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                Employee Benefits in Private Industry, 2000


  Paid time off continued to be the most prevalent benefit available to
workers in private establishments in 2000.  Paid vacations were available
to 80 percent of employees and paid holidays to 77 percent of employees in
private industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Department of Labor.

  These data are from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), which
provides comprehensive measures of occupational earnings, compensation cost
trends, and details of benefit provisions.  The focus of this news release
is on the incidence of employee benefits, ranging from health and
retirement benefits to subsidized commuting; it also includes data on
employee contributions to medical care plans.  A forthcoming bulletin will
contain data on detailed provisions of health and retirement plans.  (See
the technical note for definitions.)

  In 2000, 52 percent of employees in private industry participated in
medical care plans.  Forty-eight percent were covered by retirement
benefits of at least one type, either a defined benefit plan (19 percent)
or a defined contribution plan (36 percent), with approximately 7 percent
of employees enrolled in both types of plans.  Life insurance was available
to over half of all employees in private industry.  Short- and long-term
disability benefits were less common; they were available to 34 and 26
percent of employees, respectively.  Other benefits frequently offered in
private industry include non-production bonuses (offered to 48 percent of
employees) and work-related educational assistance (available to 38
percent).  Among benefits less often available to employees were severance
pay (available to 20 percent of employees), job-related travel accident
insurance (15 percent), and long-term care insurance (7 percent).

  Of the 52 percent of private sector workers with medical care coverage,
premiums were fully paid by the employer for 32 percent of those with
single coverage plans and 19 percent of those with family coverage.  The
majority of medical plan participants were required to contribute a flat
monthly amount, averaging $54.40 for single coverage and $179.75 for family
coverage.

  Access to most benefits, as well as the availability of fully paid
medical care and the amount of required contributions to the cost of
medical care, varied by worker and establishment characteristics.

  Tables 1-2 highlight the incidence of coverage for employee benefits by
worker and establishment characteristics.  Tables 3-5 show data on employee
contributions to medical care.

Worker characteristics

  Benefits coverage varied by occupational group, full- and part-time
status, and union and nonunion status.  Of the three occupational groups
for which data are presented in this release, professional, technical, and
related employees generally had the greatest incidence of coverage.
Retirement benefits covered 66 percent of professional, technical, and
related employees, compared with 50 percent of clerical and sales employees
and 39 percent of blue-collar and service employees.  Work-related
educational assistance was available to 62 percent of professional,
technical, and related workers, 37 percent of clerical and sales workers,
and 28 percent of blue-collar and service workers.  Non-work related
educational assistance was much less prevalent, but was also more often
provided to professional, technical, and related workers than to the other
groups.  (See table 2.)

  Payment of premiums for medical care coverage also varied by employee
characteristics.  Thirty-eight percent of blue-collar and service workers
covered by medical care benefits had their coverage fully paid for by their
employers, compared with 25 percent of professional, technical, and related
employees and 28 percent of clerical and sales employees.

  Full-time employees were much more likely to have benefits coverage than
were part-time employees.  Fifty-five percent of full-time employees were
covered by retirement benefits, compared with 18 percent of part-time
employees. The difference in participation in health care benefits was even
greater: 61 percent of full-time employees were covered by medical care
plans, compared with 13 percent of part-time workers.  (See table 1.)

Establishment characteristics

  Benefit incidence varied by establishment employment size.   For
example, 65 percent of workers in establishments with 100 employees or more
(medium and large establishments) were covered by retirement benefits
compared with 33 percent of employees in small establishments (those with
fewer than 100 workers).  The difference in coverage for paid time off
benefits was smaller: 86 percent of employees in medium and large
establishments had paid holiday benefits, for example, compared with 70
percent in small establishments.  (See table 2.)  The incidence of fully
paid coverage for medical care was similar in small establishments to that
in medium and large establishments.  Average monthly employee contributions
for single coverage averaged $60.12 in small establishments and $49.56 in
medium and large establishments.

  Coverage for benefits also varied by industry.  Retirement benefits
covered 57 percent of workers in goods-producing industries, compared with
45 percent in service-producing industries.  Long-term disability coverage
also was more widespread in goods-producing industries, covering 31 percent
of employees compared with 24 percent of employees in service-producing
industries.  Short-term disability benefits covered 45 percent of employees
in goods-producing industries and 30 percent of those in service-producing
industries.  (See table 1.)


