Technical Contact:                          USDL:  03-489
      (202) 691-6199  ocltinfo@bls.gov
 Media Contact:                              FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
      (202) 691-5902  hoyle_k@bls.gov        WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003*
 Internet address:
      http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/home.htm


    (This release was reissued on Monday, November 8, 2004, to correct
errors in the data for employer assistance for child care in table 4.
Also, see www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/notice112004.htm for important information
about the estimates of participation in health care plans in table 1 of
this news release.)


                EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY, 2003

   The proportion of employees covered by employer-sponsored medical care
 plans has fallen gradually over the last decade.  In March 2003, 45
 percent of employees had elected coverage, down from 63 percent in 1992-3,
 according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
 Department of Labor.  The large majority of employees covered by medical
 care plans were in plans requiring employee contributions for both single
 coverage and family coverage.  Employee contributions to medical care
 premiums averaged $228.98 per month for family coverage; for single
 coverage, employee contributions averaged $60.24 per month.  Since 1992-3,
 the average monthly contribution required of employees has risen about 75
 percent for both family and single coverage.

   Just under half of private industry employees participated in an
 employer provided retirement plan.  Twenty percent of employees were in
 defined benefit plans and 40 percent were covered by defined contribution
 plans.  (Some employees participate in both types.)  The overall coverage
 of retirement plans has held relatively steady for the last few years. The
 mix of plans, however, has changed.  Defined benefit plans cover a smaller
 portion of workers than they did 10 years ago, while defined contribution
 plans cover a larger portion.

   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.

   Beginning with this news release, BLS is presenting benefit incidence
 and provisions data in new ways. This is a result of the consolidation of
 several compensation surveys into a single program of compensation
 statistics, the National Compensation Survey (NCS).  Among the goals of
 the NCS are more timely publication, a greater variety of data, and new
 series that link benefit costs to benefit incidence and provisions. (For more
 information on current and upcoming changes, please see the Technical Note.)
 In addition to health and retirement plans, the survey also covered paid leave,
 life and disability insurance, and other selected benefits.  (See tables 2-4.)

 Worker characteristics

   Access to and participation in benefit plans varied by occupational
 group, full- and part-time work schedule, union status, and earnings.  For
 example, workers in white-collar occupations were more likely to
 participate in defined contribution plans than service workers.   Union
 workers had higher rates of coverage for most benefits.  Paid leave
 benefits (vacations, holidays, etc.) were commonly available to most
 workers regardless of occupation or union status but were reported less
 frequently for part-time workers.

   For the first time in 2003, data on availability of benefits were
 tabulated separately for workers in jobs averaging under and over $15 an
 hour.  (Please see the Technical Note for further details.)  Those in jobs
 averaging $15 an hour or more were far more likely to be covered by all
 benefits.  For example, workers in higher paid occupations were twice as
 likely as workers in lower paid jobs to participate in health and
 retirement plans.

 Establishment characteristics

   The incidence of benefits varied by industry, establishment size, and
 location.  Benefits were more commonly offered to workers in goods-
 producing than to those in service-providing industries.  Workers in
 medium and large private sector establishments (those employing 100
 employees and more) were more likely to have access to a variety of
 benefits.  The differences were more pronounced in coverage for retirement
 and insurance benefits than for paid leave benefits.  For the first time
 in 2003, NCS data on benefit incidence were produced by census division.
 Coverage for most benefits was more common in the Middle Atlantic, East
 North Central and East South Central divisions.

   For the first time, data are available on the proportion of
 establishments offering employee benefits.  A majority of private
 establishments offered health insurance to employees in March 2003, and
 about half of establishments offered retirement plans. There were sharp
 differences in the availability of both benefits among larger and smaller
 establishments.  Nearly all larger establishments (those employing 100
 workers or more) offered health insurance, compared with just over half of
 smaller establishments.  Larger establishments were nearly twice as likely
 as smaller establishments to offer retirement plans.  The data show the
 provision of health care benefits to retirees is fairly rare except for
 establishments of 100 workers or more.  (See table 8).


 * Footnote 3 in table 5 was added on December 15, 2003.



