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Employee Benefits in the United States News Release


Technical Contact:                                      USDL:  09-0872
     (202) 691-6199  NCSinfo@bls.gov
Media Contact:                                          FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
     (202) 691-5902                                     TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2009
Internet address:
     http://www.bls.gov/ebs


                             EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 2009

     While about 70 percent of workers in private industry had access to employer provided medical care
benefits in March 2009, only 25 percent of the lowest wage earners -- those with average hourly wages in
the lowest 10 percent of all private industry wages -- had such access, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  By contrast, nearly all workers with hourly wages in the
highest 10 percent of all private industry wages had access to medical care benefits. (See table 2.) A
worker with access to medical care benefits is defined as having an employer-provided medical plan available
for use, regardless of the worker’s decision to enroll or participate in the plan. These data are from the
National Compensation Survey (NCS), which provides comprehensive measures of occupation earnings, compensation
cost trends, and incidence and provisions of employee benefit plans. Farm and private household workers,
the self-employed, and Federal government workers are excluded from the survey.

     The following are additional findings:

     *  Medical care benefits were available to 71 percent of private industry workers, compared with 88
     percent among State and local government workers.  About half of private industry workers participated
     in a plan, less than the 73 percent of State and local government workers.  (See table 2.)

     *   Employers paid 82 percent of the cost of premiums for single coverage and 71 percent of the cost for
     family coverage, for workers participating in employer sponsored medical plans. The employer share for
     single coverage was greater in State and local government (90 percent) than in private industry (80 percent).
     For family coverage, the employer share of premiums was similar for private industry and State and local
     government, 70 and 73 percent, respectively. (See tables 3 and 4.)

     *   Among full-time State and local government workers, virtually all (99 percent) had access to retirement
     and medical care benefits.  Of full-time workers in private industry, only 76 percent had access to
     retirement benefits and 86 percent to medical care. Part-time workers had less access to these benefits in
     both private industry and in State and local government; about 40 percent of part-time workers had access
     to retirement benefits and about 25 percent had access to medical care benefits. (See tables 1 and 2.)

     *   Sixty-seven percent of private industry employees had access to retirement benefits, compared with
     90 percent of State and local government employees.  Eighty-six percent of State and local government
     employees participated in a retirement plan, a significantly greater percentage than for private industry
     workers, at 51 percent. (See table 1.)  The NCS has broadened the definition of access to retirement benefits.
     For more detail on this change, see the article in Compensation and Working Conditions Online at
     http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20081219ar01p1.htm.

     *  Paid sick leave was available to approximately two-thirds of workers.  Nearly 90 percent of State and
     local government workers had access, significantly greater than the approximately 60 percent of private
     industry workers.  (See table 6.)

     The incidence of employee benefits varied by worker characteristics and by establishment characteristics.  For
example, private industry workers in service occupations have less access to medical care benefits (46 percent) than
private industry management, professional, and related workers (86 percent).  Also, patterns of incidence varied
between private industry and State and local government. State and local government workers in service occupations
have less access to medical care than in management, professional, and related occupations (81 and 90 percent,
respectively). The disparity between these two occupational groups is larger in private industry (46 and 86 percent,
respectively).

     Access to paid holidays and paid vacation leave was greater for professional and related workers in private
industry (85 and 83 percent, respectively) than in State and local government (51 and 37 percent, respectively).  This
is due in part to the fact that in State and local government, teachers make up a larger percent of the professional
and related occupations than in private industry.  Teachers and other employees in educational services are commonly
employed on the basis of 9-month contracts, and often do not receive formal paid holiday and vacation benefits.
(See Technical Note for more information on this topic.)

     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/ncs/home.htm. Also, BLS Regional Information offices, which are listed
on the Internet site, http://www.bls.gov/bls/regncon.htm, are available to answer questions.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     More information will be published later this summer.  Included will be March 2009 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.  These results will be found on the BLS Web site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.

     In addition, starting in the fall of 2009, new editions of Program Perspectives will be published, and these
publications will feature the latest benefits data. Program Perspectives brings together employee benefits information
from various National Compensation Survey publications into one convenient and easy-to-read publication.  For the
latest publication, see: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



 Table 1. Retirement benefits:(1) Access, participation, and take-up rates,(2) National Compensation Survey, March
 2009

 (All workers = 100 percent)


                                    Civilian(3)                 Private industry         State and local government

      Characteristics
                             Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up
                                       ation      rate               ation      rate               ation      rate


 All workers..............     71        57        80        67        51        77        90        86        95

