Compensation of employees in United States of America
United States of America: Compensation of employees was 8.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Compensation of employees in United States of America, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for compensation of employees in United States of America is 8.1%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and down 19.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in United States of America peaked at 18.6% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 2021.
That places United States of America 147th out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Compensation of employees in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 18.6% | — |
| 1973 | 17.5% | -5.6% |
| 1974 | 16.7% | -4.7% |
| 1975 | 14.9% | -10.7% |
| 1976 | 13.9% | -6.4% |
| 1977 | 13.5% | -2.9% |
| 1978 | 13.3% | -1.9% |
| 1979 | 12.7% | -4.5% |
| 1980 | 11.5% | -9.0% |
| 1981 | 11.3% | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 11.2% | -0.8% |
| 1983 | 10.8% | -3.8% |
| 1984 | 10.9% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 10.5% | -3.8% |
| 1986 | 10.4% | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +3.2% |
| 1988 | 10.7% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 10.4% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 10.1% | -3.5% |
| 1991 | 9.8% | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 9.7% | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 9.4% | -2.8% |
| 1994 | 9.2% | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 8.9% | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 8.7% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 8.5% | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 8.5% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 8.6% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 8.7% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 9.8% | +12.6% |
| 2002 | 10.3% | +5.4% |
| 2003 | 10.8% | +5.4% |
| 2004 | 10.9% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 10.8% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 10.7% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 10.6% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 10.1% | -4.4% |
| 2009 | 9.9% | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 10.0% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 10.2% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 9.9% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 9.7% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 9.7% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 9.6% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 9.5% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 9.2% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 7.0% | -24.4% |
| 2021 | 6.7% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 8.0% | +19.6% |
| 2023 | 8.1% | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.1% | 12.7% | 18.6% | 8 |
| 1980s | 10.8% | 10.4% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.1% | 8.5% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.3% | 8.7% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.8% | 9.2% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.4% | 6.7% | 8.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 144 Mexico 9.2% compare
- 145 Sweden 9.2% compare
- 146 Republic of Korea 8.8% compare
- 148 Netherlands 7.8% compare
- 149 Finland 7.1% compare
- 150 Switzerland 7.0% compare
More public sector data for United States of America
- Arms imports 1.21 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 3.56 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 52.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.21 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 2,933 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.034 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 8.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 997.31 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 86.58 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in United States of America?
- Compensation of employees in United States of America was 8.1% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 18.6% in 1972.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 2021.
- How does United States of America rank for compensation of employees?
- United States of America ranks 147th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.