For release 10:00 A.M. (EDT) TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 USDL-11-1112
Technical information:
(202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov http://www.bls.gov/ebs
Media contact:
(202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN THE UNITED STATES - MARCH 2011
Paid leave benefits continued to be the most widely available benefit offered by employers, with
paid vacations available to 91 percent of full-time workers in private industry in March 2011, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Access to these benefits, however, varied by employee
and establishment characteristics. In private industry, paid vacation benefits were available to
only 37 percent of part-time workers. Paid sick leave was available to 75 percent of full-time
workers and 27 percent of part-time workers. (See chart 1.) Paid vacations were available to 90
percent of workers earning wages in the highest 10th percent of private industry employees and only
to 38 percent of workers in the lowest 10 percent of private industry wage earners. Access to paid
sick leave benefits ranged from 21 percent for the lowest wage category to 87 percent for the highest
wage category. (See chart 2.) These data are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), which
provides comprehensive measures of compensation cost trends and incidence and provisions of employee
benefit plans.
For unmarried domestic partner benefits, about half the workers in state and local government
have access to survivor benefits, as compared to 7 percent of the workers in private industry,
reflecting in part the difference in the availability of defined benefit plans between these groups.
Thirty-three percent of state and local government workers and 29 percent of private sector workers
have access to health care benefits for unmarried domestic partners of the same sex. Access to
benefits varies by employer and employee characteristics and by whether the unmarried domestic
partner is of the same or opposite sex.
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For the first time, the National Compensation Survey produced data on employer-provided benefits
available to unmarried domestic partners. Two tables show these benefits. Table 7 has information on
survivor benefits in defined benefit retirement plans. Table 8 has data on health care benefits. See
the Technical Note for additional information on unmarried domestic partner definitions and data.
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Additional findings include:
* Sixty-four percent of all private industry employees had access to retirement benefits,
compared with 90 percent of state and local government employees. Eighty-five percent of
state and local government employees actually participated in a retirement plan, compared
with 49 percent of private industry workers. (See table 1.)
* Medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of private industry workers, compared
with 87 percent among state and local government workers. About half of private industry
workers participated in a medical plan, compared with about three-quarters of state and local
government workers. (See table 2.)
* Full-time workers in state and local government had a high rate of access to employer-provided
benefits. Retirement and medical benefits were offered to 99 percent and paid sick leave to 98
percent of full-time workers. By comparison, only 73 percent of full-time employees in private
industry had access to retirement benefits, 85 percent to medical care, and 75 percent to paid
sick leave. (See tables 1, 2, and 6.)
* For single coverage, employers paid 88 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time
state and local government workers and 80 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time
private industry workers. For family coverage, employers paid 71 percent of the medical care
premiums for full-time workers in state and local government and 69 percent in private
industry. (See tables 3 and 4.)
* Paid sick leave was available to approximately two-thirds of workers. Nearly 9 out of 10 state
and local government workers had access, compared with approximately 6 of 10 private industry
workers. (See table 6.)
More information can be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov,
or by visiting the BLS Internet site, http://www.bls.gov/ebs/home.htm. Regional information offices,
listed on the Internet site, http://www.bls.gov/bls/regncon.htm, also are available to answer any of
your questions.
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NOTE
More information will be published in early fall, including March 2011 data for civilian,
private industry, and state and local government workers on the incidence and provisions of health
care benefits, retirement benefits, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits,
paid holidays and vacations, and other selected benefits.
In addition, new editions of Program Perspectives will be published featuring the latest
benefits data. Program Perspectives brings together employee benefits information from various
National Compensation Survey publications into one convenient and easy-to-read format. For the
latest benefit publications, see: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.
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