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     83        75        89        80        69        87        92        87        95
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     87        79        91        86        77        90        -         -         -
   Professional and
   related................     82        73        89        77        65        85        91        87        95
     Teachers.............     85        81        94        -         -         -         91        88        96
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     92        88        96        -         -         -         97        94        97
     Registered nurses....     81        69        85        -         -         -         94        86        92
 Service..................     51        34        67        45        26        57        84        79        95
   Protective service.....     71        59        84        44        23        51        91        86        95
 Sales and office.........     73        57        78        71        54        75        90        87        96
   Sales and related......     67        44        66        67        44        66        -         -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      77        64        84        74        60        81        91        88        96
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     70        57        81        68        53        79        94        91        97
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     67        53        79        64        49        76        -         -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     74        61        83        72        59        81        -         -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     70        54        78        69        53        77        88        85        97
   Production.............     70        57        80        70        56        80        -         -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     69        52        76        68        50        74        -         -         -

 Full time................     80        67        84        76        61        80        99        95        96
 Part time................     40        23        59        39        22        55        41        37        89

 Union....................     92        87        95        87        82        94        97        94        96
 Nonunion.................     67        51        77        65        48        74        84        79        95

 Wage percentiles:(4)
   Lowest 10 percent......     34        15        44        35        15        43        58        54        92
   Lowest 25 percent......     46        26        57        43        23        52        74        69        94
   Second 25 percent......     72        56        78        69        50        73        94        89        95
   Third 25 percent.......     80        68        86        76        63        83        95        91        96
   Highest 25 perecent....     88        81        91        84        75        89        97        94        96
   Highest 10 percent.....     90        82        92        86        78        90        97        94        96

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     75        63        83        75        62        83        -         -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     70        56        80        65        49        75        90        85        95
   Education and health
   services...............     79        68        86        71        56        79        91        87        95
     Educational services      88        83        94        75        63        84        91        87        96
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     91        87        96        -         -         -         93        90        97
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     87        79        91        88        78        88        86        79        92
     Health care and
     social assistance....     72        57        80        70        55        78        92        83        90
       Hospitals..........     89        77        87        -         -         -         93        83        90
   Public administration..     89        85        96        -         -         -         89        85        96

 1 to 99 workers..........     54        38        71        53        36        69        78        75        96
   1 to 49 workers........     49        35        70        48        33        69        72        68        95
   50 to 99 workers.......     68        48        71        66        46        69        88        85        97
 100 workers or more......     85        73        86        83        68        82        91        87        95
   100 to 499 workers.....     80        64        80        79        61        77        87        83        95
   500 workers or more....     90        81        91        88        77        88        93        89        95

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     66        55        83        63        50        80        86        83        97
 Middle Atlantic..........     72        62        86        69        58        84        92        86        94
 East North Central.......     72        59        81        70        55        78        85        82        97
 West North Central.......     73        60        81        70        55        79        89        81        91
 South Atlantic...........     72        56        77        68        49        72        91        85        94
 East South Central.......     73        56        77        69        49        71        90        86        96
 West South Central.......     67        51        77        62        44        71        90        88        98
 Mountain.................     69        55        80        66        50        76        89        86        97
 Pacific..................     68        55        82        63        49        77        92        89        97

   1 Includes defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans. Workers are considered as
 having access or as participating if they have access to or participate in at least one of these plan types.
   2 The take-up rate is an estimate of the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan,
 rounded for presentation. See Technical Note for more details.
   3 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
 sector, except the federal government. See Technical Note for further explanation.
   4 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers
 both above and below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National
 Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria.



 Table 2. Medical care benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates,(1) National Compensation Survey, March
 2009

 (All workers = 100 percent)


                                    Civilian(2)                 Private industry         State and local government

      Characteristics
                             Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up
                                       ation      rate               ation      rate               ation      rate


 All workers..............     74        56        76        71        52        74        88        73        84

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     87        69        80        86        67        78        90        74        82
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     94        76        81        94        76        81        -         -         -
   Professional and
   related................     84        67        79        82        63        77        89        73        82
     Teachers.............     84        67        80        -         -         -         89        73        82
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     92        73        80        -         -         -         95        77        82
     Registered nurses....     78        60        77        -         -         -         92        73        79
 Service..................     51        35        69        46        29        63        81        69        85
   Protective service.....     75        60        80        56        36        65        89        77        87
 Sales and office.........     73        53        72        72        51        70        88        75        84
   Sales and related......     63        41        65        63        41        65        -         -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      79        59        75        78        57        73        89        75        84
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     78        63        81        77        61        80        95        83        88
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     73        59        82        70        57        81        -         -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     85        68        80        84        66        79        -         -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     77        59        76        77        58        76        83        70        84
   Production.............     82        66        81        82        66        81        -         -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     72        52        71        72        51        71        -         -         -

 Full time................     88        68        77        86        65        75        99        83        84
 Part time................     24        14        58        24        13        56        27        19        71

 Union....................     92        78        84        90        76        85        95        80        84
 Nonunion.................     70        51        73        69        49        72        81        68        83