Table 1.  Percent of workers participating in selected benefits, by worker and
establishment characteristics, private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) 2000
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
                                    Retirement benefits           Health care benefits    
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
       Characteristics                                                                    
                                          Defined   Defined   Medical    Dental    Vision 
                                  All     benefit   contri-     care      care      care  
                                                    bution                                
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
Total.........................     48        19        36        52        29        17   
                                                                                          
Worker characteristics:(2)                                                                
                                                                                          
Professional, technical, and                                                              
 related employees(3).........     66        27        53        64        42        24   
Clerical and sales                                                                        
 employees(3).................     50        18        40        50        30        17   
Blue-collar and service                                                                   
 employees(3).................     39        17        27        47        24        15   
                                                                                          
Full time.....................     55        22        42        61        35        21   
Part time.....................     18         6        12        13         6         4   
                                                                                          
Union.........................     83        69        38        75        53        41   
Nonunion......................     44        14        36        49        27        15   
                                                                                          
Establishment characteristics:                                                            
                                                                                          
Goods-producing...............     57        -         44        -         33        20   
Service-producing.............     45        18        33        48        28        17   
                                                                                          
1-99 workers..................     33         8        27        43        19        10   
100 workers or more...........     65        33        46        61        41        26   
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
                                       Survivor benefits           Disability benefits    
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
      Characteristics                     Accident-                                       
                                 Life      al death    Survivor   Short-term   Long-term  
                              insurance      and        income    disabili-    disabili-  
                                           dismem-     benefits       ty           ty     
                                           berment                                        
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
Total.........................     54         41           2          34          26      
                                                                                          
Worker characteristics:(2)                                                                
                                                                                          
Professional, technical, and                                                              
 related employees(3).........     76         58           3          50          51      
Clerical and sales                                                                        
 employees(3).................     52         39           2          32          27      
Blue-collar and service                                                                   
 employees(3).................     47         36           2          28          14      
                                                                                          
Full time.....................     65         50           2          39          31      
Part time.....................     11          8           1          12           4      
                                                                                          
Union.........................     82         66           6          69          28      
Nonunion......................     51         39           2          30          25      
                                                                                          
                                                                                          
Establishment characteristics:                                                            
                                                                                          
Goods-producing...............     69         58           3          45          31      
Service-producing.............     50         36           2          30          24      
                                                                                          
1-99 workers..................     37         24           2          22          13      
100 workers or more...........     75         62           3          47          40      

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.  Collection was
conducted between February and December 2000.  The average reference period was July 2000.
  2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or part-time schedule based on
the definition used by each establishment.  Union workers are those whose wages are
determined through collective bargaining.
  3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover
all workers in the civilian economy.  See the Technical Note for more information.

NOTE:  Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Where
applicable, dash indicates no employees in this category or data do not meet publication
criteria.


Table 2.  Percent of workers with access to selected benefits, by worker and establishment characteristics, private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) 2000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                      Employer assistance for child care                                     Non-wage cash payments                   Education                  Health promotion 
                                                                                                                                                                      assistance                     benefits     
                                                                                            Adoption Long-term  Flexible                               Subsidiz-                       Travel                     
       Characteristics            Paid      Paid                                           assistan-    care      work              Supple-                ed                         accident                    
                               vacations  holidays            Employer  On-site   Off-site     ce    insurance   place    Nonpro-    mental  Severance commuting                     insurance                    
                                                    Total(2)  provided   child     child                                  duction    unem-      pay                 Work    Non-work            Wellness  Fitness 
                                                               funds      care      care                                  bonuses   ployment                      related   related             programs  centers 
                                                                                                                                    benefits                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Total.........................     80        77         4         2         2         1         5         7         5        48         1        20         3        38         9        15        18         9   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Worker characteristics:(3)                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Professional, technical, and                                                                                                                                                                                      
 related employees(4).........     88        85        11         4         6         3        12        14        12        52         1        35         6        62        19        30        35        19   
Clerical and sales                                                                                                                                                                                                
 employees(4).................     80        80         5         3         1         2         5         7         4        48         1        24         3        37         8        15        17        10   
Blue-collar and service                                                                                                                                                                                           
 employees(4).................     77        73         2         1         1       (5)         2         4         1        46         1        12         2        28         6         9        11         4   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Full time.....................     91        87         5         2         2         1         6         8         5        51         1        23         3        44        11        17        21        10   
Part time.....................     39        39         3         1         1         1         2         2         2        36       (5)        10         1        15         3         9         7         5   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Union.........................     93        89         8         6         2       (5)         5        15         3        38         8        31         2        57        18        23        38        11   
Nonunion......................     79        76         4         2         2         1         5         6         5        49       (5)        19         3        36         8        14        16         9   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Establishment characteristics:                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Goods-producing...............     89        89         2         1       (5)       (5)         6         5         4        51         4        21         1        45        14        19        19        10   
Service-producing.............     78        74         5         2         3         1         4         8         5        47       (5)        20         4        36         8        14        17         9   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
1-99 workers..................     73        70         1       (5)       (5)         1         1         5         2        49       (5)        11         2        26         3         5         6         4   
100 workers or more...........     89        86         9         4         4         2         9        10         7        46         2        32         5        52        17        28        31        16   

