Ask most contractors what their labor rate is and they'll tell you their employee's hourly wage. That's not their labor rate — that's their biggest pricing mistake. The true cost of an employee is significantly higher than their wage, and if you're not accounting for all of it in your bids, you're losing money on every job. What Is a Fully-Burdened Labor Rate? Your fully-burdened labor rate is the total cost per hour to employ a worker — including their wage, all payroll taxe