Health care eats up more of employers' costs

The rising cost of health care is taking a bigger chunk of the pie when it comes to the total compensation employers pay to employees. A study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that although salaries remain the largest share of employers' total compensation cost, that share has been shrinking over the years. In 2004, wages and salaries accounted for 81 percent of total compensation costs, compared with 95 percent in 1950. The share going to healthcare costs has risen from 1/2 percent to 8 percent during that same time period. The share going to retirement has risen from 3 percent to 9 percent.