Many private sector employees in the United States are granted paid time off, although it is not mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Timetastic utilized information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recently updated in September 2021, to demonstrate which sectors provide the most generous paid vacation benefits. We have organized industries based on the proportion of employees who receive paid vacations, resolving any ties by considering the number of days off granted after one year of employment in the industry.
Information is provided for employees with consolidated leave plans (CLP), which cover various types of time off without differentiation between vacation, sick leave, or personal days, and those without. Across the country, approximately 75% of private sector employees are provided with paid time off, known as PTO. Most companies with CLP typically offer a two-week timeframe. Full-time employees receive paid time off more often than part-time employees: 46% compared to 35%.
Bigger corporations usually display more generosity. At companies employing 500 workers or more, 92% of employees have access to paid vacations. That contrasts with a 71% rate at smaller companies with up to 49 employees. Union members receive 26.6% more vacation time than nonunion workers because additional paid time off is often included in union agreements. Companies like Netflix have adopted a different approach by offering unlimited PTO. This allows employees to take time off as needed.
Insurance carriers
- Workers with access to PTO: 97%
- Average PTO after 1 year: 17 days (CLP), 11 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 5 years: 22 days (CLP), 15 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 10 years: 24 days (CLP), 17 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 20 years: 27 days (CLP), 19 days (no consolidated leave)
In 2020, the U.S. insurance industry employed around 2.9 million individuals, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor. 1.7 million people worked for insurance companies, the highest number among all.
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Financial activities
- Workers with access to PTO: 95%
- Average PTO after 1 year: 17 days (CLP), 12 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 5 years: 21 days (CLP), 15 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 10 years: 24 days (CLP), 17 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 20 years: 26 days (CLP), 19 days (no consolidated leave)
The financial services sector plays a crucial role in the country’s security and is vulnerable to various risks such as cyberattacks, according to the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
Manufacturing
- Workers with access to PTO: 95%
- Average PTO after 1 year: 11 days (CLP), 8 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 5 years: 15 days (CLP), 12 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 10 years: 18 days (CLP), 15 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 20 years: 21 days (CLP), 18 days (no consolidated leave)
Manufacturing employment among non-agricultural workers in the U.S. reached its highest point during World War II at 38%, but then dropped from 32% in 1955 to 8% in 2019 before COVID-19 hit. In the 1970s, the manufacturing industry saw a peak in employment with approximately 20 million workers. Several of these positions have now been automated or moved abroad.
Information
- Workers with access to PTO: 90%
- Average PTO after 1 year: 17 days (CLP), 11 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 5 years: 22 days (CLP), 15 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 10 years: 25 days (CLP), 17 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 20 years: 27 days (CLP), 20 days (no consolidated leave)
Netflix, Oracle, LinkedIn, and Twitter are all companies in the information business sector, and they all provide unlimited vacation days. Netflix introduced the open vacation policy, with CEO Reed Hastings taking a minimum of six weeks off annually. He credits employee loyalty at the company mainly to Netflix’s generous vacation and parental leave policies.
Education and health services
- Workers with access to PTO: 82%
- Average PTO after 1 year: 16 days (CLP), 10 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 5 years: 20 days (CLP), 14 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 10 years: 23 days (CLP), 16 days (no consolidated leave)
- Average PTO after 20 years: 25 days (CLP), 17 days (no consolidated leave)
Typically, teachers are allotted around 12 days for sick time or personal leave throughout the school year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers nationwide are depleting their sick leave days, and the federal mandate for schools to provide paid time off for COVID-19 related issues has lapsed.
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