Report: Private Employers' WC Costs Lowest in 29 Years

Workers' compensation costs for private-sector employers as a percentage of total payroll dropped every year from 2005 to 2014 to the lowest figure since 1986, according to a new Workers' Compensation Resources research report. Comp costs represented 1.77% of total payroll for U.S. non-governmental employers in 2014, according to the report. In 1986, the first year the Bureau of Labor Statistics started aggregating the data underlying the report, work comp costs accounted for 1.74% of gross earnings. Costs increased each year from 1986 until peaking at 2.99% in 1994. From 1994 to 200...