In December 2009, private industry employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.86 per hour worked. Paid leave benefit costs were highest for management, professional, and related occupations, $4.05 per hour. Costs were lowest among service occupations, 58 cents per hour. This is according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employer cost for paid leave benefits averaged $2.71 per hour worked for union workers, significantly higher than the $1.76 per hour average for nonunion workers.
Paid leave costs in goods-producing industries were $2.08, greater than the average for service-providing industries, $1.81. The average cost per hour worked for paid leave in service-providing industries ranged from $3.83 in information to 38 cents in leisure and hospitality.
Paid leave costs varied widely by establishment size in private industry. Paid leave costs for establishments with fewer than 100 workers were $1.26 per hour worked versus $1.93 for establishments with 100 to 499 employees and $3.37 with 500 or more employees.
Private industry employers spent an average of $27.42 per hour worked for total employee compensation in December 2009. Wages and salaries averaged $19.41 per hour worked; benefits averaged $8.00.
This data is from the Compensation Cost Trends program. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — December 2009" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0283. Benefits costs include paid leave, supplemental pay, insurance benefits, retirement and savings, and legally required benefits. Included in for paid leave benefits costs were employer costs for vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave.
