The Fact
BLS usual weekly earnings are wage-and-salary earnings before taxes and deductions. They do not include the cash value of benefits such as employer-provided health insurance.
What This Means
A weekly-earnings statistic is not the same thing as total compensation.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPS Concepts and Definitions. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm