Holiday Profiles

Based on the National Compensation Survey - Employee Benefits in the United States.

The National Compensation Survey¹(NCS) captures the provisions and costs of employer-provided benefits in private industry and state and local government, including leave benefits such as vacation, sick leave, and holidays. In a series of holiday profiles, BLS is publishing data on the incidence of federal and other prominent holidays below. Over 3 in 4 civilian workers² (77 percent) received paid holidays in March 2018, averaging 8 paid holidays per year.³ Paid holidays cost employers an average of 77 cents per employee hour worked.⁴

Standard errors are based only on collected holiday information. Data that satisfied relative standard error criteria for collected and matched holiday collection information were used in the holiday profiles (see the Technical Note for more information).

March 2018 Data:

• Labor Day (PDF)
  
• Independence Day (PDF)
  
• Memorial Day (PDF)
  
• Good Friday (PDF)
  
• Washington's Birthday (President's Day) (PDF)
  
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
(PDF)

• New Year's Day
(PDF)

• New Year's Eve
(PDF)

• Christmas Day
(PDF)

• Christmas Eve
(PDF)

• Day after Thanksgiving
(PDF)

• Thanksgiving Day
(PDF)

• Veterans Day
(PDF)




March 2017 Data:

The complete set of estimates and relative standard errors are available in the following formats: Excel HTML

 

Technical Note




Labor Day

Among civilian workers receiving paid holidays, 91 percent received Labor Day (the first Monday of September) as a paid holiday. Ninety-one percent of private industry workers and 96 percent of state and local government workers also received Labor Day as a paid holiday. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Labor Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	91	0.8	91	0.9	96	0.7
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	95	2.6	95	2.9	98	0.6
Professional and related	97	0.5	98	0.6	94	1.1
Service	84	2.6	81	3.0	96	1.8
Sales and office	87	1.4	86	1.6	98	0.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	92	1.0	91	1.1	100	0.2
Production, transportation, and material moving	93	1.6	93	1.6	92	5.5
Work status:
Full-time	93	0.9	92	1.0	97	0.5
Part-time	79	3.0	78	3.1	85	5.5
Bargaining status (1):
Union	97	0.8	98	1.1	95	1.0
Nonunion	90	1.0	90	1.0	97	0.9
Establishment size
1-99 workers	89	1.0	88	1.1	97	1.0
100 workers or more	94	1.3	93	1.5	96	0.9
Census region (1):
Northeast	93	1.8	93	2.0	95	1.8
South	89	1.2	88	1.3	98	0.8
Midwest	94	1.0	94	1.1	92	1.8
West	91	2.6	90	2.9	98	1.9
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Labor Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 97 percent of civilian workers in professional and related occupations to 84 percent of workers in service occupations.
• Private industry union workers (98 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than nonunion workers (90 percent).
• Private industry workers in establishments of 100 workers or more (93 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than workers in establishments of 1 to 99 workers (88 percent).
• Ninety-seven percent of full-time state and local government workers received the paid holiday, compared to 85 percent of part-time workers.




Independence Day

Among civilian workers receiving paid holidays, 92 percent received Independence Day (the Fourth of July) as a paid holiday. Ninety-four percent of private industry workers and 84 percent of state and local government workers also received Independence Day as a paid holiday. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Independence Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	92	0.6	94	0.7	84	1.0
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	98	0.7	98	0.8	97	0.7
Professional and related	91	0.7	98	0.8	68	2.6
Service	87	2.1	86	2.5	91	1.0
Sales and office	90	1.0	90	1.1	95	0.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	96	1.2	95	1.3	99	0.4
Production, transportation, and material moving	96	1.5	96	1.5	80	5.5
Work status:
Full-time	94	0.6	95	0.6	85	1.0
Part-time	78	2.8	79	3.0	68	4.8
Bargaining status (1):
Union	90	1.2	98	1.6	80	1.8
Nonunion	93	0.7	93	0.7	88	1.4
Establishment size
1-99 workers	92	0.9	93	0.9	83	2.0
100 workers or more	92	0.9	94	1.0	84	1.2
Census region (1):
Northeast	94	1.4	95	1.5	89	2.8
South	91	0.8	92	0.9	82	1.6
Midwest	94	0.8	96	0.8	78	2.0
West	93	1.9	93	2.1	89	1.6
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Independence Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 98 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 87 percent of workers in service occupations.
• State and local government union workers (80 percent) received the paid holiday at a lower rate than union workers (88 percent).
• Ninety-six percent of private industry workers in the Midwest region received the paid holiday, compared with 92 percent in the South.
• In state and local government, 99 percent of workers in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations received the paid holiday, compared to 68 percent of workers in professional and related occupations.




