Private industry
In March 2009, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.46 per hour worked. Wages and salaries averaged $19.45 per hour (70.8 percent), while benefits averaged $8.02 (29.2 percent). Employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.86 per hour worked (6.8 percent), supplemental pay averaged 78 cents (2.8 percent), insurance benefits averaged $2.14 (7.8 percent), retirement and savings averaged 96 cents (3.5 percent), and legally required benefits $2.27 (8.3 percent) per hour worked.
Employer costs for health benefits varied by industry, occupation, bargaining status, region and establishment size. These differences reflect in part, the varying incidence of benefit coverage among these groups. The National Compensation Survey also produces comprehensive data on the percentage of workers with access to and that participate in various employer provided benefit plans.
Health benefit costs in private industry
The average cost for health insurance benefits was $2.00 per hour worked in private industry (7.3 percent of total compensation) in March 2009. In March 1999, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.03, or 5.4 percent of total compensation.
Among occupational groups, employer costs for health insurance benefits ranged from 91 cents per hour and 6.7 percent of total compensation for service workers, to $2.91 and 6.0 percent of total compensation for management, professional, and related occupations. Among other occupational categories, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.77 (8.3 percent) for sales and office occupations, lower than $2.44 (7.9 percent) for natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations, and $2.25 (9.7 percent) for production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
Employer costs for health insurance benefits were significantly higher for union workers, averaging $4.15 per hour (11.4 percent), than for nonunion workers, averaging $1.75 (6.6 percent).
In goods-producing industries, health insurance benefit costs were higher, $2.80 per hour (8.7 percent of total compensation), than in service-providing industries, $1.82 per hour (6.9 percent of total compensation).
Within goods-producing industries, health insurance costs were $3.03 per hour (9.5 percent of total compensation) for manufacturing workers, greater than the cost for construction workers ($2.18 and 7.0 percent of compensation.) In service-providing industries, costs ranged from 61 cents in leisure and hospitality (5.1 percent), to $3.16 in the information industry (7.8 percent).
Among the four regions, costs for health insurance benefits ranged from $1.71 per hour in the South to $2.29 in the Northeast. Health care costs were $2.13 in the Midwest and $2.05 in the West. The proportion of total compensation represented by health benefits ranged from 6.9 percent in the West to 8.1 percent in the Midwest. Within census divisions, hourly health benefit costs ranged from $1.62 in the West South Central division to $2.30 in the Middle Atlantic division.
Health insurance benefit costs increased, both in average hourly dollar amount and as a proportion of total compensation, with establishment size. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers averaged $1.30 (6.0 percent), those with 50-99 workers averaged $1.76 (7.1 percent), those with 100-499 employees averaged $2.22 (7.9 percent), and those
with 500 or more employees averaged $3.19 (8.2 percent).
