Staffing Glossary
Fully-Burdened Cost
The true hourly cost of a worker: wage plus payroll burden — the number a bill rate must clear before there's any margin.
Also called: fully burdened rate, fully loaded labor rate, employer burden, burden cost, burdened hourly rate
If the pay rate is $18/hour and payroll burden runs 20%, the fully-burdened cost is $21.60/hour. Bill below that and every hour worked loses money regardless of what the rate sheet calls it.
This is also the number behind most "burden rate," "fully-loaded labor rate," and "employer burden" questions — different names for the same wage-plus-burden total.
Related terms
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