Fringe Benefits


Important Information About Using Fringe Benefits Data:

These data do not reflect actual coverage by a specific benefit, but rather a respondent's reported knowledge of whether his or her employer made such a benefit available.  The 1991-2008 questions on the availability of sick or vacation leave were designed to collect data on the number of days earned and appear within the survey following the regular employee benefit series.

Year(s) Universe
1980-1992

The employee benefit series was administered to those respondents who worked 20 hours or more a week at their current or last job and who were not self-employed in an unincorporated business or enlisted in the military. 

1993-2008 Those working under 10 hours a week were asked if their employer provided any benefits.  Those respondents replying in the affirmative were then asked the detailed employee benefit series.  Employee benefits questions were asked only about the CPS job from 1979-93; they have been asked about all jobs beginning in 1994.  The types of benefits about which information has been gathered vary across the years. 

Data collected: Availability of fringe benefits has been collected during each survey year except 1981. 

Table 1 summarizes, by survey year, the numbers of employed NLSY79 respondents reporting the availability of each type of benefit.  This information is taken from the Employer Supplement questions; additional information is available in the CPS section.  Further information on work-related benefits can be found in the "Pension Benefits & Pension Plans" section of this guide.

Table 1 Number of Civilian Workers Reporting the Availability of Various Types of Benefits at Their Current/Last Job: NLSY79 1979-2008

Type of Benefit

79

80

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

96

98

00

02

04

06

08

Reporting Availability1

5047

4132

7652

5869

6560

6492

6735

7014

8131

8126

8015

6214

6147

6592

7164

6990

6772

6132

na4

na4

na4

na4

Hospital Insurance

1893

2305

4124

3757

4347

4380

4704

5141

5704

6052

6009

5181

5135

5056

5195

5286

5309

5278

4927

4791

4795

4847

Life Insurance

1230

1647

2979

2912

3391

3421

3800

4262

4719

5027

5067

4360

4331

4316

4423

4518

4511

4553

4261

4168

4138

4191

Paid Vacation

2190

2664

4494

4205

4740

4716

5040

5456

6023

6229

6312

5308

5227

5097

5264

5238

52072

51603

4655

4510

4374

4456

Sick Days w/ Full Pay

         

3468

3815

4307

4634

4903

4906

3683

3989

3885

4106

4182

41252

4106

3877

3804

3757

3781

Dental Benefits

         

2563

2913

3425

3833

4149

4222

3835

3816

3894

4022

4266

4426

4529

4353

4226

4326

4402

Maternity/Paternity Leave

         

3395

3695

4101

4284

4467

4413

3755

3719

4057

4106

4288

4294

4196

3915

3808

3927

3942

Disability Insurance

               

4748

                         

Retirement Plan (Not    Social Security)

               

3933

4219

4345

3901

3949

4000

4143

4345

4493

4576

4370

4279

4265

4332

Stock Options

               

1848

                         

Profit Sharing

               

2029

2214

2208

1956

2019

1949

1912

1905

1822

1759

1586

1385

1511

1471

Training/Educational Opportunities

               

3208

3567

3775

3307

3306

3308

3281

3419

3469

3501

3274

3128

3174

3247

Company-Provided or Subsidized Childcare

               

342

430

509

533

526

509

527

582

513

566

522

451

815

513

Company-Paid or  Subsidized Meals

               

1016

1259

1301

                     

Company-Provided or Subsidized Transportation

               

932

                         

Company-Provided or Subsidized Housing

               

228

                         

Flexible Hours or Work Schedule

                 

3846

3878

3249

3218

3264

3355

3568

3560

3535

3254

3215

3181

3223

Company-Provided or Subsidized Parking

                 

4337

5003

                     

Employee Discounts

                 

3631

3709

                     
Note: Question formats for the benefits series have changed over time, so numbers may not be strictly comparable from year to year. These data are from the Employer Supplements; other benefit information is available in the CPS section.
1 See universe restrictions box for information on eligible universe in each round.
2 These include those with combined sick/vacation days and with 995 responses to sick days questions (meaning combined sick/vacation days).
3 Includes paid vacation days and combined sick/vacation days.
4This question was asked in a different fashion from 2002 forward and is not comparable to previous rounds.

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts

Data have been collected during each NLSY79 young adult survey on the availability of benefits provided by employers.  Questions on benefits for the NLSY97 cohort are only asked of respondents who report an employee job lasting at least 13 weeks that ended after the date of their 16th birthday, or who are age 16 and over and report an on-going employee job at which they have worked at least 13 weeks.  Information on benefits has been collected for the Mature Women in 1977, 1982, 1987, 1989, and 1995-2003; for the Young Women in 1978 and each survey since 1983; and for the Young Men in 1976 and 1981. The exact categories of benefits for which information was recorded may vary; generally, less information was collected in earlier years. Consult the BLS website at www.bls.gov/nls or the  appropriate cohort's User's Guide for more information.


Survey Instruments and Documentation:

The "Current Labor Force Status (CPS)" section of the NLSY79 questionnaires:  Section 8 (1979), Section 7 (1980), Section 5 (1982-92), Section 6 (1993), and Section 7 Employer Supplement (1994-2008) contain the employer-related benefit series.

Areas of Interest:

Employee benefit variables can be found in "Job Information" and the yearly "Misc. xxxx" areas of interest.

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