 Wage percentiles:(3)
   Lowest 10 percent......     26        13        51        25        13        50        51        40        78
   Lowest 25 percent......     42        25        59        38        22        57        68        56        81
   Second 25 percent......     79        58        74        77        54        71        91        79        86
   Third 25 percent.......     87        69        80        86        67        78        95        79        84
   Highest 25 perecent....     92        74        81        89        72        81        97        80        83
   Highest 10 percent.....     92        75        81        90        73        80        97        80        83

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     85        70        82        85        70        82        -         -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     71        53        74        68        48        71        88        73        83
   Education and health
   services...............     80        61        76        75        53        71        89        73        82
     Educational services      86        70        81        78        58        75        88        72        82
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     88        70        80        -         -         -         89        72        81
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     87        73        83        90        71        79        86        74        86
     Health care and
     social assistance....     76        55        72        74        53        71        91        76        83
       Hospitals..........     88        69        79        -         -         -         94        76        81
   Public administration..     88        76        86        -         -         -         88        76        86

 1 to 99 workers..........     60        43        72        59        42        72        75        64        86
   1 to 49 workers........     56        40        72        55        39        71        69        59        86
   50 to 99 workers.......     72        53        73        71        51        72        85        73        85
 100 workers or more......     86        66        77        84        63        75        89        74        83
   100 to 499 workers.....     81        61        75        81        59        73        84        72        86
   500 workers or more....     89        71        80        88        69        78        91        75        82

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     72        53        73        70        50        71        85        69        81
 Middle Atlantic..........     75        59        79        72        55        76        87        78        90
 East North Central.......     73        54        74        72        53        73        81        63        78
 West North Central.......     71        54        77        68        52        75        83        68        82
 South Atlantic...........     75        55        74        72        51        71        91        75        83
 East South Central.......     78        60        78        74        56        75        93        79        84
 West South Central.......     70        52        74        66        47        71        90        76        84
 Mountain.................     72        51        71        69        48        70        87        69        79
 Pacific..................     75        59        79        72        56        78        90        77        86

   1 The take-up rate is an estimate of the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan,
 rounded for presentation. See Technical Note for more details.
   2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
 sector, except the federal government. See Technical Note for further explanation.
   3 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers
 both above and below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National
 Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria.



 Table 3. Medical plans: Share of premiums paid by employer and employee for single
 coverage, National Compensation Survey, March 2009

 (In percent)


                               Civilian(1)       Private industry    State and local
                                                                        government

      Characteristics
                            Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee
                            share of  share of  share of  share of  share of  share of
                            premium   premium   premium   premium   premium   premium


 All workers participating
 in single coverage
 medical plans............     82        18        80        20        90        10

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     84        16        81        19        90        10
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     83        17        81        19        -         -
   Professional and
   related................     84        16        81        19        89        11
     Teachers.............     89        11        -         -         90        10
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     89        11        -         -         90        10
     Registered nurses....     82        18        -         -         87        13
 Service..................     82        18        78        22        90        10
   Protective service.....     85        15        71        29        90        10
 Sales and office.........     80        20        79        21        90        10
   Sales and related......     76        24        76        24        -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      82        18        81        19        90        10
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     83        17        82        18        90        10
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     85        15        85        15        -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     81        19        80        20        -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     82        18        82        18        91         9
   Production.............     82        18        82        18        -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     83        17        82        18        -         -

 Full time................     83        17        81        19        90        10
 Part time................     79        21        78        22        88        12

 Union....................     91         9        90        10        91         9
 Nonunion.................     80        20        79        21        89        11

 Wage percentiles:(2)
   Lowest 10 percent......     75        25        75        25        89        11
   Lowest 25 percent......     77        23        76        24        90        10
   Second 25 percent......     81        19        79        21        90        10
   Third 25 percent.......     83        17        81        19        90        10
   Highest 25 perecent....     85        15        83        17        90        10
   Highest 10 percent.....     85        15        82        18        91         9

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     82        18        82        18        -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     82        18        80        20        90        10
   Education and health
   services...............     85        15        82        18        90        10
     Educational services      88        12        82        18        90        10
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     89        11        -         -         90        10
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     87        13        80        20        90        10
     Health care and
     social assistance....     83        17        82        18        87        13
       Hospitals..........     82        18        -         -         88        12
   Public administration..     90        10        -         -         90        10

 1 to 99 workers..........     81        19        80        20        91         9
   1 to 49 workers........     81        19        81        19        92         8
   50 to 99 workers.......     81        19        79        21        91         9
 100 workers or more......     83        17        81        19        90        10
   100 to 499 workers.....     82        18        80        20        90        10
   500 workers or more....     85        15        81        19        89        11

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     79        21        78        22        87        13
 Middle Atlantic..........     84        16        82        18        93         7
 East North Central.......     81        19        79        21        90        10
 West North Central.......     82        18        80        20        91         9
 South Atlantic...........     81        19        79        21        88        12
 East South Central.......     81        19        78        22        91         9
 West South Central.......     83        17        82        18        87        13
 Mountain.................     82        18        79        21        92         8
 Pacific..................     85        15        84        16        89        11

   1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private
 households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See
 Technical Note for further explanation.
   2 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation
 surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the threshold. The
 percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National Compensation
 Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for
 more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication
 criteria.