Table 1: Percent of workers participating in health care and retirement benefits, by selected characteristics,
private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) March 2003
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
                                      Retirement benefits                        Health care benefits           
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
        Characteristics                     Defined    Defined         Medical   Dental   Vision   Plan type    
                                  All       benefit    contribution    care      care     care     not available
                                 plans(2)                                                                       
                                                                                                                
All employees...................   49          20        40              45       32       19           8       
                                                                                                                
   Worker characteristics:(3)                                                                                   
                                                                                                                
White-collar occupations(4).....   59          22        51              50       37       21           8       
Blue-collar occupations(4)......   50          24        38              51       33       20          10       
Service occupations(4)..........   21           7        16              22       15        9           3       
                                                                                                                
Full time.......................   58          24        48              56       40       23           9       
Part time.......................   18           8        14               9        6        5           3       
                                                                                                                
Union...........................   83          72        39              60       51       37          23       
Nonunion........................   45          15        40              44       30       17           7       
                                                                                                                
Average wage less than $15 per                                                                                  
hour............................   35          11        29              35       22       12           6       
Average wage $15 per hour or                                                                                    
higher..........................   70          33        57              61       47       28          12       
                                                                                                                
 Establishment characteristics:                                                                                 
                                                                                                                
Goods-producing.................   63          31        49              57       42       25          12       
Service-producing...............   45          16        37              42       29       17           7       
                                                                                                                
1-99 workers....................   35           8        31              36       21       11           6       
100 workers or more.............   65          33        51              55       44       27          10       
                                                                                                                
      Geographic areas:(5)                                                                                      
                                                                                                                
Metropolitan areas..............   50          21        41              45       33       19           9       
Nonmetropolitan areas...........   42          14        36              44       27       17           4       
                                                                                                                
New England.....................   44          15        37              43       31       14           9       
Middle Atlantic.................   56          30        43              47       32       24           9       
East North Central..............   56          23        46              47       34       17          10       
West North Central..............   48          21        37              43       31       17           5       
South Atlantic..................   46          16        40              44       30       14           7       
East South Central..............   51          14        46              53       37       28           6       
West South Central..............   42          18        35              47       30       17           4       
Mountain........................   38          10        34              34       28       17           6       
Pacific.........................   46          20        37              45       33       24          10       

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
  2 Includes defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans.  The total is less than
the sum of the individual items because many employees participated in both types of plans.
  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 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area divisions as well as nine census divisions.  See the
Technical Note for a list of States comprising the nine census divisions.

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 participating in life and disability insurance
benefits, by selected characteristics, private industry, National
Compensation Survey,(1) March 2003
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                           Disability benefits   
                                                                 
                                                                 
        Characteristics             Life   Short-term  Long-term 
                                           disability  disability
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                                                 
All employees...................     47        37         28     
                                                                 
   Worker characteristics:(2)                                    
                                                                 
White-collar occupations(3).....     54        40         40     
Blue-collar occupations(3)......     50        44         20     
Service occupations(3)..........     25        20         10     
                                                                 
Full time.......................     59        45         36     
Part time.......................      9        12          4     
                                                                 
Union...........................     61        68         27     
Nonunion........................     46        34         29     
                                                                 
Average wage less than $15 per                                   
hour............................     37        27         16     
Average wage $15 per hour or                                     
higher..........................     64        52         49     
                                                                 
 Establishment characteristics:                                  
                                                                 
Goods-producing.................     58        54         29     
Service-producing...............     44        32         28     
                                                                 
1-99 workers....................     33        26         18     
100 workers or more.............     64        50         40     
                                                                 
      Geographic areas:(4)                                       
                                                                 
Metropolitan areas..............     48        38         30     
Nonmetropolitan areas...........     45        31         17     
                                                                 
New England.....................     42        33         29     
Middle Atlantic.................     46        76         27     
East North Central..............     53        37         30     
West North Central..............     46        36         29     
South Atlantic..................     49        29         31     
East South Central..............     59        38         26     
West South Central..............     48        28         28     
Mountain........................     40        19         23     
Pacific.........................     41        27         28     

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
  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.
  4 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area
divisions as well as nine census divisions.  See the Technical Note
for a list of States comprising the nine census divisions.

