The average employee in the business-industrial community probably has little conception of what his/her employer pays out for staff benefits exclusive of salary. In fact, many would be hard-pressed to even name half the benefits, which range from pensions to coffee break-rest periods. You may be surprised to learn that benefit payments, on the average, cost $117 per week per employee last year. This was reported in an article, “Employee Benefits” Bigger Bite” in the December issue of Nation’s Business, U.S. Chamber of Commerce monthly magazine. That amount, compared with $39.46 in 1969, averaged slightly more than one-third of payroll dollars. Authored by Fred D. Lindsey, the article says that this year employers will spend a record sum of about $480 billion for employee benefits, up from $435 billion in 1980 and $390 billion in 1979. Benefit costs rose 197 percent in the,11-year period 1969-1980, or 58 percent faster than the inflation rate. Salaries and wages grew 123 percent in the same period. The 1980 analysis was made in a survey of 983 manufacturing and nonmanufacturing firms conducted by the Survey Research ‘Center of the Chamber of Commerce. More than 25 benefits were covered in the survey. The $117 per week average per employee comprises two principal types of benefits summarized by Lindsey as follows: (1) “Wages paid for time not worked, including vacations and holidays, sick leave, emergency leave, coffee breaks and rest periods, accounting for $42.38 per week. (2) “Non-wage payments for private pensions, insurance premiums, Social Security taxes, unemployment compensation taxes, profit-sharing) payments and similar enefits, adding up to $74.62 per week.” Benefits in the pietroleum industry ranked 0. 1 at $203.42 per employee. Among nonmanufacturing companies, public utilities ranked first with $158.42 per week per emrployee. he Nation’s Business article will give prospective new companies an idea of the necessary and expected obligations in setting up a payroll. And it should help employees to understand better and to appreciate the “second payroll” the company provides in their behalf through employee benefits.