Glossary

Labor burden

Everything an employer pays for a worker on top of the wage itself, usually expressed as a percentage of that wage.

Labor burden covers employer payroll taxes, benefits, paid time off and the overhead a worker consumes — vehicle, tools, phone, software, supervision. It is quoted as a rate on top of the wage, so a 30% burden means a $28 wage costs the business $36.40 an hour before any work is done. The related figure, the fully burdened rate, is that dollar amount rather than the percentage. Workers' compensation belongs inside the burden but has no honest flat rate: it is priced by class code, payroll and insurer, and for a trade it is often the single largest line.

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