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Some employers offer end-of-year or holiday bonuses this time of year. End-of-year bonuses were available to 12 percent of private industry workers in 2024, and 7 percent had access to holiday bonuses. Among private industry information workers, 22 percent had access to end-of-year bonuses, while 4 percent had access to holiday bonuses. In retail trade, 4 percent of workers had access to end-of-year bonuses and 9 percent had access to holiday bonuses. Of the workers in transportation and warehousing, 4 percent had access to end-of-year bonuses, while 5 percent had access to holiday bonuses.
Industry workers, all occupations | End-of-year bonus | Holiday bonus |
---|---|---|
Information |
22 | 4 |
Wholesale trade |
21 | 9 |
Construction |
19 | 14 |
Manufacturing |
17 | 10 |
All workers |
12 | 7 |
Hospitals |
6 | 2 |
Leisure and hospitality |
5 | 6 |
Retail trade |
4 | 9 |
Transportation and warehousing |
4 | 5 |
In March 2024, the average employer cost for nonproduction bonuses was $1.26 per hour worked in private industry.
These data are from the Employee Benefits and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation programs. For more information, see Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2024 and "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — March 2024." End-of-year and holiday bonuses are nonproduction bonuses, payments to employees that are not directly related to individual productivity. End-of-year bonuses are payments to employees near the end of the year to show appreciation for working hard throughout the year. Holiday bonuses are payments to employees made on a holiday to show appreciation; the payment usually is a token gesture, with all employees receiving the same amount. A full list of nonproduction bonuses is in the National Compensation Survey Glossary of Employee Benefit Terms.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Access to end-of-year and holiday bonuses for private industry workers in 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/access-to-end-of-year-and-holiday-bonuses-for-private-industry-workers-in-2024.htm (visited February 15, 2025).