2 percent of total compensation for service occupations to $2.41 (3.8 percent) for management, professional, and related occupations. (See table 4.) Nonproduction bonus costs ranged from $0.17 per employee hour worked or 0.9 percent of total compensation for service occupations to $2.12 (3.3 percent) for management, professional, and related occupations. Overtime and premium pay costs ranged from $0.20 per employee hour worked or 0.7 percent of total compensation for sales and office occupations and $0.20 (1.0 percent) for service occupations, to $0.97 (2.4 percent) for natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. (See www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.) Supplemental pay costs varied by bargaining unit status. Supplemental pay costs for union workers were $1.86 per hour worked or 3.6 percent of total compensation, while costs for nonunion workers were $1.27 (3.4 percent). Overtime and premium costs were the largest component of supplemental pay costs for union workers at $0.98 per hour worked, while for nonunion workers the largest component was nonproduction bonus costs at $0.91. (See table 5 and www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for March 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).