Paid leave benefits continued to be the most widely available benefit offered by employers, with paid vacations available to 91% of full-time workers in private industry in March 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in July. Access to these benefits, however, varied by employee and establishment characteristics.

• In private industry, paid vacation benefits were available to 37% of part-time workers.
• Paid sick leave was available to 75% of full-time workers and 27% of part-time workers.

The report, "Employee Benefits in the United States," contains March 2011 data compiled from the annual National Compensation Survey (NCS), which provides comprehensive measures of the incidence and provision of employee benefit plans. More than 15,000 establishments in the private and public sectors were surveyed.

Additional findings included:

• 64% of all private industry employees had access to retirement benefits.
• Medical care benefits were available to 69% of private industry workers.
• 73% of full-time employees in private industry had access to retirement benefits, and 85% to medical care.

Click here for more details and survey results. Additional information is expected to be published in early fall, including March 2011 data for private industry workers on the incidence and provisions of health care benefits, retirement benefits, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits, paid holidays and vacations, and other selected benefits.

"Paid Leave Among Most Widely Available Benefits According to DOL Survey" August 2011 <HR and Benefits Newsletter> (August 2011) Brought to you by ClubPay