compensation of employees

Compensation of employees (CE) is a statistical term used in national accounts, Balance of Payments statistics and sometimes in corporate accounts as well. It refers basically to the total gross (pre-tax) wages paid by employers to employees for work done in an accounting period, such as a quarter or a year.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

The total remuneration, including gross wages and salaries as well as bonuses, overtime payments and employers’ social security contributions, that is payable, in cash or in kind, by employers to employees in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period (definition according to the ESA 95).