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: Percent of workers with access to selected leave benefits, by
selected characteristics, private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1)
March 2003
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                  Paid      Paid       Paid        Paid     
        Characteristics          holidays   vacations  jury duty   military 
                                                       leave       leave    
                                                                            
                                                                            
All employees...................   79          79        70          50     
                                                                            
   Worker characteristics:(2)                                               
                                                                            
White-collar occupations(3).....   86          84        79          59     
Blue-collar occupations(3)......   85          84        69          46     
Service occupations(3)..........   54          61        46          34     
                                                                            
Full time.......................   91          91        77          56     
Part time.......................   43          40        45          33     
                                                                            
Union...........................   91          90        85          56     
Nonunion........................   78          78        68          50     
                                                                            
Average wage less than $15 per                                              
hour............................   72          73        60          42     
Average wage $15 per hour or                                                
higher..........................   91          90        84          64     
                                                                            
 Establishment characteristics:                                             
                                                                            
Goods-producing.................   90          87        76          56     
Service-producing...............   76          77        68          48     
                                                                            
1-99 workers....................   74          73        57          38     
100 workers or more.............   86          87        84          64     
                                                                            
      Geographic areas:(4)                                                  
                                                                            
Metropolitan areas..............   79          79        71          51     
Nonmetropolitan areas...........   80          79        61          44     
                                                                            
New England.....................   77          79        69          54     
Middle Atlantic.................   83          85        72          54     
East North Central..............   83          81        73          53     
West North Central..............   74          71        70          50     
South Atlantic..................   79          80        71          50     
East South Central..............   81          79        72          45     
West South Central..............   77          79        68          53     
Mountain........................   75          73        71          51     
Pacific.........................   80          79        62          41     

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
  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.
  4 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area divisions as
well as nine census divisions.  See the Technical Note for a list of States
comprising  the nine census divisions.

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.  Percent of workers with access to selected benefits, by selected characteristics, private
industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) March 2003


                   Employer assistance for child care


Characteristics                      On-site   Child    Adoption  Long-term Flexible  Employer- Subsidiz-
                           Employer    and      care   assistance   care       work    provided     ed
                 Total(2)  provided  off-site  resource            insurance   place   home PC  commuting
                            funds     child      and
                                       care    referral
                                               services


All
employees......    c14         3         5        10         9        11         4         2         5

    Worker
  characteris-
    tics:(3)

White-collar
occupations(4)     c20         5         7        15        13        16         6         3         7
Blue-collar
occupations(4)      c8         1         2         6         6         7         1         1         4
Service
occupations(4)      c8         2         4         5         2         4         1         1         2

Full time......    c16         4         5        12        10        13         4         3         6
Part time......     c8         2         4         5         5         4         3         1         2

Union..........    c17         3         7        15        13        16         3         2         8
Nonunion.......    c14         3         5        10         9        11         4         2         5

Average wage
less than $15
per hour.......     c9         2         3         5         5         6         2         1         3
Average wage
$15 per hour or
higher.........    c22         5         8        18        16        19         7         4         9

 Establishment
characteristics:

Goods-producing    c13         3         2        11         9        11         3         3         5
Service-producing  c14         3         6        10         9        11         4         2         5

1-99 workers...     c5         2         2         3         3         3         2         1         2
100 workers or
more...........    c25         5         8        19        16        20         5         3         9

  Geographic
  areas:(5)

Metropolitan
areas..........    c16         4         5        12        10        12         4         2         6
Nonmetropolitan
areas..........     c4         2         2         2         2         4         1         1         1

New England....    c15         2         8        12        11        11         4         2         8
Middle
Atlantic.......    c17         4         6        14        12        12         4         3         8
East North
Central........    c16         3         6        11        10        10         5         2         2
West North
Central........    c13         3         6         8         7         7         2         2         3
South
Atlantic.......    c11         4         3         9         9        14         2         1         2
East South
Central........    c13         4         4         7         4         7         4         1         5
West South
Central........    c11         2         3         8         8        10         2         2         6
Mountain.......    c17         2         5        12         7         7         5         1         6
Pacific........    c13         4         3        10         8        14         5         3        10

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
  2 The total may be less than the sum of the 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 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area divisions as well as nine census
divisions.  See the Technical Note for a list of States comprising  the nine census divisions.
  c Corrected online on November 8, 2004.

