For Release: Thursday, March 18, 2021
21-399-DAL
SOUTHWEST INFORMATION OFFICE: Dallas, Texas
Technical information:
(972) 850-4800 BLSInfoDallas@bls.gov www.bls.gov/regions/southwest
Media contact:
(972) 850-4800
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for the Regions – December 2020
Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged
from $32.34 per hour in the South to $40.62 in the Northeast during December 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. In the other two regions, hourly employer costs for employee compensation stood at
$34.76 in the Midwest and $40.19 in the West. (See chart 1.) In addition to regional estimates, employer costs
for nine smaller geographic divisions are also available. Within divisions, total compensation costs ranged
from $29.55 per hour in the East South Central division to $42.81 in the Pacific division. (See table 1.)
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are based on the National Compensation Survey, which
measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits. (Geographic definitions of the regions
and divisions follow in the Technical Note.)
2
In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs in December 2020 were comprised of the following: wages
and salaries ($27.89) made up 68.7 percent, while total benefits ($12.72) accounted for the remaining 31.3
percent of compensation costs. Insurance costs, which include life, health, and short- and long-term disability,
averaged $3.35 per hour worked, or 8.3 percent of all compensation costs. Costs for paid leave, which includes
vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, averaged $3.20 per hour worked, accounting for 7.9 percent of
total compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment
insurance (both state and federal), and workers’ compensation, averaged $3.14 per hour and represented 7.7
percent of total compensation costs.
In the West, hourly wages and salaries averaged