The March 2010 employee costs report was released today. The average wage is $20.67/hr. Benefits costs average $9.71/hr. This brings wages and benefits employer costs to a whopping total (sic) of $29.71/hr. Believe this or not, state and local government workers are the last holdouts in terms of getting good benefits.

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $27.73 per hour worked in March 2010.

Total employer compensation costs for State and local government workers averaged $39.81 per hour worked in March 2010.

One might see the above wage and benefit discrepancies as our taxpayer dollars are funding more benefits and wages than we can get. Another view might be government jobs are the only ones left with living wages and real retirement savings. Think about it. Are you prepared for retirement? In other words, private sector workers have gotten and are still getting the shaft.