Employers in San Francisco Bay Area Sponsor High-Value Health Benefits Packages to Attract Top Talent

SAN LEANDRO, California, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• TriNet's SMBeat shows total cost of health benefits to SMB employers and employees 
• Annual health benefits in San Francisco Bay Area cost an average of $10,400 per employee vs. $8,000 in New York and Los Angeles areas
• Average annual health insurance expense is about $9,300 per employee; employers pay about $6,700

TriNet (NYSE: TNET), a leading cloud-based provider of HR services, today announced the findings of the April issue of its TriNet SMBeat. April's report features an in-depth look at the total cost of health benefits to employers and employees across industries. According to the report, employers in the San Francisco Bay Area sponsor big-ticket health benefits packages, with an average cost of $10,400. The SMBeat report is a monthly analysis of small business employment and human capital economic indicators.

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Total health benefit expenses are impacted by factors such as availability and cost of care across geographic regions. Employers often subsidize the costs of these health benefits as a means to attract and retain talent. As the implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues, companies and employees are presented with new options when selecting their health insurance coverage. This means employers are faced with additional regulations and complexity when weighing if they will maintain health benefits despite the recent changes in national health insurance.

Below are the report's key findings on employer contributions for employee benefits across industries and geographic regions. The data is sourced from TriNet's more than 9,000 clients and approximately 240,000 worksite employees in the U.S^[1]:

• In the New York metro, greater Los Angeles area, and San Francisco Bay Area, employers contribute a similar percentage to their employees' health benefits, averaging between 75%-78%. Health benefit packages in the New York metro and greater Los Angeles area cost an average of $8,000 per year per employee, approximately $2,400 less than the San Francisco Bay Area, with an average cost of $10,400.
• Across all of TriNet's clients, the total average annual health insurance expense is about $9,300 per employee. On average, employers pick up the tab for about $6,700 per employee.
• Overall, approximately 15% of employees sampled have 100% of their health benefits costs covered by their employers.

In addition to the findings on health benefit packages, below are key findings on economic employment indicators across TriNet's clients in April:

• April's net job growth rate for TriNet clients was 1.40%, a 69% increase from March's net job growth rate of 0.83%
• Retail/Wholesale jobs rebounded in April from the post-holiday and winter storm job loss slump. Overall, net job growth in this sector jumped 1.88%. New York State led the way with 2.19% net job growth.
• The tech sector surpassed March's growth, with net job growth increasing 1.87% in April. Atlanta posted the strongest net job growth with 3.33%, surpassing the tech hubs of Boston, Silicon Valley, New York, Los Angeles, and the Denver-Boulder area.

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1. As of March 31, 2014

For additional details and to receive monthly SMBeat alerts, visit TriNet.com/smbeat.

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About TriNet 

TriNet is a leading provider of a comprehensive human resources solution for small to medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. We enhance business productivity by enabling our clients to outsource their human resources, or HR, function to one strategic partner and allowing them to focus on operating and growing their core businesses. Our HR solution includes services such as payroll processing, human capital consulting, employment law compliance and employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans and workers compensation insurance. Our services are delivered by our expert team of HR professionals and enabled by our proprietary, cloud-based technology platform, which allows our clients and their employees to efficiently conduct their HR transactions anytime and anywhere. For more information, please visit http://www.trinet.com.

TriNet, Ambitions Realized and the TriNet logo are registered trademarks of TriNet. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners. 

Media Contacts:
Jock Breitwieser
TriNet
[email protected]
+1(510)875-7250

Michelle Sieling
Horn Group
[email protected]
+1(415)905-4013

SOURCE TriNet