 Table 4. Medical plans: Share of premiums paid by employer and employee for family
 coverage, National Compensation Survey, March 2009

 (In percent)


                               Civilian(1)       Private industry    State and local
                                                                        government

      Characteristics
                            Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee  Employer  Employee
                            share of  share of  share of  share of  share of  share of
                            premium   premium   premium   premium   premium   premium


 All workers participating
 in family coverage
 medical plans............     71        29        70        30        73        27

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     71        29        71        29        72        28
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     72        28        71        29        -         -
   Professional and
   related................     71        29        71        29        71        29
     Teachers.............     69        31        -         -         70        30
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     67        33        -         -         68        32
     Registered nurses....     71        29        -         -         75        25
 Service..................     69        31        66        34        75        25
   Protective service.....     76        24        66        34        79        21
 Sales and office.........     68        32        67        33        76        24
   Sales and related......     65        35        64        36        -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      70        30        69        31        75        25
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     72        28        71        29        76        24
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     73        27        72        28        -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     71        29        71        29        -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     74        26        74        26        75        25
   Production.............     75        25        75        25        -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     73        27        73        27        -         -

 Full time................     71        29        70        30        73        27
 Part time................     68        32        67        33        76        24

 Union....................     84        16        86        14        81        19
 Nonunion.................     67        33        67        33        66        34

 Wage percentiles:(2)
   Lowest 10 percent......     61        39        63        37        61        39
   Lowest 25 percent......     63        37        63        37        67        33
   Second 25 percent......     68        32        67        33        76        24
   Third 25 percent.......     72        28        70        30        73        27
   Highest 25 perecent....     74        26        74        26        76        24
   Highest 10 percent.....     76        24        74        26        81        19

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     75        25        75        25        -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     70        30        68        32        73        27
   Education and health
   services...............     69        31        68        32        70        30
     Educational services      69        31        68        32        69        31
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     68        32        -         -         68        32
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     71        29        69        31        72        28
     Health care and
     social assistance....     69        31        68        32        76        24
       Hospitals..........     74        26        -         -         75        25
   Public administration..     79        21        -         -         79        21

 1 to 99 workers..........     66        34        66        34        72        28
   1 to 49 workers........     66        34        66        34        71        29
   50 to 99 workers.......     67        33        66        34        74        26
 100 workers or more......     73        27        73        27        73        27
   100 to 499 workers.....     71        29        70        30        74        26
   500 workers or more....     75        25        76        24        73        27

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     73        27        71        29        83        17
 Middle Atlantic..........     77        23        74        26        91         9
 East North Central.......     75        25        73        27        85        15
 West North Central.......     71        29        71        29        71        29
 South Atlantic...........     66        34        66        34        66        34
 East South Central.......     64        36        66        34        58        42
 West South Central.......     63        37        66        34        54        46
 Mountain.................     67        33        67        33        70        30
 Pacific..................     73        27        71        29        79        21

   1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private
 households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government. See
 Technical Note for further explanation.
   2 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation
 surveyed, which may include workers both above and below the threshold. The
 percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National Compensation
 Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for
 more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication
 criteria.



 Table 5. Life insurance benefits: Access, participation, and take-up rates,(1) National Compensation Survey, March
 2009

 (All workers = 100 percent)


                                    Civilian(2)                 Private industry         State and local government

      Characteristics
                             Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up    Access  Particip-  Take-up
                                       ation      rate               ation      rate               ation      rate


 All workers..............     62        60        96        59        57        96        80        78        97

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     78        76        98        77        75        98        80        78        97
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     85        84        99        85        84        99        -         -         -
   Professional and
   related................     75        73        98        73        71        98        80        77        97
     Teachers.............     74        72        98        -         -         -         79        77        97
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     78        77        98        -         -         -         83        81        98
     Registered nurses....     69        67        97        -         -         -         83        81        97
 Service..................     42        39        93        36        33        92        75        73        97
   Protective service.....     72        70        97        54        51        94        85        83        98
 Sales and office.........     61        58        96        59        56        95        81        79        97
   Sales and related......     48        45        92        48        44        92        -         -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      68        66        97        66        64        97        81        79        98
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     60        57        96        57        54        95        90        89        99
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     51        49        95        47        44        94        -         -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     69        67        97        67        65        97        -         -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     66        64        96        66        63        96        77        76        98
   Production.............     72        70        97        72        70        97        -         -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     61        58        96        60        57        95        -         -         -