Memorial Day

Among civilian workers receiving paid holidays, 90 percent received Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) as a paid holiday. Eighty-nine percent of private industry workers and 93 percent of state and local government workers also received Memorial Day as a paid holiday. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Memorial Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	90	0.7	89	0.8	93	0.6
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	96	0.9	96	1.0	97	0.7
Professional and related	95	0.6	97	0.7	88	1.1
Service	83	2.3	80	2.8	95	1.8
Sales and office	84	1.3	83	1.4	98	0.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	90	1.6	89	1.7	99	0.4
Production, transportation, and material moving	92	1.5	92	1.6	90	5.2
Work status:
Full-time	91	0.7	91	0.8	94	0.5
Part-time	76	3.2	75	3.5	86	4.4
Bargaining status (1):
Union	96	0.8	97	1.1	94	0.8
Nonunion	89	0.8	88	0.8	93	0.9
Establishment size
1-99 workers	88	1.1	87	1.2	98	0.8
100 workers or more	92	1.0	91	1.1	92	0.8
Census region (1):
Northeast	94	1.7	93	1.9	97	1.6
South	85	1.4	84	1.6	90	0.6
Midwest	95	0.6	95	0.7	93	0.6
West	90	1.8	89	2.0	96	1.9
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Memorial Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 96 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 83 percent of workers in service occupations.
• Civilian workers in establishments of 100 workers or more (92 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than workers in establishments of 1 to 99 workers (88 percent).
• Ninety-five percent of private industry workers in the Midwest region received the paid holiday, compared with 84 percent in the South.




Good Friday

Among civilian workers receiving paid holidays, 21 percent received Good Friday (the Friday prior to Easter) as a paid holiday. Nineteen percent of private industry workers and 31 percent of state and local government workers also received Good Friday as a paid holiday. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Good Friday paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	21	1.0	19	1.1	31	1.4
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	22	2.2	21	2.4	27	2.3
Professional and related	20	2.0	19	2.4	27	1.9
Service	16	1.7	12	1.9	34	2.9
Sales and office	18	1.3	16	1.3	35	2.0
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	20	2.2	18	2.3	40	3.9
Production, transportation, and material moving	28	2.4	28	2.4	32	4.9
Work status:
Full-time	22	1.0	20	1.1	31	1.4
Part-time	11	2.2	8	2.4	36	4.8
Bargaining status (1):
Union	27	3.8	28	5.2	27	2.3
Nonunion	19	1.0	18	1.1	34	1.6
Establishment size
1-99 workers	17	1.2	16	1.2	37	3.0
100 workers or more	24	1.4	22	1.6	29	1.6
Census region (1):
Northeast	27	2.1	25	2.3	39	4.8
South	23	1.7	20	1.8	40	2.2
Midwest	21	2.2	20	2.4	26	2.1
West	12	2.1	11	2.3	15	2.9
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.




Washington's Birthday (President's Day)

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 24 percent received Washington's Birthday (President's Day) as a paid holiday, along with 19 percent of private industry workers and 58 percent of state and local government workers.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Washington's Birthday (President's Day) paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	24	1.2	19	1.2	58	1.7
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	38	3.2	35	3.4	65	3.0
Professional and related	32	2.8	26	3.2	53	2.8
Service	25	2.7	17	2.9	57	2.7
Sales and office	24	1.1	19	1.1	64	2.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	15	1.7	9	1.8	66	3.6
Production, transportation, and material moving	11	1.1	10	1.1	55	5.7
Work status:
Full-time	25	1.2	20	1.3	58	5.7
Part-time	16	3.3	12	3.5	57	4.9
Bargaining status (1):
Union	45	3.3	25	4.7	73	2.2
Nonunion	21	1.2	19	1.2	47	2.5
Establishment size
1-99 workers	20	1.8	17	1.9	67	3.5
100 workers or more	28	1.6	21	1.7	56	1.7
Census region (1):
Northeast	37	3.0	31	3.3	84	3.1
South	17	1.9	14	1.8	37	3.6
Midwest	13	1.8	9	2.0	47	3.5
West	39	2.5	31	2.8	85	2.1
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Washington's Birthday (President's Day) paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 38 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial and professional and related occupations to 11 percent of workers in production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
• Union workers (45 percent) were nearly twice as likely as nonunion workers (21 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Civilian workers in establishments of 100 workers or more (28 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than workers in establishments of 1 to 99 workers (20 percent).
• Thirty-one percent of private industry workers in the Northeast and West regions received the paid holiday, compared with 9 percent in the Midwest.




Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 32 percent received Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday as a paid holiday, along with 24 percent of private industry workers and 86 percent of state and local government workers.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	32	1.1	24	1.2	86	1.1
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	44	2.7	38	3.0	94	1.8
Professional and related	44	3.0	33	3.3	84	1.5
Service	36	3.5	25	4.5	82	2.7
Sales and office	30	1.4	24	1.4	90	1.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	18	2.1	11	2.2	87	2.4
Production, transportation, and material moving	13	1.6	11	1.7	83	6.0
Work status:
Full-time	32	1.3	24	1.4	87	1.1
Part-time	26	5.7	21	6.1	74	4.9
Bargaining status (1):
Union	54	3.3	32	4.4	86	1.8
Nonunion	28	1.2	23	1.3	86	1.6
Establishment size
1-99 workers	23	1.7	19	1.7	86	1.6
100 workers or more	39	1.7	28	1.8	86	1.3
Census region (1):
Northeast	38	2.8	31	2.9	90	2.9
South	30	2.0	20	2.0	90	1.4
Midwest	23	1.8	17	2.0	71	2.1
West	38	2.2	30	2.5	90	2.7
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 44 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial and professional and related occupations to 13 percent of workers in production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
• Union workers (54 percent) were nearly twice as likely as nonunion workers (28 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Civilian workers in establishments of 100 or workers (39 percent) received the paid holiday at a significantly higher rate than workers in establishments of 1 to 99 workers (23 percent).
• Thirty-one percent of private industry workers in the Northeast region received the paid holiday, compared with 17 percent in the Midwest.




New Year's Day

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 90 percent of civilian, private industry, and state and local government workers received New Year's Day as a paid holiday.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the New Year's Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	90	0.8	90	0.8	90	1.3
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	93	1.1	92	1.2	93	1.5
Professional and related	95	0.5	97	0.5	87	1.7
Service	85	2.1	83	2.4	90	2.4
Sales and office	87	1.1	86	1.2	94	1.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	91	1.6	90	1.7	96	1.8
Production, transportation, and material moving	91	2.0	91	2.1	86	5.3
Bargaining status (1):
Union	92	0.8	95	0.9	89	1.5
Nonunion	90	0.8	90	0.9	91	1.8
Establishment size
1-99 workers	89	1.0	89	1.1	93	2.6
100 workers or more	91	1.2	91	1.3	89	1.4
Census region (1):
Northeast	93	1.1	93	1.3	91	3.5
South	88	1.4	88	1.6	88	2.3
Midwest	91	1.4	91	1.5	91	1.1
West	90	1.7	90	1.7	92	2.8
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the New Year's Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 85 percent of civilian workers in service occupations to 95 percent of civilian workers in professional and related occupations.
• Private industry union workers (95 percent) were likely than nonunion workers (90 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Ninety-three percent of private industry workers in the Northeast census region received the benefit, compared to 88 percent in the South.
• Establishment size had little or no effect on receiving the benefit for civilian, private industry, and state and local government workers.




New Year's Eve

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 15 percent received New Year's Eve as a paid holiday, along with 14 percent of private industry workers and 20 percent of state and local government workers.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the New Year's Eve paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	15	1.1	14	1.1	20	1.4
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	20	2.8	20	3.0	25	2.7
Professional and related	15	2.0	14	2.3	21	2.1
Service	9	1.5	7	1.7	19	1.9
Sales and office	12	1.4	11	1.5	22	1.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	14	2.5	14	2.7	17	3.1
Production, transportation, and material moving	19	1.7	19	1.8	13	3.4
Bargaining status (1):
Union	20	3.1	19	4.1	21	2.1
Nonunion	14	1.0	13	1.0	20	1.9
Establishments size
1-99 workers	14	1.7	14	1.7	23	2.2
100 workers or more	15	1.6	14	1.7	20	1.7
Census region (1):
Northeast	13	1.4	12	1.4	23	4.0
South	11	1.1	10	1.2	14	2.1
Midwest	22	2.7	21	2.9	28	2.8
West	15	2.8	14	3.1	22	2.6
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the New Year's Eve paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 9 percent of civilian workers in service occupations to 20 percent in management, business, and financial occupations.
• Union workers (20 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than nonunion workers (14 percent).
• Twenty-one percent of private industry workers in the Midwest region received the paid holiday, compared with 10 percent in the South.
• Establishment size had little effect on civilian, private industry, and state and local government workers to receive the paid holiday.