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 5.  Percent of medical insurance participants required to contribute and average employee
contribution for single and family coverage, by selected characteristics,  private industry, National
Compensation Survey, March 2003
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                                        Single coverage                    Family coverage           
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
        Characteristics          Employee   Employee    Average      Employee   Employee    Average  
                                 contribu-  contribu-   flat         contribu-  contribu-   flat     
                                 tions not  tions       monthly      tions not  tions       monthly  
                                 required   required    contribu-    required   required    contribu-
                                                        tion in                             tion in  
                                                        dollars                             dollars  
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
Total...........................     22        78       $60.24          10         90       $228.98  
                                                                                                     
   Worker characteristics:(1)                                                                        
                                                                                                     
White-collar occupations(2).....     20        80        61.95           8         92        236.17  
Blue-collar occupations(2)......     27        73        55.22          13         87        208.18  
Service occupations(2)..........     -         -          -             -          -          -      
                                                                                                     
Full time.......................     22        78       $59.63          10         90       $227.52  
Part time.......................     -         -          -             -          -          -      
                                                                                                     
Union...........................     41        59        49.40          31         69        174.60  
Nonunion(3).....................     20        80        61.31           7         93        234.35  
                                                                                                     
Average wage less than $15 per                                                                       
hour............................     21        79       $62.92           8         92       $238.41  
Average wage $15 per hour or                                                                         
higher..........................     24        76        57.75          12         88        220.04  
                                                                                                     
Establishment characteristics:                                                                       
                                                                                                     
Goods-producing.................     22        78        50.87          13         87        190.81  
Service-producing...............     23        77        64.15           9         91        244.08  
                                                                                                     
1-99 workers....................     28        72        66.63          13         87        263.24  
100 workers or more.............     18        82        56.03           8         92        204.52  
                                                                                                     
      Geographic areas:(4)                                                                           
                                                                                                     
Metropolitan areas..............     23        77        59.76          10         90        228.28  
Nonmetropolitan areas...........     21        79        63.19           9         91        233.31  
                                                                                                     
New England.....................     19        81        65.79           8         92        220.59  
Middle Atlantic.................     26        74        59.78          15         85        228.58  
East North Central..............     22        78       $60.88          15         85       $217.30  
West North Central..............     20        80        59.97          12         88        238.68  
South Atlantic..................     16        84        63.61           4         96        246.54  
East South Central..............     23        77        56.68           6         94        234.44  
West South Central..............     21        79        60.89           5         95        243.63  
Mountain........................     21        79        61.24           8         92        234.83  
Pacific.........................     32        68        52.75          11         89        202.79  

  1 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.
  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 The BLS news release originally issued September 17, 2003, did not provide estimates for this series.
  4 Data are presented for metropolitan  and nonmetropolitan area divisions as well as nine census divisions.
See the Technical Note for a list of States comprising  the nine census divisions.
 
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 6. Participation of medical participants by amount and type of employee
contribution for single coverage,  private industry, National Compensation Survey,
March 2003
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                           White-collar  Blue-collar  Service     
        Characteristics             All    occupations   occupations  occupations 
                                 employees                                        
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
Number (in thousands) with                                                        
contributory coverage...........  35,888      21,174       11,207       3,507     
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                                 Percent                          
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
                                                                                  
Total with contributory coverage    100         100         100          100      
                                                                                  
            Percent                                                               
  Flat monthly amount...........     72          73          72           67      
                                                                                  
