Hospital employees earn $38 per hour

Hospitals civilian workers earned $38.81 per hour in total compensation in March, according to data released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and salaries made up two-thirds of that figure.

The remainder of hospital benefits totaled $12.93 per hour for civilian workers. Benefits included paid leave, supplemental pay, health insurance, retirement and savings, and other legally required benefits.

Meanwhile, state and local government workers in hospitals earned $38.67 per hour in March, according to the BLS data.

For private industry hospital workers, total compensation clocks in at $38.83 per hour, barely surpassing their civilian counterparts. According to the data, private industry employees were better off in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., where the total compensation costs were $41.45. In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla., total compensation costs were only $24.12.

Hospital workers should see those compensation numbers rise. Almost 90 percent of hospitals and health systems are maintaining or increasing their salary budgets compared with 2011, according to a spring survey from consulting firm Integrated Healthcare Strategies. Hospital executives will see their salary rise 2.5 percent this year, while middle management and staff will experience payment bumps of 2.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, FierceHealthcare previously reported.

For more:
- read the BLS statement (.pdf)