Christmas Day

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 97 percent received Christmas Day as a paid holiday, along with 97 percent of private industry workers and 93 percent of state and local government workers.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Christmas Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	97	0.3	97	0.3	93	0.8
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	98	0.6	98	0.6	95	1.6
Professional and related	96	0.4	98	0.3	88	1.7
Service	97	0.8	97	1.0	96	1.1
Sales and office	96	0.8	96	0.8	97	0.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	97	0.9	97	0.9	98	1.4
Production, transportation, and material moving	97	0.6	97	0.6	96	2.3
Bargaining status (1):
Union	94	0.8	97	0.9	90	1.5
Nonunion	97	0.3	97	0.4	95	0.8
Establishments size
1-99 workers	97	0.5	97	0.6	94	1.9
100 workers or more	97	0.3	98	0.3	93	0.9
Census region (1):
Northeast	98	0.6	98	0.6	98	0.9
South	97	0.4	98	0.5	93	1.2
Midwest	96	0.9	96	0.9	91	1.8
West	96	0.6	96	0.6	93	2.2
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Christmas Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 98 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 96 percent in professional and related and sales and office occupations.
• Nonunion workers (97 percent) were more likely than union workers (94 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Establishment size had little to no effect on receiving the benefit for civilian, private industry, and state and local government workers.
• Ninety-eight percent of state and local government workers in the Northeast region received the paid holiday, compared with 91 percent in the Midwest.




Christmas Eve

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 28 percent received Christmas Eve as a paid holiday, along with 26 percent of private industry workers and 45 percent of state and local government workers.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Christmas Eve paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	28	1.2	26	1.3	45	2.0
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	36	3.3	34	3.6	47	3.2
Professional and related	33	2.7	30	3.1	44	2.9
Service	18	2.4	12	2.7	45	3.2
Sales and office	23	1.1	20	1.2	48	2.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	26	2.6	23	2.8	50	5.2
Production, transportation, and material moving	36	3.1	36	3.1	32	4.9
Bargaining status (1):
Union	36	3.1	34	4.1	38	2.4
Nonunion	27	1.2	25	1.2	52	2.7
Establishments size
1-99 workers	26	2.2	24	2.3	55	3.3
100 workers or more	31	1.4	28	1.7	43	2.4
Census region (1):
Northeast	20	1.8	19	1.8	33	5.1
South	30	1.4	26	1.7	52	3.2
Midwest	36	3.5	34	3.7	49	3.4
West	24	2.7	22	2.9	39	3.4
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Christmas Eve paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 36 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 18 percent in service occupations.
• Union workers (36 percent) received the paid holiday at a higher rate than nonunion workers (27 percent).
• Thirty-four percent of private industry workers in the Midwest region received the paid holiday, compared with 19 percent in the Northeast.
• State and local government workers in establishments of 1-99 workers received the paid holiday at a higher rate (55 percent) than workers in establishments of 100 workers or (43 percent).




Day after Thanksgiving

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 43 percent received the Day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday, with 39 percent of private industry workers and 69 percent of state and local government workers receiving the holiday.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Day after Thanksgiving paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	43	1.2	39	1.3	69	1.8
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	56	3.1	54	3.4	70	2.5
Professional and related	54	2.8	50	3.4	69	2.9
Service	30	3.1	21	3.6	68	3.3
Sales and office	35	1.3	31	1.3	71	2.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	40	3.2	37	3.3	73	5.5
Production, transportation, and material moving	43	2.6	42	2.6	62	7.3
Bargaining status (1):
Union	55	2.7	49	3.8	65	2.9
Nonunion	40	1.2	37	1.2	72	2.2
Establishments size
1-99 workers	36	1.9	34	2.1	66	4.0
100 workers or more	48	1.9	43	2.2	70	2.0
Census region (1):
Northeast	40	3.0	39	3.3	47	5.2
South	43	1.8	38	2.1	77	3.1
Midwest	40	2.1	37	2.3	65	2.4
West	46	2.8	41	3.2	74	2.4
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of the Day after Thanksgiving paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 56 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 30 percent in service occupations.
• Union workers (55 percent) were likely than nonunion workers (40 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Private industry workers in establishments of 100 workers or received the paid holiday at a higher rate (43 percent) than workers in establishments of 1-99 workers (34 percent).
• Seventy-seven percent of state and local government workers in the South region received the paid holiday, compared with 47 percent in the Northeast.




