Total employer compensation costs for private-industry workers averaged $41.53 in September, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This is down from the average of $42.03 per hour worked reported for June.

Wages and salaries averaged $29.34 per hour worked and accounted for 70.6% of employers’ costs. Benefits averaged $12.19 per hour in September and accounted for the remaining 29.4%.

Among the benefits, health insurance on average costs $2.86 per hour worked while Social Security and Medicare averaged $2.48 per hour worked.