Employee benefits: Latest data shows what employers are offering now

While providing comprehensive employee benefits may be expensive, it’s well worth the investment to stay competitive with your peers and retain your best people.

Other companies are offering employees a host of benefits. And they’re using them at significant rates.

That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’) latest report on employee benefits in the country.

In March 2021, the most recent period for which data was available, over 70% of private industry employees had access to healthcare benefits through their employers. That includes medical, dental and vision benefits. And 54% of them enrolled in various plans. Per the BLS, that’s a 77% take-up rate of workers who opted to participate in the employer-sponsored plans they could access.

With state and local government employees, 89% of them had access to employer healthcare benefits, and the take-up rate was 88%.

Employers paid an average of 78% of medical premiums for single coverage health insurance plans and 66% of the premiums for family plans. The average cost to employers was $475.69 for single plans and $1,174 for family coverage.

Other employee benefits

With the coronavirus putting the need for paid sick leave in the spotlight, most workers now have access to these benefits at their companies, as well.

In fact, 77% of private industry workers had access to paid sick leave. When looking at state and local government workers, this figure climbs to 92%.

Out of all employees with access to paid sick leave, 89% either earned or accrued a fixed amount of sick leave days per year.

Many private industry workers received their sick leave benefits via a consolidated leave plan, or a plan that provides a single paid time off bank that employees can use for vacation time, sick leave or personal leave.

Per the BLS report, 45% of private industry workers had access to this type of leave. More nonunion (46%) than union (26%) workers participated in these leave plans through their employers.

More types of time off

Besides sick leave, most workers also have other paid leave at their disposal. Paid family leave was available to 23% of private industry workers (11% of part-time workers, 27% of full-time workers).

Paid vacation was available to 79% of private industry workers, compared to 61% of state and local government workers.

And while 81% of private industry workers received paid holidays, 68% of state and local government workers received them.