In private industry, 64 percent of employees had access to retirement benefits in March 2013. That was significantly less than the 89 percent of state and local government employees with access to retirement benefits. Workers in private industry also were less likely than state and local government employees to have access to medical care benefits and paid sick leave.
Among workers in private industry, access to benefits varied by the employment size of the establishment. Among workers in establishments with 1 to 49 employees, 45 percent had retirement benefits. That compares with 63 percent of workers in establishments with 50 to 99 workers, 79 percent of workers in establishments with 100 to 499 workers, and 87 percent of workers in establishments with 500 workers or more.
Employer-provided medical care benefits were available to 70 percent of workers in private industry, compared with 87 percent of workers in state and local government. Among private industry workers, the access rate for employer-provided medical care benefits ranged from 53 percent among workers in establishments with 1 to 49 employees to 88 percent among workers in establishments with 500 workers or more.
Paid sick leave benefits also were more commonly offered to workers in state and local government (89 percent) than to those in private industry (61 percent). Among private industry workers, the access rate for paid sick leave benefits ranged from 50 percent among workers in establishments with 1 to 49 employees to 81 percent among workers in establishments with 500 workers or more.
These data are from the National Compensation Survey – Benefits program. To learn more, see "Employee Benefits in the United States — March 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑1344. Employees are considered to have access to a benefit plan if it is available for their use, regardless of whether they choose to enroll.
United States Department of Labor