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.  Collection was conducted between February and December 2000.  The average reference period was July 2000.
  2 The total may be less than the sum of individual items because some employees were receiving more than one type of employer assistance for child care.
  3 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment.  Union workers are those whose wages are determined through collective
bargaining.
  4 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy.  See the Technical Note for more information.
  5 Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE:  Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Where applicable, dash indicates no employees in this category or data do not meet publication criteria.


Table 3.  Medical care benefits:  Percent of participants required to contribute and average
employee contribution, private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) 2000
                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          
                                          Single Coverage                     Family Coverage             
                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          
                                                         Average(2)                           Average(2)  
        Characteristics           Employee    Employee     flat        Employee    Employee      flat     
                                 contribu-   contribu-    monthly      contribu-   contribu-   monthly    
                                 tions not     tions     contribu-     tions not     tions    contribu-   
                                  required    required    tion in       required    required   tion in    
                                                          dollars                              dollars    
                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          
Total...........................     32          68        $54.40          19          81      $179.75    
                                                                                                          
Worker characteristics:(3)                                                                                
                                                                                                          
Professional, technical, and                                                                              
 related employees(4)...........     25          75         54.32          15          85       183.51    
Clerical and sales employees(4).     28          72         54.14          16          84       187.07    
Blue-collar and service                                                                                   
 employees(4)...................     38          62         54.63          23          77       172.69    
                                                                                                          
Union...........................     -           -           -             -           -          -       
Nonunion........................     27          73         55.63          13          87       185.79    
                                                                                                          
Full time.......................     31          69         53.93          19          81       180.16    
Part time.......................     -           -           -             -           -          -       
                                                                                                          
Establishment characteristics:                                                                            
                                                                                                          
Goods-producing.................     36          64         57.59          25          75       189.76    
Service-producing...............     30          70         53.34          17          83       176.41    
                                                                                                          
1-99 workers....................     34          66         60.12          19          81       182.32    
100 workers or more.............     30          70         49.56          20          80       177.47    

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.  Collection was conducted
between February and December 2000.  The average reference period was July 2000.
  2 The average is presented for all covered workers and excludes workers without the plan
provision.  Averages are for plans stating a flat monthly cost.
  3 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or part-time schedule based on
the definition used by each establishment.  Union workers are those whose wages are
determined through collective bargaining.
  4 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover all
workers in the civilian economy.  See the Technical Note for more information.

NOTE:  Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.  Where
applicable, dash indicates no employees in this category or data do not meet publication
criteria.


