Estimates of Employment and Jobs Offered Benefits
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Tables 6a and 6b present total Wyoming employment and jobs offered benefits by industry for 2008 and 2011, respectively. The greatest numbers of jobs offered health insurance in 2008 were in educational & health services (40,841) and trade, transportation, & utilities (31,749). Similarly educational & health services (49,025) and trade, transportation, & utilities (32,433) offered the largest number of jobs retirement plans. The pattern was the same in 2011, with the most employees offered health insurance in educational & health services (42,290) and trade, transportation, & utilities (28,400). These industries also offered the largest number of jobs retirement plans in 2011 (educational & health services, 45,355; trade, transportation, & utilities, 25,936).
When comparing different years of data like the benefits results, often it is helpful to compare proportions rather than numbers. Although the number of jobs will change from year to year, the proportion of jobs offered benefits stays relatively constant. It is expected that there will be small changes over time, rather than large variations from one year to the next. When relatively large proportional changes occur, it is more likely the result of the characteristics of the sample that was drawn or respondent bias. For these reasons, the majority of the remainder of the publication will focus on proportions rather than counts.
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The percentage of employers who offered selected benefits to their employees by full- and part-time status is shown in Table 7. Paid holidays (54.8%) and paid vacation (49.5%) were the benefits offered most frequently by employers to their full-time employees. An estimated 42.5% of employers offered health insurance to full-time jobs and 32.3% offered retirement benefits. In comparison, the benefits most commonly offered to part-time jobs were paid holidays (15.8%), and paid vacation (10.7%). Only 5.6% of employers offered health insurance to part-time jobs, and 6.1% offered retirement plans.
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The number and proportion of jobs offered benefits varied widely by firm size (see Table 8). A larger proportion of jobs in firms with 50 or more employees were offered all benefits than those in smaller firms. This was also true for individual benefits. For example, 91.8% of full-time jobs in firms with 50 or more employees were offered health insurance compared to 33.9% of full-time jobs employed in firms with one to four employees. Of full-time jobs offered retirement plans, the largest proportion (88.6%) that were offered this benefit worked for the state's largest employers.
In 2011 a greater percentage of part-time jobs at larger companies were offered benefits compared to jobs in smaller companies. By far the largest percentage of part-time jobs offered retirement plans were in firms with 50 or more employees (43.4%). In comparison 6.3% of jobs in firms with one to four employees and 8.2% of jobs in companies with five to nine employees were offered retirement plans. Similarly a larger proportion of jobs in firms with 50 or more employees (17.9%) were offered health insurance compared to 2.1% of jobs in firms with one to four employees and 1.7% of jobs in firms with five to nine employees.
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Table 9 shows the number and percentage of employers offering selected benefits to full- and part-time jobs. In general, as the size of the company increased so did the proportion of benefits offered to full-time employees. For example, 2,558 or 22.2% of employers with one to four employees offered full-time employees a dental plan compared to 43.2% (1,037) of employers with 10-19 employees and 81.0% (650) of employers with 50 or more employees.
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Both the percentage of employers offering health insurance benefits and the percentage of jobs offered benefits increased as firm size increased (see Figure 8). For firms with one to four employees, 33.5% of employers offered health insurance and 33.9% were offered the benefit. In comparison, 90.6% of employers with 50 or more employees offered health insurance and 91.8% of jobs were offered the benefit.
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A similar pattern occurred for retirement plans (see Figure 9). Among firms with one to four employees, 24.8% offered retirement plans while 31.3% of jobs in those firms were offered the benefit. In comparison, 82.4% of firms with 50 or more employees offered a retirement plan while 88.6% of jobs in these companies were offered the benefit.
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In 2011, the benefit offered to the greatest percentage of full-time jobs was paid holidays (78.9%; see Table 10), followed by health insurance (77.7%), dependent health insurance (73.9%), and retirement plans (73.5%). For part-time jobs, retirement plans (25.0%), paid holidays (19.7%), and long-term disability insurance (19.1%) were the most frequently offered benefits. Health insurance was offered to 1.7% of part-time jobs.
