Bureau of Labor Statistics

Higher wage workers more likely than lower wage workers to have paid leave benefits in 2018

August 03, 2018

Paid sick leave was available to 71 percent of workers in private industry in March 2018. Paid sick leave was available to 31 percent of workers with an average wage in the lowest 10 percent and to 92 percent of workers with an average wage in the highest 10 percent.

Paid vacation benefits were available to 77 percent of private industry workers in March 2018. Paid holidays were available to 78 percent of workers. As with paid sick leave, paid vacation and holidays were more often available to higher paid than lower paid workers.

These data are from the National Compensation Survey — Benefits program. For more information, see “Employee Benefits in the United States — March 2018.” For more information about terms related to employee benefits, see our glossary.