An Economic Analysis of the U.S. Wooden Pallet and Container Industry
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2.4 Labor Compensation
Labor compensation, a component of value added, is the sum of salary/wages and
supplements. Supplements can take the form of employer contributions for employee
pensions and insurance funds (ex: health insurance) and employer contributions for
government social insurance (ex: social security).
Figure 5 illustrates the total labor compensation of NWPCA-related activity. Additional
details, including growth rates, are provided in Table 4.
In general, labor compensation has
followed a similar path as overall value
added. Compensation grew quickly
from 2004 and 2005, only to have gains
erased by the Great Recession. Labor
compensation of NWPCA-related
employees totaled $2.2 billion in 2010, approximately 30 percent lower than levels
recorded in 2005. Since then, however, labor compensation has trended upwards. Four
straight years of growth has helped labor compensation reach a level of $3.0 billion in
2016, an average annual gain of 7.7 percent over the period. This robust growth has
outpaced job gains, indicating higher average wages.
Labor compensation's share of total value added was approximately 78 percent in 2016.
Taxes on production and imports and gross operating surplus (profits) make up the
remainder of total value added.
Labor compensation of NWPCA-related
employees reached $3 billion in 2016.