Thanksgiving Day

The National Compensation Survey¹ (NCS) captures the provisions and costs of employer-provided benefits in private industry and state and local government, including leave benefits such as vacation, sick leave, and holidays. In a series of holiday profiles, BLS is publishing new data on the incidence of federal and other prominent holidays. Thanksgiving Day is observed on the fourth Thursday of November.

Over 3 in 4 civilian workers² (77 percent) received paid holidays in March 2018.³ Paid holidays cost employers an average of 77 cents per employee hour worked.⁴ Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 97 percent received Thanksgiving Day as a paid holiday, with 97 percent of private industry workers and 99 percent of state and local government workers receiving the holiday.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Thanksgiving Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	97	0.5	97	0.6	99	0.5
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	99	0.5	99	0.6	99	0.4
Professional and related	99	0.5	99	0.6	99	0.4
Service	91	1.8	90	2.0	98	1.7
Sales and office	96	0.8	96	0.8	99	0.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	98	0.5	98	0.5	100	0.2
Production, transportation, and material moving	98	0.8	98	0.8	100	0.3
Bargaining status (1):
Union	99	0.7	99	0.9	99	0.6
Nonunion	97	0.6	96	0.6	99	0.6
Establishments size
1-99 workers	96	0.6	96	0.6	99	0.5
100 workers or more	98	0.6	98	0.7	99	0.7
Census region (1):
Northeast	98	1.2	98	1.3	99	0.4
South	96	1.0	95	1.1	99	0.2
Midwest	98	0.7	98	0.7	98	0.9
West	97	1.1	96	1.2	98	1.9
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of Thanksgiving Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 99 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial and professional and related occupations to 91 percent in service occupations.
• Union workers (99 percent) were likely than nonunion workers (97 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• Ninety-eight percent of private industry workers in the Northeast and Midwest regions received the paid holiday, compared with 95 percent in the South.
• Nearly all state and local government workers (99 percent) received the paid holiday.




Veterans Day

Among civilian workers who received paid holidays, 19 percent received Veterans Day as a paid holiday, with 11 percent of private industry workers and 70 percent of state and local government workers receiving the holiday.

Table 1. Percent of workers receiving the Veterans Day paid holiday, March 2018
(All workers with paid holidays = 100 percent)

Characteristics	Civilian		Private industry		State and local government
	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error	Percent	Standard Error
All workers	19	0.9	11	0.9	70	1.8
Occupational group:
Management, business, and financial	26	2.4	19	2.7	75	2.7
Professional and related	23	1.8	11	1.8	66	2.6
Service	21	2.4	9	2.7	67	2.6
Sales and office	19	1.0	13	1.0	77	2.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	16	1.8	10	2.0	82	3.6
Production, transportation, and material moving	8	1.3	6	1.3	66	7.0
Bargaining status (1):
Union	42	3.0	17	3.6	80	2.1
Nonunion	15	0.8	11	0.8	63	2.5
Establishments size
1-99 workers	16	1.4	12	1.4	78	2.7
100 workers or more	22	1.3	11	1.3	68	2.0
Census region (1):
Northeast	22	2.1	14	2.0	81	3.5
South	15	1.3	8	1.2	63	3.0
Midwest	14	1.3	9	1.3	56	3.8
West	28	2.3	18	2.5	87	4.3
Footnotes: (1) For more information on bargaining status and census region definitions, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/concepts.htm.

Highlights of Veterans Day paid holiday benefits include:

• The incidence ranged from 26 percent of civilian workers in management, business, and financial occupations to 8 percent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations.
• Union workers (42 percent) were likely than nonunion workers (15 percent) to receive the paid holiday.
• State and local government workers in establishments of 1-99 workers or received the paid holiday at a higher rate (78 percent) than workers in establishments of 100 workers or (68 percent).
• Eighteen percent of private industry workers in the West region received the paid holiday, compared with 8 percent in the South.