Table 4.  Medical care benefits:  Percent of participants, by amount and
type of employee contribution for individual coverage, private industry,
National Compensation Survey,(1) 2000
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                         Profession-                              
                                             al,         Clerical     Blue-collar 
    Type and amount of         All        technical,    and sales     and service 
       contribution         employees    and related   employees(2)   employees(2)
                                         employees(2)                             
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
Number with contributory                                                          
 coverage (in thousands)..    37,961        10,913        11,306        15,742    
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                           
                                               Percent
                           
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Total with contributory                                                         
 coverage.................     100           100           100           100    
                                                                                
  Flat monthly amount.....      79            76            77            81    
    Less than $5.00.......     (3)           (3)             1           (3)    
    $5.00 - 9.99..........       2             3             1             1    
    $10.00 - 14.99........       3             3             4             3    
    $15.00 - 19.99........       6             7             5             7    
    $20.00 - 29.99........      11            10             9            12    
    $30.00 - 39.99........      13            12            13            15    
    $40.00 - 49.99........      12            15            11            12    
    $50.00 - 59.99........       6             6             9             4    
    $60.00 - 69.99........       5             3             5             6    
    $70.00 - 79.99........       5             3             5             6    
    $80.00 - 89.99........       4             3             4             4    
    $90.00 - 99.99........       1           (3)             1             1    
    $100.00 - 124.99......       3             2             3             4    
    $125.00 or greater....       7            10             5             7    
    Dollar amount                                                               
     unspecified..........     (3)           (3)           (3)           (3)    
  Composite rate(4).......       2             3             2             3    
  Varies(5)...............       5             5             5             4    
  Flexible benefits(6)....       8            12             7             7    
  Percent of earnings.....     (3)           (3)            -            (3)    
  Exists, but unknown.....       6             4             9             5    

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
Collection was conducted between February and December 2000.  The average
reference period was July 2000.
  2 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy.  See the Technical Note
for more information.
  3 Less than 0.5 percent.
  4 A composite rate is a set contribution covering more than one benefit
area, for example, health care and life insurance.  Cost data for
individual plans cannot be determined.
  5 Based on worker attributes.  For example, employee contributions may
vary based on earnings, length of service, or age.
  6 Amount varies by options selected under a "cafeteria plan" or
employer-sponsored reimbursement account.

NOTE:  Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.
Where applicable, dash indicates no employees in this category.


Table 5.  Medical care benefits:  Percent of participants, by amount and
type of employee contribution for family coverage,(1) private industry,
National Compensation Survey,(2) 2000
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                         Profession-                             
                                             al,         Clerical    Blue-collar 
    Type and amount of         All        technical,    and sales    and service 
       contribution         employees    and related   employees(3)  employees(3)
                                         employees(3)                            
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
Number (in thousands) with                                                       
 contributory coverage....    44,822        12,276        13,207        19,338   
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                           
                                                   Percent
                           
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Total with contributory                                                         
 coverage.................     100           100           100           100    
                                                                                
  Flat monthly amount.....      81            79            80            84    
    Less than $20.00......       1             1             1             1    
    $20.00 - 29.99........       2             2             2             2    
    $30.00 - 39.99........       2             2             1             3    
    $40.00 - 49.99........       2             3             1             2    
    $50.00 - 59.99........       4             3             3             5    
    $60.00 - 69.99........       3             3             2             3    
    $70.00 - 79.99........       4             4             3             4    
    $80.00 - 89.99........       5             5             4             4    
    $90.00 - 99.99........       3             3             3             3    
    $100.00 - 124.99......       9            10            10             8    
    $125.00 - 149.99......       5             6             7             4    
    $150.00 - 174.99......      10             8            10            12    
    $175.00 - 199.99......       5             3             4             6    
    $200.00 - 224.99......       4             5             3             4    
    $225.00 - 249.99......       3             2             4             3    
    $250.00 - 274.99......       5             3             6             5    
    $275.00 - 299.99......       3             1             4             3    
    $300.00 or greater....      13            15            13            11    
  Composite rate(4).......       2             2             1             2    
  Varies(5)...............       4             5             5             4    
  Flexible benefits(6)....       7            11             6             6    
  Percent of earnings.....     (7)           (7)            -            (7)    
  Exists, but unknown.....       5             3             8             4    

  1 If the amount of contribution varied by either size or composition of
family, the rate for an employee with a spouse and one child was used. 
For a small percentage of employees, the employee contributes the same
amount for single and family coverage.
  2 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
Collection was conducted between February and December 2000.  The average
reference period was July 2000.
  3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy.  See the Technical Note
for more information.
  4 A composite rate is a set contribution covering more than one benefit
area, for example, health care and life insurance.  Cost data for
individual plans cannot be determined.
  5 Based on worker attributes.  For example, employee contributions may
vary based on earnings, length of service, or age.
  6 Amount varies by options selected under a "cafeteria plan" or
employer-sponsored reimbursement account.
  7 Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE:  Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.
Where applicable, dash indicates no employees in this category.


