Your Real Pay Is Bigger Than Your Paycheck: Employer Compensation Costs, June 2026
- Private employers spent an average of $46.89 per hour worked on compensation in June 2026: $32.82 in wages and $14.07 in benefits.
- Benefits were 30.0% of compensation in private industry and 38.8% in state and local government.
- Full-time private workers cost $54.00 an hour on average, versus $25.20 for part-time.
When an employer says a raise “costs more than you think,” this is what they mean. The Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) survey measures what employers pay per hour worked, including benefits (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026).
The averages
| Group (June 2026) | Total per hour | Wages | Benefits | Benefit share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All civilian workers | $49.46 | $33.85 | $15.61 | — |
| Private industry | $46.89 | $32.82 | $14.07 | 30.0% |
| State and local government | $66.45 | $40.67 | $25.78 | 38.8% |
| Private, full-time | $54.00 | $36.97 | $17.03 | 31.5% |
| Private, part-time | $25.20 | $20.15 | $5.05 | 20.0% |
Paid leave and required benefits
For full-time private workers, employer costs for paid leave were $4.40 per hour worked (8.1% of compensation), and legally required benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance were $3.76 (7.0%). For part-time workers, paid leave cost $0.90 an hour and legally required benefits $2.30.
Industry example
Compensation costs vary a lot by industry. For full-time workers in leisure and hospitality, total employer costs averaged $27.95 per hour worked; for part-time workers in the industry, $17.21.
Coming changes
The September 2026 ECEC is scheduled for Wednesday, December 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Starting with December 2026 data, BLS will remove workers’ compensation costs from the ECEC, so benefit totals won’t be strictly comparable to earlier releases.
How to use it
- When comparing offers, put a value on benefits, not just salary.
- If an employer can’t move on salary, ask about benefits that cost them less than they’re worth to you, like extra paid time off or education assistance.
- Part-time workers get a much smaller share of pay in benefits, so a move to full-time can be worth more than the hourly rate suggests.
Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original graphic by JobPayRaise.com.
Comments (1)
On what those benefit dollars buy: in March 2026, 72% of private industry workers had access to retirement benefits, but only 52% participated. If your employer offers a plan with a match you aren’t using, that’s compensation you’re leaving behind. Source: BLS Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026.