In December, it cost private industry $2.49 per hour worked tooffer Social Security, retirement and savingsbenefits to employees, according to the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics.

Social Security accounted for $1.39 per hour, or 4.7 percent oftotal compensation, while retirement and savings benefits accountedfor $1.10 per hour, or 3.7 percent of compensation.

Private industry employers spent an average of $29.63 per hourworked for total employee compensation in December, according toBLS. Wages and salaries averaged $20.76 per hour worked andaccounted for 70.1 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged$8.87 and accounted for the remaining 29.9 percent.

Total compensation costs for state and local government workersaveraged $42.89 per hour worked in December 2013. Total employercompensation costs for civilian workers, which include privateindustry and state and local government workers, averaged $31.57per hour worked in December 2013.

According to the BLS, legally required benefits, such as SocialSecurity and Medicare, are often directly linked to wages;therefore, higher paid occupations or industries will typicallyshow higher cost estimates for this compensation component.

Private industry employer costs averaged $2.45 per hour workedfor insurance benefits such as life, health and disability, or 8.3 percent of totalcompensation.