Figure 1: Percent of Private Sector Firms Offering Paid Leave (Full-time Employees) by Size of Firm Washington State 2004

Figure 2: Percent of Private sector Firms Offering Health Insurance for Dependants, By Size of Firm, Washington State, 2004

Figures:  
• Figure 1: Percent of Private Sector Firms Offering Paid Leave (Full-time Employees) by Size of Firm Washington State 2004  – 
• Figure 2: Percent of Private sector Firms Offering Health Insurance for Dependants, By Size of Firm, Washington State, 2004

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Percent of Private Sector Firms Offering Paid Leave by Size of Firm, Washington State

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

The Washington State Employee Benefits Survey estimates the number of private sector firms offering benefits to their workers. Results from the 2004 survey show that in general, large employers were much more likely to offer benefits to their workers than were small employers and full-time workers were much more likely to be offered benefits by their employer. While this information is available only at the state level, King County made up 37% of all firms and 43% of all employment in 2004. In response to the 2002 and 2004 Washington State Population Survey, the proportion of King County adults who worked either full- or part-time for employers offering some paid vacation or sick leave, was 87% in 2002 and 84% in 2004 (data not shown).

For full-time employees, 73% of all firms in Washington State offered some paid vacation, 65% offered paid holidays, and 46% offered some paid sick days. (Figure 1) For part-time employees, the benefits picture was much less “family-friendly.” Only 20% of all firms offered some paid vacation, 20% offered paid holidays, and 12% offered some paid sick days (data not shown). Benefit information from the 2005 King, Pierce and Snohomish County Non-Profit Wage and Benefit Survey shows that vacation days offered by non-profit organizations are not consistently generous. As many as 40% of non-profits offered two weeks or less of vacation even after employees have completed three years (data not shown).

As seen in Figure 2, 49% of Washington State firms offered full-time employees health insurance coverage for their dependents. 11% offered the same to the dependents of part-time workers. 91% of large firms (100+ employees) provided dependent health insurance coverage to full-time employees, whereas only 39% of very small firms (2-9 employees) did so. The percent of all firms that offered employee health insurance coverage was 63% to full-time employees and 12% to part-time workers (data not shown). Another way of looking at coverage is this: Companies that offered some form of health insurance employed 84% of full-time workers in Washington State. Those that offered some form of health insurance benefits to part-time workers, employed 31% of part-time workers (data not shown).

Only 38% of all Washington State firms offered any type of retirement plan to full-time employees, with 59% that offered no plan. Only 12% of firms offered any retirement benefit to part-time employees (data not shown). As seen in Figure 3, defined contribution plans were the most common offering to both full-time and part-time workers. Such plans included target-benefit and money purchase pensions, profit-sharing, 401(k) plans, and stock bonus plans.

With regards to child care benefits offered by employers, 9% of working King County respondents to the 2002 and 2004 Washington State Population Survey, indicated that their employer offered on-site child care and 10% reported being offered subsidies for child care (data not shown).

Data Source and Limitations

Private sector information was contributed by Communities Count (www.communitiescount.org) and is from the 2004 Washington State Employee Benefits Survey. This survey was distributed to a sample of 17,783 private sector establishments covered by unemployment insurance tax law in Washington State, that employed an average of two or more employees during the second quarter of 2003. Estimates do not include individual parts of multi-master accounts (a company with multiple locations was counted as a single firm). Also excluded were government (public sector) establishments.

collapse all