In March 2023, state and local government organizations spent an average of $58 an hour in staff wages and benefits, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Their civilian and private sector counterparts managed $43.07 and $40.79 per hour respectively in worker compensation. Management, business, and financial professions attracted the highest mean hourly earnings in most sectors, at $80.44 for civilians and $80.3 for private industry workers. Here are some highlights from the report titled “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation” or ECEC.
Hourly Worker Remuneration Costs for Civilian Employees
The 10% best-paid civilian employees made an average of $82.96 an hour, compared to $16.54 for their counterparts in the 10 percentile wage bracket. Wages and salaries constituted 69% of hourly worker compensation costs for employers in the sector, at $29.7 on average. Remuneration in civilian education and health services averaged $48.91 an hour, 67% or $33.22 of the rate being the salary component. The sector’s higher education, including junior colleges and universities, spent $68.14 per hour on worker pay and perks that month, with salaries accounting for 65.9% of the total pay rate ($44.90).
Hourly Worker Compensation Costs for the Private Sector
In the private segment, salaries and wages cost employers $28.76 per hour on average, or 70.5% of the total remuneration in March 2023. Ten percent of workers in the industry were paid $78.42 or more an hour, while the 10% at the bottom of the pay grade earned a maximum of $15.91 an hour. In the education sector, colleges, universities, and professional school workers earned a total of $69 per hour, including $55.11 in salaries (68.6% of the remuneration). Their healthcare and social assistance counterparts were paid $41.87 an hour, with $29.50 in hourly wages constituting 70.4% of the total compensation.
State and Local Government Worker Compensation Costs
The same month, state and local government agencies paid an average of $96.99 or more per hour to their top 10% income earners and $25.19 or less to the 10% lowest paid employees. Out of the $58.08 hourly earnings for all workers, 61.8% or $35.89 was staff salaries. Workers in management, professional, and similar fields were paid $69.02 an hour, with $44.04 or 63.8% of total compensation paid out as hourly wages. Remuneration costs in the education sector averaged $61.73 per hour, with $39.57 or 64.1% paid as staff salaries. For higher education, the average worker compensation cost was $67.63 per hour, with $43.29 or 64% paid as wages, while health care and social services workers earned an average of $52.34 ($32.27 or 61.7% of the pay rate as salaries).
Unlocking Industry-Specific Workers’ Compensation Insights with McKnight Associates, Inc.
These are some of the key highlights from the ECEC report compiled by the National Compensation Survey. To obtain specific workers’ compensation insights for your industry or niche, contact us today at Stan McKnight Associates, Inc. We provide hands-on human resources consulting for organizations of all sizes in higher education, the health sector, and more.