But drag the numbers UP, nicht wahr?
Healthcare benefits and other benefits have been getting hammered over the past 2 years..especially if you consider pensioner benefits in those calculations.
For instance, to offset healthcare increases (which have actually slowed a bit) many employers have stopped some other benefits altogether...like emergency assistance programs, legal advise programs, family crisis programs, etc....
In the early 90s when I was the "salary budget guy" in my corp, our benefit estimate as a percentage of wages was 33%. The numbers I see now in most calculations is 26-28%. This is due to 1) a shift in the amount of copay to the employee and 2) the elimation of other benefits.