 Full time................     76        73        97        73        70        96        90        88        98
 Part time................     16        15        90        15        14        89        24        22        95

 Union....................     83        81        98        79        77        98        87        85        98
 Nonunion.................     59        56        96        57        54        96        74        71        97

 Wage percentiles:(3)
   Lowest 10 percent......     17        15        87        17        15        87        43        41        95
   Lowest 25 percent......     32        29        90        28        25        89        61        59        97
   Second 25 percent......     66        63        96        64        61        95        84        81        97
   Third 25 percent.......     74        72        97        71        69        97        86        84        98
   Highest 25 perecent....     82        81        98        79        78        99        89        87        98
   Highest 10 percent.....     84        83        98        82        81        99        90        87        97

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     71        69        97        71        69        97        -         -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     61        58        96        56        54        96        80        77        97
   Education and health
   services...............     70        68        97        64        62        96        79        77        97
     Educational services      77        75        98        68        67        99        79        77        97
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     76        75        98        -         -         -         78        76        98
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     84        80        96        86        85        99        82        77        94
     Health care and
     social assistance....     65        62        96        63        61        96        83        80        97
       Hospitals..........     86        84        98        -         -         -         89        86        96
   Public administration..     82        80        98        -         -         -         82        80        98

 1 to 99 workers..........     44        42        95        43        41        95        65        63        97
   1 to 49 workers........     39        37        94        39        36        94        62        61        98
   50 to 99 workers.......     57        54        96        56        53        96        69        66        96
 100 workers or more......     78        76        97        77        75        97        82        80        97
   100 to 499 workers.....     71        68        96        71        68        95        73        71        98
   500 workers or more....     85        83        98        85        84        98        85        83        97

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     60        58        97        58        56        97        72        69        96
 Middle Atlantic..........     60        59        98        56        55        98        85        84        99
 East North Central.......     66        64        96        64        62        97        78        75        96
 West North Central.......     63        61        97        60        58        97        77        77        99
 South Atlantic...........     66        63        96        62        60        96        84        81        96
 East South Central.......     67        64        95        64        61        96        79        74        93
 West South Central.......     61        57        93        58        53        91        76        75        99
 Mountain.................     61        57        95        57        53        94        83        82        98
 Pacific..................     57        55        96        53        51        96        77        76        99

   1 The take-up rate is an estimate of the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan,
 rounded for presentation. See Technical Note for more details.
   2 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
 sector, except the federal government. See Technical Note for further explanation.
   3 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers
 both above and below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National
 Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria.



 Table 6. Selected paid leave benefits: Access, National Compensation Survey, March 2009

 (All workers = 100 percent)


                                    Civilian(1)                 Private industry         State and local government

      Characteristics
                           Paid sick    Paid      Paid   Paid sick    Paid      Paid   Paid sick    Paid      Paid
                             leave    vacation  holidays   leave    vacation  holidays   leave    vacation  holidays


 All workers..............     66        75        76        61        78        77        89        60        68

  Worker characteristics

 Management, professional,
 and related..............     86        74        79        84        87        89        90        44        56
   Management, business,
   and financial..........     90        94        95        89        96        96        -         -         -
   Professional and
   related................     85        67        73        82        83        85        90        37        51
     Teachers.............     84        17        35        -         -         -         88        12        32
       Primary, secondary,
       and special
       education school
       teachers...........     91        13        32        -         -         -         93         9        28
     Registered nurses....     78        80        82        -         -         -         92        79        81
 Service..................     49        63        57        42        61        53        85        75        77
   Protective service.....     66        78        74        35        65        59        89        87        86
 Sales and office.........     69        81        82        66        80        81        90        85        87
   Sales and related......     56        72        71        56        72        71        -         -         -
   Office and
   administrative support      76        86        88        74        86        88        91        86        87
 Natural resources,
 construction, and
 maintenance..............     53        78        79        49        76        77        94        95        95
   Construction,
   extraction, farming,
   fishing, and forestry..     39        66        67        33        63        64        -         -         -
   Installation,
   maintenance, and repair     69        91        92        67        91        91        -         -         -
 Production,
 transportation, and
 material moving..........     53        82        84        52        83        84        88        64        76
   Production.............     53        90        91        52        90        91        -         -         -
   Transportation and
   material moving........     54        75        77        52        76        78        -         -         -

 Full time................     77        86        87        73        91        89        98        67        75
 Part time................     28        36        38        26        38        39        42        20        31

