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Institute for Workplace Studies-----------------Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor--------------------Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN THE UNITED STATES - MARCH 2014 [25 July 2014]

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/sp/ebnr0020.txt

or

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/sp/ebnr0020.pdf

[full-text, 16 pages]

 

Employer-provided medical care was available to 86 percent of full-time private industry workers in the

United States in March 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. By contrast, only 23

percent of part-time workers had medical care benefits available. Access, or availability, also varied by

establishment size: 57 percent for workers in small establishments (those with fewer than 100

employees), compared with 84 percent in medium and large establishments (those with 100 employees

or more). (See charts 1 and 2 and table 2.)

 

Retirement benefits followed a similar pattern as medical care benefits. In private industry, 74 percent of

full-time workers had access to a retirement plan, significantly higher than 37 percent of part-time

workers. Retirement benefits were available to 50 percent of workers in small establishments and 82

percent of workers in medium and large establishments. A worker with access to a medical or retirement

plan is defined as having an employer-provided plan available for use, regardless of the decision to

enroll or participate in the plan. (See charts 1 and 2 and table 1.)

 

Paid sick leave benefits were also more commonly offered to full-time workers and those in medium and

large establishments in private industry. Plans were offered to 74 percent of full-time workers and 24

percent of part-time workers. Similarly, 52 percent of workers in small establishments and 72 percent in

medium and large establishments had access to a paid sick leave benefit. (See charts 1 and 2 and table

6.)

 

These data are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), which provides comprehensive

measures of compensation cost levels and trends as well as incidence and provisions of employee benefit plans.

 

Additional findings include:

 

   *  In private industry, 65 percent of employees had access to retirement benefits and 48 percent of

      employees participated in retirement plans. In state and local government, 89 percent of employees

      had access and 81 percent participated in retirement plans. (See table 1.)

 

   *  Almost all full-time workers in state and local government (99 percent) had access to retirement and medical

      care benefits.  For state and local government part-time workers, 38 percent had access to retirement

      benefits and 24 percent had access to medical care benefits. (See tables 1 and 2.)

 

   *  For private industry employees in the lowest 10 percent of average earnings, employers paid 70

      percent of the single coverage medical plan premium. For employees in the highest 10 percent of

      average earnings, the employer share of the premium was 81 percent. For family coverage, the

      employer share of the premium was 57 percent for employees in the lowest 10 percent of

      earnings, significantly less than the 72 percent for employees in the highest 10 percent of

      earnings. (See tables 3 and 4.)

 

   *  Access and participation in life insurance benefits varied significantly for full-time and part-time

      workers. In private industry, 72 percent of full-time workers had access to life insurance benefits.

      In contrast, only 13 percent of part-time workers in private industry had access. For state and

      local government workers, 90 percent of full-time workers and 22 percent of part-time workers

      had access. Most workers who had access participated in life insurance benefits. (See table 5.)

 

   *  Paid holidays were provided to 90 percent of full-time and 37 percent of part-time workers in

      private industry. In state and local government 74 percent of full-time workers and 30 percent of

      part-time workers had access. (See table 6.)

 

More information can be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending e-mail to ncsinfo@bls.gov, or

by visiting www.bls.gov/ebs.

 

                                             NOTE

 

More information will be published in September 2014 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. For the latest benefit publications see www.bls.gov/ebs

 

 

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