    Less than $5.00.............      1           1           1          (1)      
    $5.00 - 9.99................      2           1           2            2      
    $10.00 - 14.99..............      2           2           3            1      
    $15.00 - 19.99..............      2           1           3            1      
    $20.00 - 29.99..............      8           8           8            9      
    $30.00 - 39.99..............     10           9          11            7      
    $40.00 - 49.99..............     10           9          11            9      
    $50.00 - 59.99..............      9          10           8            9      
    $60.00 - 69.99..............      8           8           6            9      
    $70.00 - 79.99..............      6           6           7            4      
    $80.00 - 89.99..............      2           3           3            2      
    $90.00 - 99.99..............      3           3           3            4      
    $100.00 - 124.99............      6           8           3            3      
    $125.00 or greater..........      4           5           3            6      
  Composite rate(2).............      1           2         (1)          (1)      
  Varies(3).....................      4           4           4            5      
  Flexible benefits(4)..........      2           3           1            1      
  Percent of earnings...........    (1)           1         (1)            1      
  Exists, but unknown...........     18          16          19           24      
  Other.........................      3           2           4            2      

  1 Less than 0.5 percent.
  2 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.
  3 Based on worker attributes.  For example, employee contributions may vary based
on earnings, length of service, or age.
  4 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 or data do not meet publication
criteria.



Table 7. Participation of medical participants by amount and type of employee
contribution for family coverage,  private industry, National Compensation Survey,
March 2003
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                                             White-collar   Blue-collar   Service    
        Characteristics             All      occupations    occupations   occupations
                                 employees                                           
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
Number (in thousands) with                                                           
contributory coverage...........   41,377       24,248        13,279        3,850    
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                                                       Percent                       
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
Total with contributory coverage     100         100            100          100     
                                                                                     
      Percent                                                                        
  Flat monthly amount...........      72          71             74           70     
                                                                                     
    Less than $25.00............       1           1              2            2     
    $25.00 - 49.99..............       3           2              5            2     
    $50.00 - 74.99..............       4           3              6            7     
    $75.00 - 99.99..............       5           5              4            3     
    $100.00 - 124.99............       6           6              7            4     
    $125.00 - 149.99............       5           5              7            1     
    $150.00 - 174.99............       7           7              7            7     
    $175.00 - 199.99............       6           6              6            4     
    $200.00 - 224.99............       5           5              4            7     
    $225.00 - 249.99............       4           4              5            2     
    $250.00 - 274.99............       4           5              3            4     
    $275.00 - 299.99............       2           3              2            2     
    $300.00 - 324.99............       4           4              4            3     
    $325.00 - 349.99............       2           2              3            3     
    $350.00 - 374.99............       2           2              1            3     
    $375.00 - 399.99............       2           2              2            5     
    $400.00 - 424.99............       2           2              2            3     
    $425.00 - 449.99............       1           2              1            1     
    $450.00 - 474.99............       1           1              1            2     
    $475.00 - 499.99............       1           1              1            1     
    $500.00 or greater..........       4           5              3            6     
  Composite rate(2).............       1           1            (1)          (1)     
  Varies(3).....................       3           3              3            3     
  Flexible benefits(4)..........       2           2              1            1     
  Percent of earnings...........     (1)         (1)            (1)          (1)     
  Exists, but unknown...........      19          19             18           22     
  Other.........................       3           3              3            4     

  1 Less than 0.5 percent.
  2 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.
  3 Based on worker attributes.  For example, employee contributions may vary based on
earnings, length of service, or age.
  4 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 or data do not meet publication criteria.



Table 8: Percent of establishments offering health and retirement benefits, and retiree health benefits, by
establishment characteristics, private industry, National Compensation Survey,(1) March 2003
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
                                 Retirement   Defined   Defined   Health care  Retiree health   Retiree health
        Characteristics          benefits     benefits  contri-   benefits(2)  care under       care age 65
                                                        bution                 age 65           and over
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
All establishments..............    47          10        45          58          4                4          
                                                                                                              
Establishment characteristics:                                                                                
                                                                                                              
Goods-producing.................    45          11        42          60          4                4          
Service-producing...............    47          10        46          57          5                4          
                                                                                                              
1-99 workers....................    45           9        44          56          4                3          
100 workers or more.............    88          38        82          95         19               15          
                                                                                                              
      Geographic areas:(3)                                                                                    
                                                                                                              
Metropolitan areas..............    51          10        49          60          5                4          
Nonmetropolitan areas...........    32           9        31          51          3                3          
                                                                                                              