 Union....................     82        73        79        69        85        86        97        57        70
 Nonunion.................     63        76        75        61        77        76        83        62        66

 Wage percentiles:(2)
   Lowest 10 percent......     22        43        37        21        42        36        60        39        46
   Lowest 25 percent......     37        56        54        33        55        52        75        55        63
   Second 25 percent......     68        83        84        64        85        84        92        84        87
   Third 25 percent.......     77        88        89        73        89        89        94        72        77
   Highest 25 perecent....     86        77        80        81        88        88        96        37        51
   Highest 10 percent.....     88        74        77        84        88        88        98        35        47

       Establishment
     characteristics

 Goods-producing
 industries...............     53        86        87        52        86        87        -         -         -

 Service-providing
 industries...............     68        73        74        63        76        75        89        60        68
   Education and health
   services...............     82        66        72        77        80        82        90        43        56
     Educational services      87        40        54        76        54        64        90        36        51
       Elementary and
       secondary schools..     90        27        44        -         -         -         90        27        43
       Junior colleges,
       colleges, and
       universities.......     86        69        79        82        73        81        88        66        78
     Health care and
     social assistance....     78        85        85        77        84        84        91        91        91
       Hospitals..........     88        91        89        -         -         -         92        94        93
   Public administration..     89        88        87        -         -         -         89        88        87

 1 to 99 workers..........     53        70        69        52        71        69        79        66        70
   1 to 49 workers........     52        69        68        51        69        68        73        69        69
   50 to 99 workers.......     56        75        74        54        76        74        88        63        71
 100 workers or more......     77        79        81        72        86        86        91        59        67
   100 to 499 workers.....     70        80        81        67        84        84        87        59        63
   500 workers or more....     84        78        82        80        90        89        92        59        69

     Geographic areas

 New England..............     73        73        75        70        77        78        87        49        55
 Middle Atlantic..........     71        76        78        67        79        81        90        58        63
 East North Central.......     60        74        76        56        78        77        85        53        65
 West North Central.......     66        73        74        62        77        75        88        55        68
 South Atlantic...........     64        78        78        59        80        78        93        67        78
 East South Central.......     63        77        77        55        79        77        92        69        75
 West South Central.......     65        75        75        61        79        80        86        52        53
 Mountain.................     62        72        71        59        75        74        84        55        59
 Pacific..................     70        75        74        65        77        74        93        67        76

   1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public
 sector, except the federal government. See Technical Note for further explanation.
   2 The percentile groupings are based on the average wage for each occupation surveyed, which may include workers
 both above and below the threshold. The percentile values are based on the estimates published in the "National
 Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008." See Technical Note for more details.

 NOTE: Dash indicates no workers in this category or data did not meet publication criteria.



                                                   Technical Note

     Data in this release are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  This release contains March 2009 data on civilian, private industry, and State and
local government workers in the United States.  Under the NCS program, information on the incidence and provision of
benefits is published in several stages.  This news release provides data on the incidence of (access to and participation
in) selected benefits and the share of premiums paid by employers and employees for medical care.  An extensive number
of tables on the incidence of selected benefits will be available in the annual bulletin to be published in late
summer, 2009.  Data on detailed provisions of health insurance and retirement benefits in private industry for 2009
will be available in 2010.  Previous publications containing information on employee benefits for private industry and
State and local government workers are available on the BLS website http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.

Calculation details

     Averages for occupations within an establishment were used to produce estimates for worker groups averaging hourly
pay within the six earnings percentiles: Lowest 10 percent, lowest 25 percent, second 25 percent, third 25 percent,
highest 25 percent, and highest 10 percent.  The percentiles are computed using earnings reported for individual workers
in sampled establishment jobs and their scheduled hours of work.  Establishments in the survey may report only individual
worker earnings for each sampled job.  For the calculation of percentile estimates, the individual worker hourly earnings
are appropriately weighted and then arrayed from lowest to highest.

     The published 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution within
each published occupation.  At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the
rate shown in the data tables, and half are paid the same as or less than the rate shown.  At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown.  At the 75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or
more than the rate shown.  The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic.  The percentile values are based on wages
to be published in the bulletin National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2008.  Values
corresponding to the percentiles used in the tables are as follows:


Characteristics                                         Hourly wage percentiles
                                                     10       25     50 (median)    75        90
Civilian workers                                   $8.24    $11.00     $16.25     $25.48    $37.86
Private industry workers                           $8.00    $10.50     $15.50     $24.22    $36.43
State and local government workers                $11.35    $14.98     $21.43     $31.55    $43.23


     The tables on employer and employee medical premiums (tables 3 and 4) include participants in all medical plans,
with calculations for both single and family coverage.  The calculations are not based on actual decisions regarding
medical coverage made by employees within the occupations.  Rather, the premium calculations are based on the assumption
that all employees in the occupation have identical coverage.

