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Employee Benefits
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Who receives paid vacations?
Whether you're hitting the road or enjoying a staycation, taking advantage of paid vacations is one way to maintain a healthy work–life balance. Paid vacations are leave from work provided on an annual basis and normally taken in blocks of days or weeks. Employee Benefits in the United States publishes estimates on the percentage or workers with access to paid leave and the number of days available after completing years of service.
Service requirements for paid vacation leave
Paid vacation leave is generally granted to employees after they meet specified service requirements (for instance, 90 days, 6 months, and 12 months). The number of vacation days granted each year may vary by length of service. In 2024, thirty percent of private industry workers received 10 to 14 days of paid vacation after one year of service. After 10 years of service, 32 percent of private industry workers received between 15 and 19 days of paid vacation. (See chart 1.)
| Service requirement | Less than 5 days | 5 to 9 days | 10 to 14 days | 15 to 19 days | 20 to 24 days | Greater than 24 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
After 1 year |
6% | 33% | 30% | 21% | 8% | 2% |
|
After 5 years |
2% | 11% | 29% | 31% | 18% | 8% |
|
After 10 years |
2% | 8% | 16% | 32% | 24% | 19% |
|
After 20 years |
2% | 8% | 12% | 19% | 28% | 32% |
|
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey |
||||||
Access to paid vacation leave by characteristic
Access to paid vacation leave varies by worker and establishment characteristics. Worker characteristics include full– and part–time, bargaining status (union and nonunion), average wages within percentile categories, and occupational groups. Establishment characteristics include industry, size class, and geographic area. Paid vacation leave was available to 96 percent of manufacturing workers and financial activities workers. (See chart 2.)
| Industry | Access |
|---|---|
|
Leisure and hospitality |
44% |
|
Construction |
79% |
|
Trade, transportation, and utilities |
81% |
|
Professional and business services |
82% |
|
Education and health services |
84% |
|
Financial activities |
96% |
|
Information |
96% |
|
Manufacturing |
96% |
|
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey |
|
Paid vacation leave was available to 91 percent of private industry workers in the largest establishments (those with 500 workers or more). In the smallest private industry establishments (1–49 workers), 70 percent had access. In state and local government, 63 percent of workers in the smallest establishments (1–49 workers) had access to paid vacation leave. (1)
| Establishment size | Private industry | State and local government |
|---|---|---|
|
1 to 49 workers |
70% | 63% |
|
50 to 99 workers |
76% | 44% |
|
100 to 499 workers |
88% | 60% |
|
500 workers or more |
91% | 62% |
|
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey |
||
Consolidated leave plans
In consolidated leave plans, different types of leave are combined and used interchangeably within a single plan. In private industry, 32 percent of union workers had access to consolidated leave plans and 53 percent of nonunion workers.
| Worker characteristic | Access to consolidated leave plans |
|---|---|
|
All workers |
51% |
|
Part-time |
43% |
|
Full-time |
52% |
|
Union |
32% |
|
Nonunion |
53% |
|
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey |
|
More information
Estimates on the cost, coverage, and provisions of employer–sponsored benefit plans from 2010 to the present are available through the Excel dataset and public database. Benefit estimates are not a time series and users are advised to consider changes in survey design, survey scope, estimation methods, weighting, and sample rotation when analyzing the data. Join the BLS Mailing Lists to receive notification of the latest data releases.
The glossary of employee benefit terms provides definitions for plans, provisions, coverage, and related terms. The National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods provides information on the survey design, calculations, weighting, and imputation methods used to produce compensation estimates. The calculation section includes information on the measures of reliability available for each estimate. Additional information on Employee Benefits can be found in the EBS Publications, Monthly Labor Review, and the questions and answers page.
End notes
(1) Incidence of employee benefits in state and local government should not be compared directly to private industry due to differences in industry sector composition. For example, administrative support and professional occupations (including teachers) account for two–thirds of the state and local government workforce. Teachers typically have a work schedule of 37 to 38 weeks per year. Because of this work schedule, they’re generally not offered vacations or holidays and time off during winter and spring breaks during the school year are not counted as vacation days, which is reflected in the estimates.
Last Modified Date: September 19, 2024