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Handbook of Methods Employee Benefits Presentation

Employee Benefits: Presentation

Employee Benefits provides thousands of estimates measuring the incidence and provisions of employer-provided benefits. These include estimates for private and public sector workers, union and nonunion workers, full-time/part-time work status, wage categories, and estimates by establishment size. Estimates are classified by industry (North American Industry Classification System), by occupations (Standard Occupation Classification system), and by area (census regions and census divisions).

Publications

In the fall, the primary publication is the news release, which contains annual summaries of benefit coverage on the incidence and key provisions of selected benefit plans: vacation, paid holidays, sick leave, nonproduction bonuses, life insurance plans, health insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, health savings accounts, wellness benefits, financial benefits, and other benefit plans. Employer and employee shares of contributions to medical care premiums and their average amounts are also presented.

In the spring, Employee Benefits publishes more detailed information on the provisions of health and retirement plans, including information on plan features, costs, and limitations or restrictions for health and retirement plans. Detailed provisions of healthcare and retirement benefit plans are published separately with the focus on a particular benefit rotating between healthcare, defined benefit, and defined contribution plans.

In addition to the release, interactive charts are available. Links to the database query tool, which is a database that contains the complete set of available data, can be found on the Employee Benefits homepage as well. An additional output that is updated in tandem with the news release is the historical dataset. This dataset is available under the More Tools heading as a spreadsheet and provides information on benefits from 2010 to the present.

Accessing data

Employee Benefits homepage

News Release (Latest) (Archived)

Annual Summary on Benefit Coverage

Health and Retirement Plan Provisions

Data

Users and uses

The private sector uses data from Employee Benefits for a variety of reasons: to aid in collective bargaining negotiations, evaluate benefit packages, analyze contract settlements, and guide decisions in business or plant location. The public sector also uses benefits data to formulate and assess public policy, aid collective bargaining negotiations, evaluate benefit packages, and analyze contract settlements. Some examples of Employee Benefits users and uses include:

Planning and improving company benefits. Companies commonly use benefits data as a guide when choosing the provisions for their benefit plans. In addition, companies may improve benefit packages to remain competitive in the labor market.
Lowering turnover rates. To attract and retain workers, employers may provide additional benefits. Using benefits data, employers can evaluate benefits that are available to employees nationally by worker and establishment characteristics.
Aiding collective bargaining negotiations. Collective bargaining units renegotiate their contracts at various times. The bargaining unit may want to add a new benefit, such as flexible workplace arrangements, to an agreement. The bargaining unit and the employer can use benefits data to assist them in decision making.
Assessing healthcare premiums. Companies can compare the premiums they currently pay for health benefits with nationwide averages. The comparison helps the established company assess its health benefits or negotiate contracts with insurance companies.
Assessing and formulating public policy. Benefits data were used to design defined benefit plans and savings and thrift plans for federal employees.
Researching current benefit issues. Students, consultants, and researchers use benefits data frequently to investigate a particular issue pertaining to benefits or may focus on a few years of previous data to develop research on trends or other benefit issues.

Correction and revision policies

Data is final upon publication. If an error is discovered in any published data product for the Employee Benefits, the publication is corrected and republished as soon as possible. Any corrections will be clearly noted on the publication, the public homepage, and the BLS errata page.

Special data requests

Requests for special tabulations are evaluated and processed according to resource availability and the complexity of the request. Employee Benefits does not produce estimates for individual states, as the National Compensation Survey (NCS) is not designed to produce state level estimates. All special tabulations are reviewed for reliability and confidentiality prior to release, which may limit the estimates provided. If the special tabulation data are cited, the user should indicate that these are unpublished estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Employee Benefits and provide the associated reference period.

For special tabulation of data, complete the NCS inquiry request form, enter “special data request” in the subject line, and indicate the scope of the request. Users should provide a detailed explanation of the scope that includes ownership (civilian, private, and state and local government), industry, occupation, worker and establishment characteristics, and time period. This detailed explanation will expedite the evaluation.

Availability of microdata

The Employee Benefits microdata are available on a limited basis to researchers who want to conduct valid statistical analyses. Researchers are encouraged to apply for access as early as possible and to discuss the project with appropriate BLS contacts prior to submitting an application. For more information, see BLS Restricted Data Access homepage.

Last Modified Date: September 30, 2025