Retirement, Health Care Benefit Offerings Decline

Less beneficial: The percentage of employers in the private sector offering health insurance and retirement benefits has declined during the previous year, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sixty percent of companies offer health insurance, down from 62 percent in March 2006. Forty-six percent of companies offer at least one retirement plan, down from 48 percent the previous year.

The most common benefit provided by employers in the private sector is paid leave, according to the BLS report. Seventy-seven percent of employees receive paid holidays and vacation, while 71 percent receive paid jury duty and 68 percent get paid funeral leave. Forty nine percent of workers receive pad military leave benefits. A less common benefit among private-sector employers is assistance with child care, which is only available to 15 percent of workers, according to the BLS data. Only 3 percent of companies offer employer-provided funds for child care and 5 percent offer on- or off-site child care for employees.