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Employee Benefits Survey
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EBS EBS Program Links

National Compensation Survey - Benefits produces comprehensive data on the incidence (the percentage of workers with access to and participation in employer provided benefit plans) and provisions of selected employee benefit plans.

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Latest Benefits News Release

//EBS2 ZUNI3PO Test 10052021// Civilian workers' participation rate in medical care...

10/05/2021

//EBS2 ZUNI3PO Test 10052021// Retirement and medical care benefits were available to 70 percent of civilian workers in March 2017. About two-thirds of private industry workers and 9 out of 10 state and local government workers had access to these benefits.
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Archived

 

EBS Databases

Databases

Database Name Special
Notice		 Top
Picks		 Data
Finder		 One
Screen		 Multi-
Screen		 Tables Text Files
Benefit Incidence & Provisions
Employee Benefits Survey
(1985 to 2006)
   Top Picks for EBS   One Screen Data Search for EBS Multi Screen Data Search for EBS   Text Files for EBS
National Compensation Survey - Benefits (Beginning with
2010 data)* 		  Top Picks for NCS Benefits Data Finder for NCS Benefits   Multi Screen Data Search for NCS Benefits Tables for NCS Benefits Text Files for NCS Benefits

*2007 to 2009 benefits data are not available in the National Compensation Survey data base.
For data during these years, see the NCS publication archive.

 

More Tools

  • Series Report —Already know the series identifier for the statistic you want? Use this shortcut to retrieve your data.
  • Download 2010—2020 Excel dataset (XLSX)
  • Benefits Search--allows you to search through all the benefits publications that are currently available electronically.

 

Annual Bulletin on Benefit Coverage

National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2020

September 2020
Bulletin 2793
Download entire bulletin (PDF)
Download 2010 – 2020 Excel dataset (XLSX)

 

Latest Bulletin on Benefit Plan Details in Private Industry

Health Care Plan Provisions for Private Industry Workers in the United States, 2020

April 2021

Download Excel dataset (XLSX)

Glossary

 

EBS Publications

Factsheets

Other Publications

All NCS Publications (including benefits, compensation costs, and wages) »

 

EBS Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

        Affordable Care Act (ACA)

  1. How will implementation of the ACA change NCS health care data? Will NCS data collection be any different from pre-ACA?
  2. What are grandfathered health care plans and how prevalent are they?
  3. Does the BLS have any information on the prevalence of the Essential Health benefits that are mentioned in the ACA?

    4. General employee benefit information

  4. What types of benefit data does the BLS provide?
  5. For what worker and establishment characteristics are benefit data available?
  6. How much has the cost of employer-provided benefits changed in the last 5 years?

    7. Retirement benefits information

  7. What are frozen retirement plans and how prevalent are they?
  8. How prevalent are cash account (cash balance) pension plans?

    9. Health benefits information

  9. What are high deductible health plans and how do they differ from traditional health plans?
  10. How much do employees pay for health care?
  11. What information does the NCS collect about Flexible Spending Accounts? Does the NCS capture data regarding the details of how an employer reimburses their employees for valid transactions?

All EBS FAQs »

 

EBS Related Links

Other BLS Resources

  • Compensation Costs and Trends—indexes measuring change over time in labor costs and data measuring level of average costs per employee hour worked.
  • Compensation Research and Program Development Group—carries out research that addresses methodological, conceptual, and technical issues of concern to the National Compensation Survey, Occupational Requirements Survey, and the Workplace Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities Programs.
  • Guide for Evaluating Your Firm's Jobs and Pay (PDF)—explains how the Bureau determines the work level of an occupation in the National Compensation Survey.
  • Information Guide (PDF)—provides descriptions of the information and data produced by BLS, as well as descriptions of the publications in which they appear.
  • Modeled Wage Estimates—annual estimates of average hourly wages for occupations by job characteristics and within geographical location.
  • Occupational Requirements Survey—provides job-related information regarding physical demands; environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements for jobs in the U.S. economy.
  • Work Stoppages—monthly and annual data and analysis of major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers.

Other Useful Links

  • Compendium of Federal Datasets Addressing Health Disparities (PDF)—is a free resource of publicly available data relevant to research and programs aiming to reduce health disparities by exploring the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the social determinants of health.
  • Employee Benefits Security Administration—provides participant and compliance assistance in the areas of retirement, health and other employee benefits.
  • Healthcare.gov Glossary—provides terms and definitions used on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' HealthCare.gov website.
  • Health Insurance Definitions (PDF)—provides terms and definitions approved by the Federal Government's Interdepartmental Committee on Employment-based Health Insurance Surveys for use in Federal surveys collecting employer-based health insurance data.
  • Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs—responsible for ensuring employers doing business with the federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring equal employment opportunity.
  • Wage and Hour Division—responsible for enforcing federal labor laws including minimum wage and hour standards.

 

Contact Us

Contacts

The Office of Compensation Levels and Trends, Branch of Survey Information and Publications, will be glad to assist you with questions about any of the components of the National Compensation Survey.

Ways to Contact BLS Directly

Email: Contact us

Telephone: (202) 691-6199 (Monday - Friday, 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.)

Information and assistance is also available from any BLS regional office.

Services for individuals with a sensory impairment

Information voice phone: (202) 691-5200 The Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339

Write or Personal Visit

Bureau of Labor Statistics
OCLT/SI&P
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E. - Suite 4160
Washington, D.C. 20212-0001

Other Ways to Access our Data:

 Libraries

Federal Depository Libraries provide free access to government documents. Many of these libraries receive BLS publications. Check with a location near you.

 

Latest Numbers

RSS

Civilian Workers, Compensation

Access to defined contribution retirement plans
60% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to defined benefit retirement plans
25% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid holiday
78% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid vacation
76% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid sick leave
78% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid family leave
21% in 2020 Historical Data

Participating in medical care plans
51% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to wellness programs
44% in 2020 Historical Data

Private industry workers

Access to defined contribution retirement plans
64% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to defined benefit retirement plans
15% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid holiday
80% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid vacation
79% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid sick leave
75% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid family leave
20% in 2020 Historical Data

Participating in medical care plans
48% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to wellness programs
41% in 2020 Historical Data

State and local government workers

Access to defined contribution retirement plans
37% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to defined benefit retirement plans
86% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid holiday
68% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid vacation
60% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid sick leave
91% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to paid family leave
26% in 2020 Historical Data

Participating in medical care plans
70% in 2020 Historical Data

Access to wellness programs
63% in 2020 Historical Data

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