Take-up rates

     Take-up rates are the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan. They are computed by
using the number of workers participating in a plan divided by the number of workers with access to the plan, multiplied
by 100, and rounded to the nearest one percent. Since the computation of take-up rates is based on the number of workers
collected rather than rounded percentage estimates, the take-up rates in the tables may not equal the ratio of participation
to access estimates.

Leave benefits for teachers

     Primary, secondary, and special education teachers typically have a work schedule of 37 or 38 weeks per year.  Because
of this work schedule, they are generally not offered vacation or holidays. In many cases, the time off during winter and
spring breaks during the school year is not considered vacation days for the purposes of this survey.

Survey scope

     The March 2009 NCS benefits survey represented about 122 million civilian workers; of this number, about 102 million
were private industry workers and 19 million, State and local government workers (see Appendix table 2).  For purposes of
this study, a private establishment is an economic unit that produces goods or services, a central administrative office,
or an auxiliary unit providing support services to a company.  For private industries, the establishment is usually at
a single physical location.  For State and local governments, an establishment is defined as an agency or entity such as
a school district, college, university, hospital, nursing home, administrative body, court, police department, fire
department, health or social service operation, highway maintenance operation, urban transit operation, or other
governmental unit. It provides services under the authority of a specific State or local government organization within
a defined geographic area or jurisdiction.  The survey sample weights were adjusted to reflect the March 2009 employment
figures from the Current Employment Statistics survey.

     The nine census divisions are defined as follows: New England--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic--New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; East North Central--Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central--Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South
Dakota; South Atlantic--Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia,
and West Virginia; East South Central--Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central--Arkansas,
Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; Mountain--Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and
Pacific--Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Sample design and data collection

     The sample for this survey was selected by using a 3-stage design. The first stage involved the selection of areas.
The NCS State and local government sample consists of 152 areas that represent the Nation’s 361 metropolitan statistical
areas and 573 micropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget in December 2003, and
the remaining portions of the 50 States.  The private industry sample has begun the transition to the December 2003
definition with replacement of one-fifth of the sample under the new area definitions; the private industry sample currently
consists of 227 areas.

     In the second stage, the sample of establishments was drawn by first stratifying the sampling frame by industry and
implicitly by establishment size.  The list of establishments from which the survey sample was selected was developed
from State unemployment insurance reports and is based on the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

     The third stage of sample selection was the drawing of a probability sample of occupations within a sampled
establishment. Identification of the occupations for which data were to be collected was a 4-step process:

     1. Probability-proportional-to-size selection of establishment jobs

     2. Classification of jobs into occupations based on the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
         system

     3. Characterization of jobs as full time vs. part time, union vs. nonunion, and time versus incentive

     4. Determination of the level of work of each job



For additional technical information, see the BLS Handbook of Methods, available online at
http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/home.htm.

Definition of terms

Civilian workers.  Private industry and State and local government workers.

Full-time worker.  Any employee whom the employer considers to be full time.

Part-time worker.  Any employee whom the employer considers to be part time.

Nonunion worker.  An employee in an occupation not meeting the conditions for union coverage.

Union worker.  Any employee is in a union occupation when all of the following conditions are met:

     * A labor organization is recognized as the bargaining agent for all workers in the occupation.
     * Wage and salary rates are determined through collective bargaining or negotiations.
     * Settlement terms, which must include earnings provisions and may include benefit provisions, are
      embodied in a signed, mutually binding collective bargaining agreement

Survey estimation methods

     The survey uses an estimator that assigns the inverse of each sample unit’s probability of selection as a weight
to the unit’s data at each stage of sample selection and four weight adjustment factors. The first factor adjusts for
establishment nonresponse and the second factor adjusts for occupational nonresponse. The third factor adjusts for any
special situations that may have occurred during data collection. The fourth factor, poststratification, also called
benchmarking, is introduced to adjust the estimated employment totals to actual counts of employment by industry for
the survey reference date.

     For additional technical information, see the BLS Handbook of Methods, available online at
http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/home.htm.

Reliability of estimates

     The statistics in this summary are estimates derived from a sample of usable occupation quotes selected from the
responding establishments. They are not tabulations based on data from all employees in establishments within the scope
of the survey. Consequently, the data are subject to sampling and nonsampling errors.

     Sampling errors are the differences that can arise between results derived from a sample and those computed from
observations of all units in the population being studied. The sample used for this survey is one of a number of possible
samples of the same size that could have been selected using the sample design.  Estimates derived from the different samples
would differ from one another.

     A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is the standard error. It can be used to measure the precision
with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples.  The chances are
about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a complete population figure by less than the standard
error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that this difference would be less than 1.6 times the standard error.  The
statements of comparison appearing in this publication are significant at a 1.6 standard error level or better.  This means
that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference.
Standard errors can be used to evaluate published series.  To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of series, the
standard errors for all estimates are available on the BLS Web site http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.

