A look at paid family leave by wage category in 2021

Lower wage workers were less likely than higher wage workers to have access to paid family leave. In March 2021, 6 percent of private industry workers with an average wage in the lowest 10 percent had access to paid family leave, compared with 43 percent of workers with an average wage in the highest 10 percent.

Access to unpaid family leave ranged from 78 percent of private industry workers whose wages were in the lowest 10 percent to 96 percent for those in the highest 10 percent.

These data are from the National Compensation Survey — Benefits program. Estimates are grouped into six wage percentile categories computed using hourly wages and salaries and scheduled hours of work reported for workers. The wage values that correspond to the percentiles are in the Technical Note of National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2021. For more information about paid family leave, see What data does the BLS publish on family leave? Ten states and the District of Columbia have mandatory family and medical leave laws. The data presented here exclude state and local government-mandated plans because the provisions vary and because most mandated leave is unpaid.