The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that employee benefits made up more than 44% of company payrolls in 2005, an increase from 40% in 2004, according to its recent nationwide survey.

The Chamber's annual Employee Benefits Study found that health-related expenses made up the most expensive single benefit cost, representing 14.5% of payroll and costing employers an average of $5,924 per employee, up from 11.9% in 2004.

Nearly 400 U.S. companies participated in the study, and more than 30 different types of benefits were analyzed by industry, company size, geographic region, and for-profit or nonprofit status.

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