Technical Note

The estimates of specific paid holiday percentages are based on information field economists collected for sample establishments. Missing data were not subject to standard imputation procedures used in other NCS publications. Workers were included as having paid holiday leave for either partial or full workday paid holidays. Data are rounded to the nearest whole number. Use caution in applying these estimates because they are only based on collected data, part of the overall sample, and not subject to standard imputation and processing methods. Those methods can affect estimates based on establishment and worker characteristics of available and missing holiday information.⁵

To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of the NCS holiday profile data, standard errors of all published estimates are found in each profile. Standard errors provide users a tool to judge the quality of an estimate to ensure that it is within an acceptable range for their intended purpose.

Benefits data used in the holiday profile are derived from a sample survey used for the National Compensation Survey and thus, it is subject to sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that occur between the results computed from a sample of observations and those computed from all observations in a population. Caution should be applied in using holiday profile estimates because they are only based on a subsample of the overall sample using collected establishments that provide workers with paid holidays. Estimates derived from subsamples using the same sample design may differ from each other.

The standard error is a measure of the variation among these differing estimates. It can be used to measure the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the expected result of all possible samples. The standard errors can be used to define a range or level of confidence (confidence interval) around an estimate. For instance, the 90 percent confidence level means that if all possible samples were selected and an estimate of a value and its sampling error were computed for each, then for approximately 90 percent of the samples, the intervals from 1.6 standard errors below the estimate to 1.6 standard errors above the estimate would include the "true" average value. For example, the 90 percent confidence interval for an estimate of 5.0 percent with a standard error of 1.1 percentage points would be 5.0 percent plus or minus 1.8 percentage points (1.6 standard errors times 1.1 percentage points) or 3.2 to 6.8 percent.

The chances are about 68 out of 100 percent that an estimate differs from the true population figure within one standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 percent that this difference would be within 1.6 standard errors. This means that in the example above, the chances are 90 out of 100 percent that the estimated index percent change is between 3.2 and 6.8 percent.

Comparative statements appearing in each holiday profile are statistically significant at the 90 percent level of confidence, unless otherwise indicated. This means that for differences cited, the estimated difference is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference.

Additional estimates on holidays are available at www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2018/benefits_leave.htm.


END NOTES

⁽¹⁾ The National Compensation Survey (NCS) collects information on employee wages and salaries and benefits from a nationally representative sample of about 8,000 responding establishments. (See March 2018 Appendix 1). The NCS program produces the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). The ECI tracks changes over time in average employer costs for pay and benefits, while the ECEC expresses average employer costs for pay and benefits in dollars and cents. The NCS also tracks coverage and provisions of employer-sponsored benefits such as healthcare, retirement, and leave benefits. For more information, see www.bls.gov/ncs.

⁽²⁾ Civilian workers includes both private industry and state and local government workers.

⁽³⁾ Bureau of Labor Statistics: National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2018, www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2018.

⁽⁴⁾ Bureau of Labor Statistics: National Compensation Survey: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2018, www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_06082018.pdf.

⁽⁵⁾ Bureau of Labor Statistics: Handbook of Methods, National Compensation Measures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm.




March 2017 Data

Holiday Profiles, Civilian, Private Industry, and State and Local Government workers, March 2017

