Metropolitan area costs in private industry
Total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs in private industry are included in table 15 of this release for 15 combined and metropolitan statistical areas (CSAs and MSAs). Total compensation costs for the 15 metropolitan areas ranged from $41.42 for the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA, to $23.29 in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA.
Civilian workers
Employer costs for civilian workers, which include private industry and State and local government workers, averaged $2.67 per hour worked for insurance benefits (life, health, and disability insurance), or 8.9 percent of total compensation. In addition to insurance, the other benefit categories were: paid leave (vacation, holiday, sick leave, and personal leave), which averaged $2.09 (7.0 percent of total compensation); supplemental pay (overtime and premium, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses), which averaged 70 cents per hour worked (2.3 percent); retirement and savings (defined benefit and defined contribution plans), which averaged $1.36 per hour (4.5 percent); and legally required benefits (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation), which averaged $2.33 per hour worked (7.8 percent).
Private industry
Private industry employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.92 per hour worked (6.8 percent of total compensation), supplemental pay averaged 76 cents (2.7 percent), insurance benefits averaged $2.26 (8.0 percent), retirement and savings averaged $1.00 per hour worked (3.5 percent), and legally required benefits averaged $2.31 (8.2 percent) per hour worked.
Health insurance costs in private industry
The average cost for health insurance benefits was $2.12 per hour worked in private industry (7.5 percent of total compensation) in March 2011. In March 2001, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.16, or 5.6 percent of total compensation.
Among occupational groups, employer costs for health insurance benefits ranged from 91 cents per hour worked and 6.5 percent of total compensation for service workers, to $3.17 and 6.3 percent of total compensation for management, professional, and related occupations. Among other occupational categories, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.90 (8.6 percent) for sales and office occupations, lower than $2.47 (8.0 percent) for natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations, and $2.39 (10.1 percent) for production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
Employer costs for health insurance benefits were significantly higher for union workers, averaging $4.63 per hour (12.3 percent), than for nonunion workers, averaging $1.85 (6.8 percent).
In goods-producing industries, health insurance benefit costs were higher, at $2.94 per hour (8.9 percent of total compensation), than in service-providing industries, at $1.95 per hour (7.2 percent of total compensation).
Among the four regions, costs for health insurance benefits ranged from $1.79 per hour in the South to $2.49 in the Northeast. Health insurance costs were $2.28 in the Midwest and $2.13 in the West. Within census divisions, hourly health benefit costs ranged from $1.72 in the West South Central division to $2.50 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 $1.34 per hour worked (6.0 percent of total compensation); those with 50-99 workers averaged $1.83 (7.1 percent); those with 100-499 employees averaged $2.40 (8.4 percent); and those with 500 or more employees averaged $3.54 (8.7 percent).
