Table 8. Workers who needed to take leave from their jobs but did not take it: reasons for not taking leave by selected characteristics, averages for the period 2024-2025

Table 8. Workers who needed to take leave from their jobs but did not take it: reasons for not taking leave by selected characteristics, averages for the period 2024-2025
Characteristic	Total workers (in thou- sands)	Workers who needed to take leave during an average month but did not
		Total (in thou- sands)	Per- cent	Percent distribution by reasons for not taking leave(1)
		Total (in thou- sands)	Per- cent	Too much work	No one avail- able to cover shift	Made alternate arrange- ments	Wanted to save leave	Did not have enough leave	Could not afford loss in income	Feared negative employ- ment conse- quence or leave denied	Did not have access to paid or unpaid leave	Other
Age
Total, 15 years and over	151,490	12,265	8.1	28.5	8.0	4.2	8.7	10.3	13.1	13.7	8.9	7.0
15 to 24 years	22,534	1,546	6.9	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
25 to 34 years	35,371	3,067	8.7	22.5	12.7	0.1	9.2	7.9	16.6	17.2	8.4	7.1
35 to 44 years	33,520	3,038	9.1	35.7	6.6	5.3	6.6	13.0	6.1	13.3	8.9	6.9
45 to 54 years	28,735	2,535	8.8	37.2	8.9	4.1	3.4	13.9	10.4	12.1	11.1	4.5
55 to 64 years	21,795	1,642	7.5	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
65 years and over	9,535	437	4.6	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
Sex
Men	78,956	5,128	6.5	27.2	10.2	2.7	8.8	9.7	15.7	17.0	7.4	4.7
Women	72,534	7,137	9.8	29.4	6.5	5.3	8.6	10.7	11.3	11.4	10.0	8.7
Race(2)
White	117,311	8,348	7.1	29.9	10.6	4.3	8.6	10.0	10.9	15.5	5.8	8.0
Black or African American	19,628	2,930	14.9	23.7	1.9	4.4	10.4	7.8	17.9	8.2	18.9	6.1
Asian	10,294	692	6.7	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity(3)
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	30,290	2,253	7.4	15.1	8.6	3.9	11.2	17.1	19.8	10.7	6.8	7.5
Non-Hispanic or Latino	121,200	10,012	8.3	31.5	7.9	4.3	8.2	8.8	11.6	14.4	9.4	6.9
Educational attainment (25 years and over)
Less than a high school diploma	7,529	640	8.5	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
High school graduates, no college	31,732	2,659	8.4	25.0	10.0	0.7	4.1	8.0	20.1	10.5	13.5	8.2
Some college or associate degree	26,327	1,944	7.4	26.7	11.2	7.0	13.8	15.7	10.3	7.7	4.9	6.1
Bachelor's degree and higher	63,369	5,475	8.6	36.9	7.8	5.7	7.8	10.3	5.3	17.0	8.1	4.9
Parent of a household child
Parent of a household child under 18 years	47,477	4,632	9.8	32.3	8.5	5.9	6.0	9.2	13.6	13.0	6.5	6.4
Parent of a child 13 to 17 years (none younger)	10,062	817	8.1	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
Parent of a child under 13 years	37,415	3,815	10.2	33.0	7.4	4.5	7.0	8.4	16.4	14.9	6.1	3.8
Not a parent of a household child under 18 years	104,014	7,633	7.3	26.1	7.7	3.2	10.4	11.0	12.8	14.2	10.3	7.4
Class of worker
Private sector	127,651	9,833	7.7	28.7	8.7	2.7	7.5	10.6	14.4	12.8	10.5	6.7
Private, for profit	113,693	8,733	7.7	28.5	7.7	2.0	7.1	11.0	16.0	12.0	11.2	7.0
Private, not for profit	13,959	1,100	7.9	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
Public sector	23,839	2,431	10.2	27.7	5.3	10.4	13.8	8.9	8.0	17.4	2.3	8.2
Full- and part-time status (single jobholders only)(4)
Full-time workers	111,686	9,129	8.2	30.9	7.9	4.5	7.0	11.2	12.2	15.2	7.3	6.9
Part-time workers	27,294	1,664	6.1	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s	s
Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers (single jobholders only)
Earnings less than or equal to the 25th percentile	28,286	2,325	8.2	24.8	10.0	0.8	6.2	8.5	21.7	9.5	7.9	11.3
Earnings from 25th to 50th percentiles	28,076	2,172	7.7	16.3	6.6	4.7	10.8	9.0	12.6	25.8	4.2	10.4
Earnings from 50th to 75th percentiles	27,440	2,713	9.9	28.8	10.2	6.1	7.3	17.1	8.4	13.4	9.6	4.7
Earnings greater than the 75th percentile	27,884	1,919	6.9	57.7	3.4	6.6	3.3	8.7	5.6	12.8	6.5	0.9
Work schedule flexibility(5)
Had flexible schedule	85,878	5,333	6.2	40.6	7.7	3.3	8.2	9.5	8.9	10.2	7.1	6.8
Did not have flexible schedule	65,612	6,932	10.6	19.1	8.2	4.9	9.2	10.9	16.3	16.4	10.2	7.2
Workplace flexibility(6)
Could work at home	55,899	3,906	7.0	46.0	7.5	5.4	6.6	6.6	4.6	14.6	7.0	4.3
Could not work at home	94,893	8,350	8.8	20.3	8.3	3.7	9.7	12.0	17.1	13.4	9.7	8.3
(1) Estimates for reasons may sum to more than 100 percent because some people had multiple reasons for not taking leave. (2) Estimates for race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to the totals because data are not presented for all races. (3) People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. (4) Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week. Part-time workers usually work less than 35 hours per week. (5) Workers with flexible schedules were able to vary or change the times they began and stopped working. (6) The subcategories do not sum to the totals because a small number of workers did not provide this information. s - Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
Note: Data refer to wage and salary workers at their main jobs. All self-employed workers (including workers with incorporated businesses and those with unincorporated businesses) are excluded. Unless otherwise specified, data refer to workers 15 years and over.

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Last Modified Date: August 26, 2026