The next time employees want to know — or want to complain about — the value of their pay and benefits, point them to the latest statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics just released these figures:

• Average per-hour amount employers paid in March to cover pay and benefits: $29.39. Of that, $8.90, or 30.3 %, went to pay for benefits.
• Average amount spent for legally required benefits — Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation  — was $2.28 an hour, or 7.8% of total compensation.
• Employer-paid life, health and disability insurance averaged $2.52 an hour, or 8.6% of total costs.
• Cost of other discretionary benefits such as paid holidays and leave: $2.08, or 7.1%.
• Retirement and savings benefits: $1.31, or 4.5%.

Go here for a full breakdown of costs by categories such as industry and occupation.