                              TECHNICAL NOTE

  The data in this release are from the National Compensation Survey
(NCS), conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Labor.  The statistics in this release represent a transitional step in the
integration of data on employee benefits into the NCS.  Similar to data
from the 1999 survey, this release contains 2000 data on all workers in
private industry.  Expanded data covering detailed provisions of health and
retirement plans, also from the 2000 survey, are forthcoming.

  Prior to 1999, surveys of different sectors of the economy were conducted
in alternating years; medium and large private establishments were studied
during odd years, and small private establishments and State and local
governments during even years.  Separate publications were produced for
each sample.  In the future, all types of establishments will be surveyed
each year, and the data will be produced by numerous characteristics,
including establishment size and sector of the economy.

Definitions of survey terms

  Incidence refers to different methods of computing the number or
percentage of employees that receive a benefit plan or specific benefit
feature.  Access to a benefit is determined on an occupational basis within
an establishment; either all employees or no employees in an occupation in
an establishment have the benefit available to them.  The benefits
published in table 2 refer to employee access.  Participation refers to the
proportion of employees covered by a benefit.  There will be cases where
employees with access to a plan will not participate.  For example, some
employees may decline to participate in a health insurance plan if there is
an employee cost involved.  The benefits published in table 1 refer to
employee participation.  For a listing of selected benefit definitions, see
Glossary of Compensation Terms, U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, August 1998, Report 923, or on the Internet at
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/ebsgloss.htm.

Survey scope

  The 2000 NCS benefits incidence survey obtained data from 1,436 private
industry establishments, representing over 107 million workers; of this
number, nearly 86 million were full-time workers and the remainder--nearly
22 million--were part-time workers.  The NCS uses the establishment's
definition of full- and part-time status.  For purposes of this survey, an
establishment is an economic unit that produces goods or services, a
central administrative office, or an auxiliary unit providing support
services to a company.  For private industries, the establishment is
usually at a single physical location.

Sample design and data collection

  The sample for this survey was selected using a three-stage design. The
first stage involved the selection of areas.  The NCS sample consists of
154 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the
Nation's 326 metropolitan statistical areas (as defined by the Office of
Management and Budget) and the remaining portions of the 50 States.
Metropolitan areas are either Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs), as defined by the
Office of Management and Budget, in 1994.  Nonmetropolitan areas are
counties that do not fit the metropolitan area definition.

  In the second stage, the sample of establishments was drawn by first
stratifying the sampling frame by industry and establishment size.  The
number of sample establishments allocated to each stratum is approximately
proportional to the stratum employment.  Each sampled establishment was
selected within a stratum with a probability proportional to its
employment.  Use of this technique means that the larger an establishment's
employment, the greater its chance of selection.  Weights were applied to
each establishment when the data were tabulated so that each establishment
represents similar units (in terms of industry and employment size) in the
economy that were not selected for collection.

  The third stage of sample selection was a probability sample of
occupations within a sampled establishment.  Identification of the
occupations for which data were to be collected was a four-step process:

  1.   Probability-proportional-to-size selection of establishment jobs.
  2.   Classification of jobs into occupations based on the Census of
     Population system.
  3.   Characterization of jobs as full-time versus part-time, union versus
     nonunion, and time versus incentive.
  4.   Determination of the level of work of each job.

  For more detailed information on occupational selection and
classification under the National Compensation Survey, see National
Compensation Survey, Occupational Wages in the United States, 2000, U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2001, Bulletin
2548.  For an online version, see:
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0392.pdf.

  Additional information about the National Compensation Survey may be
obtained by calling (202) 691-6199.  You may also write to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics at: Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, 2
Massachusetts Ave., NE, Room 4175, Washington, DC 20212-0001, or send e-
mail to OCLTINFO@bls.gov.

  The data contained in this summary are available on the Bureau's
Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/ncs.  Users may access benefits data from
previous surveys using a variety of tools available on the same page.

  Material in this summary is in the public domain and, with appropriate
credit, may be reproduced without permission.  This information will be
made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:
(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.