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Handbook of Methods Employee Benefits History

Employee Benefits: History

The National Compensation Survey (NCS), introduced in 1996 as COMP2000, collects a broad range of compensation data that was formerly collected under three separate Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) programs. Until 2011, the NCS published employee compensation data for about 800 detailed occupations in more than 150 local areas. With the enactment of the 2011 U.S. federal budget, the Locality Pay Survey (LPS) portion of the NCS was eliminated.

Hover over the red dot to see historical information.

The Level of Benefit Survey (LOB) provided detailed information on employee benefits for survey years 1980 through 1998. Since its pilot in 1979 as the Level of Benefit (LOB) survey, the Benefits program has continued to expand the scope of data provided and improve both imputation methodology and accessibility of data as a part of the National Compensation Survey (NCS).

Major Employee Benefits milestones

  • 1938–39: Industry Wage Surveys are conducted in support of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

  • 1945: Industry Wage Survey (IWS) is reintroduced and conducted until 1991.

  • 1960: National Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical and Clerical Pay (PATC) is introduced and conducted until 1991.

  • Mid-1960s: Area Wage Survey (AWS) is introduced and conducted until 1991. It is a direct ancestor of NCS.

  • 1979: The pilot survey of employer-sponsored benefits in private industry is conducted.

  • 1979–97: The Employee Benefit Survey and survey publications summary are developed. See An overview of the EBS and the NCS.

  • 1987: First benefits publication on state and local government with 50 or more employees is published.

  • 1990: First benefits publication on small establishments in private industry is released.

  • 1991: Occupational Compensation Survey (OCS) is introduced merging the AWS, IWS, and PATC into a single survey and conducted until 1997.

  • 2008: Estimates for civilian workers (combined private and state and local government) are first published.

  • 2009: Improvements to imputation methodology are introduced. See Recent Modification of Imputation Methods for National Compensation Survey Benefits Data.

  • December 2021: NCS maintained an additional (fourth) private industry sample in estimation to offset increased nonresponse.

  • September 2023: An additional (fourth) private industry sample used to offset increased nonresponse is no longer used in estimation.

 

 

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Last Modified Date: September 30, 2025