Dive Brief:
- The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that New England leads the nation when it comes to the employer costs for employee compensation, according to Hartford Business.
- The BLS reports that total compensation costs among private industry employers in the six New England states averaged $39.26 per hour in March 2016 – the nation's highest.
- Wages and salaries accounted for 70.8% of total compensation costs, while benefits accounted for 29.2% of costs. By comparison, U.S. compensation costs among private-industry employers averaged $32.06 per hour worked in March 2016.
Dive Insight:
Breaking down total benefits costs within New England division, insurance (life, health, short- and long-term disability insurance) led the way with $3.20 per hour worked, with mandated benefits (Social Security and Medicare) costing $2.89 per hour. Paid leave (vacation, holiday, sick and personal leave) cost employers $2.81 per hour, while retirement and savings added another $1.49 per hour to the region's total benefits costs.
While that might sound like a negative, the silver lining in those numbers is that employers in the six New England states likely have, by and large, a higher-skilled private workforce than other regions in the country. For example, the nation's East South Central region checked in at $25.12 per hour in compensation costs, according to the BLS.