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Short- and long-term disability insurance programs replace some of the wages people lose when they cannot work because of an injury or illness that is not work related. In 1999, 36 percent of private industry workers had short-term disability insurance and 25 percent had long-term disability insurance. In 2014, 39 percent had short-term insurance and 33 percent had long-term insurance.
Year | Short-term disability insurance | Long-term disability insurance |
---|---|---|
1999 |
36 | 25 |
2003 |
37 | 28 |
2006 |
37 | 29 |
2010 |
38 | 31 |
2014 |
39 | 33 |
Workers in service occupations are the least likely to have disability insurance plans. The percentage of workers in short-term disability plans in 2014 ranged from 19 percent for service workers to 53 percent for workers in management, professional, and related occupations. The percentage in long-term insurance plans ranged from 10 percent in service occupations to 57 percent in management, professional, and related occupations.
Occupation group | Short-term disability insurance | Long-term disability insurance |
---|---|---|
Management, professional, and related |
53 | 57 |
Production, transportation, and material moving |
46 | 30 |
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance |
39 | 26 |
Sales and office |
37 | 32 |
Service |
19 | 10 |
These data are from the National Compensation Survey-Benefits program. For more information, see Disability insurance plans: trends in employee access and employer costs, by Kristen Monaco, in the February 2015 edition of Beyond the Numbers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Workers with disability insurance plans at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/disability-insurance-plans-for-workers.htm (visited February 17, 2025).