New England.....................    48          11        48          54          1                1          
Middle Atlantic.................    49          17        44          63          6                5          
East North Central..............    62          13        61          84          6                5          
West North Central..............    38           5        36          36          2                2          
South Atlantic..................    54           5        53          55          5                3          
East South Central..............    52           5        51          58         11               11          
West South Central..............    39          13        39          58          7                7          
Mountain........................    25           7        23          42          2                2          
Pacific.........................    45          12        43          58          3                3          

  1 The survey covers all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
  2 Health may include a medical plan, or a separate dental, vision, or prescription drug plan.
  3 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area divisions as well as nine census divisions.
See the Technical Note for a list of States comprising  the nine census divisions.


                              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
 combining two formerly separate benefits surveys into a single NCS
 program.  This release contains 2003 data on all workers in private
 industry.  Expanded data covering detailed provisions of selected benefit
 plans are forthcoming.

   Prior to 1996, when the survey consolidation began, BLS conducted
 surveys of the incidence of employee benefits in different sectors of the
 economy in alternating years; the surveys studied medium and large private
 establishments 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 employment size and sector of the
 economy.

   Under NCS, benefit incidence and provision information is published in
 two steps. The first, incidence and key provisions, will be published
 approximately six months after the data are collected. This news release
 has data relating to March 2003, the most prompt publication in the
 history of the benefits incidence series since it was launched in 1979.

   The second part will provide detailed information on the characteristics
 of health and retirement plans.  The data collection period for compiling
 these detailed characteristics data was December 2001 through January
 2003; publication is anticipated early next year.

   In addition, BLS is planning to introduce a new set of estimates that
 link benefit cost information to incidence and provisions data.  For
 example, estimates of the cost of health insurance per participant are
 expected to be produced for the first time.  Currently, the only estimates
 available are those of the average cost for all employees, regardless of
 their participation in health insurance plans.  The new "linked" estimates
 are expected to begin appearing in 2004.

   The last detailed publication of data on incidence and provision was for
 calendar year 2000. Because of the start up time associated with
 incorporating a new benefit sample in the NCS program, there will be no
 incidence or provision estimates for 2001 or 2002.  Beginning with the
 release of 2003 data, however, data on incidence and detailed provisions
 are expected to be produced every year.

   Estimates provided here are for private nonagricultural industries.  In
 the past, state and local governments have also been surveyed. For the
 next several years, however, incidence and provision estimates will
 exclude governments because of other commitments in the NCS program.

 Definitions of survey terms

   Incidence, which refers to the number or percentage of employees that
 receive a benefit plan or specific benefit feature, is measured in two
 ways.  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 tables 3 and 4 refer to employee access.  Participation
 refers to the proportion of employees who opt for 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
 tables 1 and 2 refer to employee participation.  Due to a change in
 methodology from prior surveys, the percentage of workers participating in
 medical plans may be slightly lower than previously reported.  Averages
 for occupations within an establishment were used to produce estimates for
 below and above $15.

   The data in table 8 present estimates -- for the first time in the
 survey -- of the proportion of establishments that offer retirement and
 health insurance to their employees.  In this instance, the focus shifts
 from the employee to the establishment.  If the benefit is available to
 anyone in the establishment, even those occupations not selected for the
 survey, it meets the definition of "offered" in table 8.  Establishments
 are generally defined as single physical locations; the term is not
 synonymous with "firm" or "company," because a firm could have multiple
 locations (establishments).  The section on survey scope, below, contains
 more information on establishments.

   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 2003 NCS benefits survey obtained data from 2,924 private industry
 establishments, representing nearly 103 million workers; of this number,
 nearly 79 million were full-time workers and the remainder--slightly over
 24 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.

   The nine Census divisions are defined as follows: New England -
 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and
 Vermont; Middle Atlantic - New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; East
 North Central - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West
 North Central - Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
 Dakota, and Missouri; South Atlantic - Delaware, District of Columbia,
 Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
 West Virginia; East South Central - Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and
 Tennessee; West South Central - Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas;
 Mountain - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah,
 and Wyoming; and Pacific - Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and
 Washington.

 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, July 2002,
 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003,
 Bulletin 2561.  For an online version, see:
 http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0552.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.