Thursday, June 11, 2009

Average Wages Rose Again

Link to Bureau of Labor Statistics average employee compensation per hour for March 2009. It also breaks out the average cost of different benefits per hour. Additionally, there are regional, industry, union vs. non-union, and government vs private breakdowns.

"Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $29.39 per hour worked in March 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $20.49, accounted for 69.7 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.90, accounted for the remaining 30.3 percent."

Wages and salaries average a 2.91 percent annualized increase from December 2008 to March 2009.

"Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $29.18 per hour worked in December 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $20.37, accounted for 69.8 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.81, accounted for the remaining 30.2 percent."

Despite the decline in employment and the increase in unemployment, average wages continue to increase. If wages were declining, we would see greater hiring than we do and a decline in unemployment.

There is also a total employer compensation report and it shows an increase from December 2008 to March 2009. The next release of this report is on July 31, 2009.

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