January 21, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Paid vacation most frequently offered time-off benefit

In 1997, vacations were the most frequently granted time-off benefit for full-time employees in medium and large private establishments. Fully 95 percent of such employees received paid time off for vacations, and 89 percent received paid holidays.

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Paid vacation days increase with length of service. The average number of paid vacation days varies from 9.6 after 1 year of service to 21.7 after 30 years of service.  Full-time employees in larger establishments average 9.3 paid holidays per year.

Unpaid family leave covered 93 percent of full-time employees in medium and large establishments, reflecting the continued implementation of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.  Paid funeral and jury-duty leave also are frequently available to full-time employees.

Data on paid leave and other employee benefits are available from the BLS Employee Benefits Survey. For additional information, see news release USDL 99-02, "Employee Benefits in Medium and Large Private Establishments, 1997."