New England and Northeast Top Labor Cost Figures

Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $30.68 per hour in the South to $41.48 in the Northeast during March 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the other two regions, hourly employer costs for employee compensation stood at $31.03 in the Midwest and $37.08 in the West. In addition to regional estimates, employer costs for nine smaller geographic divisions are also available. Within divisions, total compensation costs ranged from $26.14 per hour in the East South-Central division to $41.98 in the New England division.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits.

In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs in March 2018 were comprised of the following: wages and salaries ($27.58) made up 66.5 percent, while total benefits ($13.89) accounted for the remaining 33.5 percent. Among benefit costs, insurance, which includes life, health, and short- and long-term disability, averaged $3.37 per hour worked, or 8.1 percent of all compensation costs, the highest share for Northeast employers. Costs for paid leave, which includes vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, averaged $3.14 per hour worked, accounting for 7.6 percent of total compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both state and federal), and workers’ compensation, averaged $3.10 per hour and represented 7.5 percent of total compensation costs.

In the West, hourly wages and salaries averaged $26.16 and accounted for 70.5 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $10.93, or 29.5 percent of compensation costs. Legally required benefits averaged $2.99 per hour worked, the highest benefit cost, and accounted for 8.1 percent of total compensation costs in the West. Insurance benefits averaged $2.83 per hour and represented 7.6 percent of employer costs, while paid leave averaged $2.60 per hour, or 7.0 percent of total compensation costs.

The Midwest region recorded an hourly wage and salary average of $21.48 in March 2018, which represented 69.2 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $9.55 and accounted for the remaining 30.8 percent of total compensation costs. The three highest categories for employer benefit costs included: insurance benefits ($2.75 per hour worked), legally required benefits ($2.47), and paid leave ($2.10). These categories represented 8.9 percent, 8.0 percent, and 6.8 percent, respectively, of total employer compensation costs in the Midwest.

In the South, wages and salaries averaged $21.81 per hour and comprised 71.1 percent of total employer compensation costs, while benefits, at $8.86 per hour, accounted for the remaining 28.9 percent. Insurance benefits averaged $2.34 per hour worked, the highest benefit cost, closely followed by legally required benefits at 2.32 per hour; each category accounted for 7.6 percent of total compensation costs in the South. Paid leave was the third-highest benefit cost and averaged $2.10 per hour, accounting for 6.8 percent of employer compensation costs in the region.

Overall, compensation costs among private industry employers in the United States averaged $34.17 per hour worked in March 2018. Wages and salaries, at $23.76 per hour, accounted for 69.5 percent of these costs, while benefits, at $10.41, made up the remaining 30.5 percent.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation measures the average cost to employers for wages and salaries and benefits per employee hour worked. Data in this release cover private industry.