The last semimonthly payroll of Garcia Carpentry was $84,248 of gross wages for 38 employees. The company pays 5.2% of payroll for vacations and sick leave and $72.22 per employee for health insurance. What percent of payroll is the total cost of fringe benefits? (Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent)

Answer 1

First, let's find the total cost of health insurance: $72.22/employee * 38 employees = $<<72.22*38=2744.36>>2744.36
Next, find the total cost of vacation and sick leave pay: 5.2% * $84,248 = $4,380.90
Now add that amount to the cost of health insurance to find the total cost of fringe benefits: $2,744.36 + $4,380.90= $<<2744.36+4380.9=7125.26>>7,125.26
Now divide the cost of fringe benefits by the gross wages and multiply by 100% to find the percentage of payroll spent on fringe benefits: $7,125.26 / $84,248 * 100% = 8.459807634%, which rounds down to 8.5%. Answer: \boxed{8.5}.