.burdened-labor-calculator-container {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
background: #fff;
padding: 20px;
border-radius: 8px;
box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
}
.blc-header {
text-align: center;
margin-bottom: 30px;
}
.blc-header h2 {
color: #2c3e50;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.blc-grid {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
gap: 20px;
}
@media (max-width: 600px) {
.blc-grid {
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}
}
.blc-input-group {
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.blc-input-group label {
display: block;
margin-bottom: 5px;
font-weight: 600;
color: #34495e;
font-size: 0.9em;
}
.blc-input-group input {
width: 100%;
padding: 10px;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
border-radius: 4px;
font-size: 16px;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
.blc-input-group input:focus {
border-color: #3498db;
outline: none;
}
.blc-section-title {
grid-column: 1 / -1;
font-size: 1.1em;
color: #7f8c8d;
border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;
padding-bottom: 5px;
margin-top: 10px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.blc-btn {
grid-column: 1 / -1;
background: #2980b9;
color: white;
border: none;
padding: 15px;
font-size: 18px;
border-radius: 4px;
cursor: pointer;
transition: background 0.3s;
margin-top: 10px;
}
.blc-btn:hover {
background: #2471a3;
}
.blc-results {
grid-column: 1 / -1;
background: #f8f9fa;
border: 1px solid #e9ecef;
border-radius: 4px;
padding: 20px;
margin-top: 20px;
display: none;
}
.blc-result-row {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
padding: 10px 0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #e9ecef;
}
.blc-result-row:last-child {
border-bottom: none;
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 1.2em;
color: #2c3e50;
padding-top: 15px;
}
.blc-result-label {
color: #555;
}
.blc-result-value {
font-weight: bold;
color: #2980b9;
}
.blc-article {
margin-top: 50px;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #333;
}
.blc-article h3 {
color: #2c3e50;
margin-top: 25px;
}
.blc-article ul {
padding-left: 20px;
}
.blc-article li {
margin-bottom: 8px;
}
.blc-tooltip {
font-size: 0.8em;
color: #95a5a6;
margin-top: 3px;
}
What is a Burdened Labor Rate?
The "Burdened Labor Rate" (or fully burdened cost) is the total cost to a company for employing a staff member. It goes beyond just the gross salary or hourly wage. While the base salary is what the employee sees on their paycheck, the burdened rate includes all the hidden costs the employer pays, such as payroll taxes, insurance, benefits, paid time off, and overhead expenses.
Understanding the burdened labor rate is critical for businesses to price their services correctly. If you bill clients based solely on an employee's salary, you are likely losing money on every hour worked.
How to Calculate Labor Burden
To calculate the fully burdened labor rate, you must sum the base salary with all additional "burden" costs. The formula is generally structured as follows:
- Step 1: Determine the Annual Base Salary.
- Step 2: Calculate the total Burden Costs (Payroll Taxes + Insurance + Benefits + Overhead).
- Step 3: Add Base Salary + Burden Costs to get the Total Annual Cost.
- Step 4: Divide the Total Annual Cost by the number of billable hours per year (typically 2080 for a full-time employee).
What is Included in Labor Burden?
Labor burden consists of mandatory and voluntary costs associated with an employee:
- Payroll Taxes: Employer portion of Social Security, Medicare, FUTA (Federal Unemployment), and SUTA (State Unemployment).
- Insurance: Health, dental, vision, life, and workers' compensation insurance.
- Benefits: 401(k) matching, pension contributions, and bonuses.
- Paid Time Off (PTO): The cost of hours paid but not worked (vacation, sick leave, holidays).
- Overhead (Optional): Equipment, software licenses, training, and office space allocation.
Example Calculation
Imagine you hire an engineer at a base salary of $80,000 per year.
- Taxes: $8,000 (approx 10%)
- Benefits/Insurance: $12,000
- Overhead/Training: $5,000
Total Burden: $25,000
Total Annual Cost: $105,000
Burden Percentage: 31.25%
Burdened Hourly Rate: $105,000 / 2080 hours = $50.48 / hr
In this example, even though the employee earns roughly $38/hr (base), the company must bill significantly more than $50.48/hr just to break even on the labor cost.
function calculateLaborBurden() {
// Get input values
var baseSalary = parseFloat(document.getElementById('baseSalary').value) || 0;
var annualHours = parseFloat(document.getElementById('annualHours').value) || 2080;
var taxes = parseFloat(document.getElementById('payrollTaxes').value) || 0;
var insurance = parseFloat(document.getElementById('insuranceBenefits').value) || 0;
var retirement = parseFloat(document.getElementById('retirementBenefits').value) || 0;
var overhead = parseFloat(document.getElementById('otherOverhead').value) || 0;
// Validation
if (baseSalary <= 0 || annualHours 0) {
burdenPercent = (totalBurden / baseSalary) * 100;
}
// Display Results
document.getElementById('resBaseRate').innerHTML = formatCurrency(baseHourlyRate);
document.getElementById('resTotalBurden').innerHTML = formatCurrency(totalBurden);
document.getElementById('resTotalCost').innerHTML = formatCurrency(totalCost);
document.getElementById('resBurdenedRate').innerHTML = formatCurrency(burdenedHourlyRate);
document.getElementById('resBurdenPercent').innerHTML = burdenPercent.toFixed(2) + "%";
// Show result section
document.getElementById('blcResult').style.display = 'block';
}
function formatCurrency(num) {
return '$' + num.toFixed(2).replace(/\d(?=(\d{3})+\.)/g, '$&,');
}