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The Bureau of Labor Statistics added several questions to the National Compensation Survey (NCS) to understand the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sick leave plans. The questions asked whether private industry establishments made changes to their leave policies and whether employees used sick leave between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020. The estimates were calculated from the survey data collected between June 1, 2020 and July 21, 2020.(1) The survey results represent about 6.5 million private industry establishments in the United States from approximately 1,500 responding units.(2) (See table A.)
Category | Establishments [1] |
---|---|
Total in sampling frame |
6,531,800 |
Goods-producing industries |
763,800 |
Service-providing industries |
5,768,000 |
Total in survey |
5,900 [2] |
Responding |
1,500 |
Refused |
4,400 |
Footnotes: [1] Number of establishments rounded to the nearest hundred. [2] Less than 50 survey establishments were out-of-business or out-of-scope. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. |
The NCS is used to calculate compensation cost, coverage, and provision estimates published in the Employment Cost Index, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), and Employee Benefits in the United States. In March 2019, the employer cost per employee hour worked for providing paid sick leave was $0.32 and 73 percent of private industry workers had access to this benefit.(3)
The highlights below summarize findings from the new questions related to the effects of the pandemic on sick leave plans(4) in the United States. The estimates presented in these tables are not seasonally adjusted and are for the nation as a whole based on the June 2020 reference period.
Establishment characteristic | Paid plan - estimate |
Paid plan - standard error |
Unpaid plan - estimate |
Unpaid plan - standard error |
Existing plans unchanged [1] - estimate |
Existing plans unchanged [1] - standard error |
Unknown - estimate |
Unknown - standard error |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All establishments |
25 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.1 | 73 | 3.8 | [2] | [3] |
Goods producing |
17 | 4 | 6 [4] | 2.1 | 82 | 4.1 | [2] | [3] |
Service providing |
26 | 4.3 | 8 [4] | 2.3 | 72 | 4.2 | [2] | [3] |
1 to 99 workers |
24 | 4.1 | 7 [4] | 2.2 | 74 | 3.9 | [2] | [3] |
100 or more workers |
45 | 6.1 | 23 | 3.5 | 53 | 6.3 | 1 | [3] |
Footnotes: [1] Establishments without sick leave plans are also included in the estimate. [2] Estimate is less than 0.5 percent. [3] Standard error is less than 0.5. [4] Relative standard error is greater than 30 percent. Note: The sum of the individual components may be greater than the total because some employers provide more than one option. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. |
Establishment characteristics | 1 to 5 days - estimate | 1 to 5 days - standard error | 6 to 10 days - estimate | 6 to 10 days - standard error | More than 10 days - estimate | More than 10 days - standard error | Unknown - estimate | Unknown - standard error |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All establishments |
34 | 9.6 | 20 | 5.7 | 37 | 8.3 | 8 [1] | 2.8 |
Goods producing |
44 [1] | 15.6 | 34 [1] | 11.9 | 19 [1] | 6.9 | 3 [1] | 2.0 |
Service providing |
33 [1] | 10.4 | 19 [1] | 6.0 | 39 | 9.0 | 9 [1] | 3.0 |
1 to 99 workers |
37 | 10.3 | 17 [1] | 5.9 | 39 | 9.0 | 8 [1] | 2.9 |
100 or more workers |
9 [1] | 3.6 | 61 | 5.9 | 20 | 4.1 | 10 [1] | 4.7 |
Footnotes: [1] Relative standard error is greater than 30 percent. Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. |
Establishment characteristic | Temporary - estimate |
Temporary - standard error |
Permanent or unknown change - estimate |
Permanent or unknown change - standard error |
---|---|---|---|---|
All establishments |
90 | 2.4 | 10 | 2.4 |
Goods producing |
93 | 2.1 | 7 | 2.1 |
Service providing |
89 | 2.6 | 11 | 2.6 |
1 to 99 workers |
89 | 2.7 | 11 | 2.7 |
100 or more workers |
93 | 2.4 | 7 [1] | 2.4 |
Footnotes: [1] Relative standard error greater than 30 percent. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. |
Establishment characteristic | 0 days - estimate |
0 days - standard error |
1 to 5 days - estimate |
1 to 5 days - standard error |
More than 5 days - estimate |
More than 5 days - standard error |
Unknown - estimate |
Unknown - standard error |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All establishments |
42 | 4.2 | 20 | 2.5 | 10 | 2.6 | 28 | 3.3 |
Goods producing |
41 | 7.3 | 25 | 6.3 | 10 [1] | 4.7 | 23 | 5.3 |
Service providing |
42 | 4.7 | 20 | 2.6 | 9 [1] | 2.9 | 29 | 3.7 |
1 to 99 workers |
43 | 4.4 | 20 | 2.6 | 9 | 2.7 | 28 | 3.5 |
100 or more workers |
13 [1] | 4.0 | 30 | 5.5 | 19 [1] | 8.9 | 38 | 5.1 |
Footnotes: [1] Relative standard error is greater than 30 percent. Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. |
The Excel spreadsheet contains all of the survey results on the impact of COVID-19 on sick leave policies in private industry establishments. The survey questions were asked at the establishment level such that results by worker characteristics are not available. The survey results are not available for additional establishments such as industry or geographic areas.
This section contains the survey questions sent to private industry establishment respondents. Respondents were provided a text box to enter additional or clarifying information regarding the establishment sick leave policies impacted by COVID-19.
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(1)The survey results were calculated from responding private industry establishments benchmarked according to the June 2020 weights.
(2)The number of establishments are rounded to the nearest hundred.
(3)For additional information on the availability of paid sick leave benefits see paid sick leave: what is available to workers? The March 2020 ECEC indicate paid sick leave costs to employers were $0.35 per employee hour worked for private industry workers. See the release calendar for upcoming ECEC and Employee Benefits in the United States publications.
(4)Sick leave plans include paid and unpaid leave. If employees are required to make-up days used for sick leave then the NCS does not consider this arrangement a plan. If workers can fill-in for employees, then it is considered an unpaid sick leave plan by the NCS and the hours used are subtracted from the work schedule to determine the number of hours worked.
(5)Establishments without sick leave plans are also included in the estimate.
Last Modified Date: August 31, 2020