Employers in New England and the Northeast had the nation’s highest employee compensation costs in September, according to federal officials.
New data released Tuesday by the New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said total compensation costs among private-industry employers averaged $42.06 per hours worked in September. Of that total, wages and salaries accounted for nearly 69 percent, or $28.84 per hour, of total costs. Benefits accounted for over 31 percent of costs, or $13.22 per hour.
Employer costs for life, health, short- and long-term disability insurance tallied $3.63 per hour worked and paid leave, including vacation, holiday, sick and personal leave, cost $3.25 an hour, while mandated social security and Medicare benefits cost $3 per hour. Retirement and savings costs added an additional $1.97 per hour for the region’s employers.
Nationally, compensation costs for employers averaged $34.53 per hour in September, while wages and salaries cost them $24.06 per hour, or 69.7 percent of total costs. Meantime, benefits cost employers $10.48 an hour.
Across nine geographic divisions, the data show total compensation costs for the month ranged from $28.67 per hour in the “east south central” division of the U.S. to $42.06 in the New England region.
The federal data surfaces weeks before progressive Democrats in Connecticut are slated to roll out a legislative agenda before the General Assembly that advocates for raising the state’s minimum wage from $10.10 to $15 by 2023 and mandating paid family and medical leave for workers.