Ownership	Characteristic	Reference year	Reference month	Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday		Washington's Birthday (President's Day)		Memorial Day		Independence Day		Labor Day
				Percent	Standard error	Percent	Standard error	Percent	Standard error	Percent	Standard error	Percent	Standard error
Civilian workers	All workers	2017	March	33	0.9	26	0.9	90	0.6	92	0.5	92	0.6
Civilian workers	Management, business, and financial	2017	March	43	1.8	37	1.9	97	0.7	98	0.4	98	0.4
Civilian workers	Professional and related	2017	March	46	2.0	33	1.8	94	0.7	89	0.8	97	0.6
Civilian workers	Service	2017	March	38	2.3	25	2.2	78	3.2	85	2.6	83	2.9
Civilian workers	Sales and office	2017	March	33	1.3	27	1.2	88	0.8	92	0.7	89	1.2
Civilian workers	Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	2017	March	20	1.7	17	1.5	90	1.4	96	0.8	91	1.3
Civilian workers	Production, transportation, and material moving	2017	March	15	1.3	13	1.2	92	0.9	95	1.0	94	1.1
Civilian workers	Union	2017	March	58	2.3	48	2.3	94	0.8	89	0.9	96	0.8
Civilian workers	Nonunion	2017	March	29	1.0	22	0.8	89	0.7	93	0.5	92	0.6
Civilian workers	1 to 99 workers	2017	March	24	1.3	21	1.0	87	1.2	91	0.7	89	0.9
Civilian workers	100 workers or more	2017	March	43	1.2	31	1.4	93	0.5	93	0.5	95	0.6
Civilian workers	Northeast	2017	March	43	1.6	39	2.1	91	1.4	93	1.5	93	1.8
Civilian workers	South	2017	March	32	1.2	19	1.2	85	1.0	90	0.7	90	0.9
Civilian workers	Midwest	2017	March	26	2.6	15	0.8	96	0.5	94	0.6	95	1.1
Civilian workers	West	2017	March	37	2.3	42	2.7	90	1.5	93	1.3	93	1.0
Private industry workers	All workers	2017	March	24	1.1	21	1.0	89	0.7	94	0.5	91	0.7
Private industry workers	Management, business, and financial	2017	March	35	2.0	33	2.0	96	0.8	99	0.4	98	0.5
Private industry workers	Professional and related	2017	March	33	2.5	27	2.3	96	1.0	97	0.6	97	0.7
Private industry workers	Service	2017	March	24	3.0	15	2.7	73	4.1	83	3.4	80	3.6
Private industry workers	Sales and office	2017	March	25	1.5	22	1.3	86	0.9	91	0.8	88	1.4
Private industry workers	Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	2017	March	12	1.8	11	1.6	89	1.6	95	0.9	90	1.4
Private industry workers	Production, transportation, and material moving	2017	March	12	1.4	12	1.3	92	0.9	96	1.0	94	1.1
Private industry workers	Union	2017	March	33	4.4	28	4.3	96	1.3	98	1.0	97	1.1
Private industry workers	Nonunion	2017	March	23	1.0	20	0.8	88	0.7	93	0.6	91	0.7
Private industry workers	1 to 99 workers	2017	March	19	1.3	18	1.0	86	1.2	92	0.8	89	1.0
Private industry workers	100 workers or more	2017	March	30	1.6	24	1.8	93	0.7	96	0.6	95	0.7
Private industry workers	Northeast	2017	March	36	1.7	32	2.0	90	1.5	93	1.5	92	1.9
Private industry workers	South	2017	March	22	1.5	16	1.4	85	1.1	92	0.7	89	1.0
Private industry workers	Midwest	2017	March	17	3.1	9	1.0	96	0.6	97	0.7	95	1.3
Private industry workers	West	2017	March	26	2.6	33	3.1	89	1.9	94	1.5	92	1.3
State and local government workers	All workers	2017	March	86	1.1	57	1.5	93	0.6	84	1.0	96	0.8
State and local government workers	Management, business, and financial	2017	March	94	1.4	64	3.1	97	0.7	97	0.7	98	0.7
State and local government workers	Professional and related	2017	March	85	1.5	50	2.0	88	1.1	67	2.5	95	1.1
State and local government workers	Service	2017	March	82	2.8	57	2.7	94	1.9	90	1.5	96	1.9
State and local government workers	Sales and office	2017	March	91	1.4	63	1.9	98	0.6	95	0.9	98	0.7
State and local government workers	Natural resources, construction, and maintenance	2017	March	88	2.2	63	4.5	99	0.7	99	0.4	100	0.3
State and local government workers	Production, transportation, and material moving	2017	March	82	6.0	54	6.7	89	4.8	79	5.4	92	5.1
State and local government workers	Union	2017	March	86	1.5	72	1.8	93	0.9	79	1.4	95	0.9
State and local government workers	Nonunion	2017	March	86	1.4	45	2.4	93	0.8	87	1.8	97	0.8
State and local government workers	1 to 99 workers	2017	March	87	2.1	66	4.1	98	0.9	82	2.3	97	0.9
State and local government workers	100 workers or more	2017	March	86	1.4	54	1.5	91	0.9	84	1.0	96	0.9
State and local government workers	Northeast	2017	March	90	2.7	83	2.9	97	1.7	90	2.5	95	1.8
State and local government workers	South	2017	March	88	1.6	36	3.0	89	0.8	80	2.0	97	1.3
State and local government workers	Midwest	2017	March	76	2.1	50	2.5	94	0.5	82	1.2	94	0.9
State and local government workers	West	2017	March	90	3.0	83	3.0	96	2.1	88	1.9	98	2.0

 

Last Modified Date: April 17, 2019

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