     Nonsampling errors also affect survey results. They can be attributed to many sources, such as the inability to obtain
information for some establishments, difficulties with survey definitions, inability of the respondents to provide correct
information; or mistakes in recording or coding the data obtained. Although they were not specifically measured, the
nonsampling errors were expected to be minimal due to the extensive training of the field economists who gathered the survey
data, computer edits of the data, and detailed data review.

Survey response

     The March 2009 benefits survey included a sample of 18,287 establishments.  The definitions in Appendix table 1 are as follows:

Responding.  The establishment provided information on at least one usable occupation.  An occupation is classified as usable
if the following data are present: occupational characteristics (full- vs. part-time schedule, union vs. nonunion status, and
time vs. incentive pay type), work schedule, and wage data.

Refused or unable to provide data.  The establishment did not provide earnings, occupational classification, worker characteristics,
and work schedule data for any occupation.

Out of business or not in survey scope.  The establishment is no longer in operation, following a bankruptcy, for example.
Establishments not in the survey scope include farm and private households, the self-employed, the Federal government, and
locations of an establishment out of the sampled area.  Also excluded are establishments with no workers within the survey
scope (if all employees are also owners, for example).

Obtaining information

     For research articles on employee benefits, see the Monthly Labor Review or Compensation and Working Conditions Online at
the BLS Web sites http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/home.htm and http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/home.htm.  For more detailed information
on the NAICS and SOC classification systems, including background information, see the BLS Web sites
http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm.

     Additional information about the NCS may be obtained by calling (202) 691–6199. You may also write to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Room 4175, Washington, D.C.
20212–0001, or send e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov.  The data contained in this summary are also available on the BLS Internet
site: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs.  Users may access benefits data from previous surveys through a variety of tools available
on the same page.  Material in this summary is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without
permission.  This information will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request.  Voice telephone:
(202) 691–5200; Federal Relay Service: 1–800–877–8339.



 Appendix table 1. Survey establishment response,
 National Compensation Survey, March 2009


                                            State and
     Establishments       Total    Private    local
                                   industry governme-
                                               nts


 Total in sampling
 frame(1).............. 5,389,642 5,174,044  215,598

   Total in sample.....   18,287    16,265     2,022
     Responding........   10,570     8,782     1,788
     Refused or unable
 to provide data.......    4,979     4,766       213
     Out of business or
 not in survey scope...    2,738     2,717        21

   1 The list of establishments from which the survey
 sample was selected (sampling frame) was developed
 from State unemployment insurance reports and is
 based on the 2007 North American Industry
 Classification System (NAICS). For private
 industries, an establishment is usually a single
 physical location. For State and local governments,
 an establishment is defined as all locations of a
 government entity.



 Appendix table 2. Number of workers(1) represented,
 National Compensation Survey, March 2009


                                            State and
                         Civilian  Private    local
 Occupational group(2)   workers   industry governme-
                                   workers      nt
                                             workers


 All workers........... 121695200 102319600  19375600
   Management,
   professional, and
   related.............  34980300  24291000  10689200
     Management,
     business, and
     financial......... 9,414,900 7,783,200 1,631,600
     Professional and
     related...........  25565400  16507800 9,057,600
       Teachers........ 6,301,600     -     4,964,500
         Primary,
         secondary, and
         special
         education
         school
         teachers...... 4,294,000     -     3,695,200
       Registered
       nurses.......... 2,679,700 2,316,200   363,500
   Service.............  25667100  21548200 4,118,900
     Protective service 3,225,000 1,363,700 1,861,300
   Sales and office....  32157100  29352100 2,805,000
     Sales and related   12016500  11867400   149,100
     Office and
     administrative
     support...........  20140600  17484700 2,655,800
   Natural resources,
   construction, and
   maintenance.........  10660700 9,679,400   981,300
     Construction,
     extraction,
     farming, fishing,
     and forestry...... 5,575,200 5,023,700   551,500
     Installation,
     maintenance, and
     repair............ 5,085,500 4,655,700   429,900
   Production,
   transportation, and
   material moving.....  18230000  17448800   781,200
     Production........ 8,981,800 8,851,900   129,900
     Transportation and
     material moving... 9,248,200 8,596,900   651,300

   1 The number of workers represented by the survey
 are rounded to the nearest 100. Estimates of the
 number of workers provide a description of the size
 and composition of the labor force included in the
 survey. Estimates are not intended, however, for
 comparison to other statistical series to measure
 employment trends or levels.
   2 The 2000 Standard Occupational Classification
 system is used to classify workers.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or
 that data did not meet publication criteria.


Last Modified Date: July 28, 2009