In addition to 2011 data, Table 10 shows 2010 survey data for the percentage of full- and part-time jobs offered selected benefits and the difference in proportions between 2010 and 2011. For full-time jobs, the percentage offered benefits rose from 2010 to 2011 for nine benefits and declined for six. The largest increases were for short-term disability (+9.7%) and long-term disability (+6.3%). Notable declines in the percentage of full-time jobs offered benefits were for health insurance (-2.3%), retirement plans (-3.0%), and dependent health insurance (-1.7%). Reduced benefits offerings occurred for all but four benefits for part-time jobs. The percentage of part-time jobs offered benefits rose for child care (4.2%), long-term disability (13.1%), paid personal leave (1.3%), and paid sick leave (0.9%). The percent of part-time jobs offered health insurance fell by 9.7%, by 3.0% for retirement plans, and 2.2% for dependent health insurance.
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Figure 10 shows the estimated proportion of full-time jobs offered health insurance and dependent health insurance for 2004-2011. In 2008 health insurance was offered to 80.9% of full-time jobs; by 2010 it was offered to 77.7%. From 2008 to 2009, the proportion of full-time jobs offered dependent health insurance rose from 77.0% to 77.3%, then declined in 2011 to 73.9%.
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The number and percentage of all jobs offered health insurance varied widely by industry (see Figure 11). In the natural resources & mining industry, 89.1% (24,236) of jobs were offered health insurance. In the educational & health services industry an estimated 42,560 jobs (71.2%) were offered health insurance. In the leisure & hospitality industry, only 6,141 jobs (18.9%) were offered health insurance.
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The estimated percentage of full- and part-time jobs offered benefits varied by industry and benefit (see Table 11). Overall, 77.7% of full-time jobs, regardless of industry, were offered health insurance, 70.5% were offered a dental plan, 73.5% were offered a retirement plan, 73.0% were offered paid vacation, and 50.9% were offered paid sick leave. In comparison, 9.7% of part-time jobs in all industries were offered health insurance, 25.0% were offered a retirement plan, 14.6% were offered paid vacation, 9.9% were offered a dental plan, and 14.7% were offered paid sick leave.
By industry, the highest percentages of full-time jobs offered health insurance were in state & local government (97.0%), natural resources & mining (91.0%), and educational & health services (87.8%). Natural resources & mining had the highest proportion of jobs offered retirement plans (87.8%) followed by manufacturing (86.2%).
Part-time jobs most often offered health insurance worked in educational & health services (20.6%) and state & local government (11.8%). Retirement plans were most often offered to jobs in educational & health services (53.1%) and financial activities (32.9%).
Most benefits were offered to a higher proportion of full-time jobs in natural resources & mining than the average for all industries. The exception was child care (natural resources & mining, 6.3%; all industries, 9.1%). More than 80% of full-time jobs received the following benefits: health insurance (91.0%); dental plan (86.0%); dependent health insurance (89.5%); life insurance (86.6%); paid holidays (90.7%); paid vacation (85.0%); retirement plan (87.8%); and vision plan (80.8%).
The proportion of full-time jobs in the construction industry offered benefits was less than the statewide average for all benefits. Approximately 57.6% of construction jobs were offered health insurance compared to the average of 77.7% for jobs in all industries. Similarly, only 50.0% of jobs in construction were offered paid vacation compared to 73.0% for jobs in all industries. Across all industries an average of 73.5% of jobs were offered retirement benefits but in the construction industry 61.8% were offered benefits.
A greater proportion of full-time jobs in manufacturing were offered health insurance (85.5%) and paid holidays (93.9%) than the statewide average. Retirement plans were offered to 86.2% of manufacturing jobs, which is larger than the proportion offered the benefit to jobs in all industries (73.5%). Dental insurance was offered to 74.2% of full-time jobs in manufacturing, and 80.8% were offered dependent health insurance.
Included in the trade, transportation, & utilities industry are a variety of firms such as retail stores, trucking companies, and electrical power plants. In 2011, 75.5% of full-time jobs in these companies were offered health insurance and 65.7% were offered retirement plans. Also, 62.9% of jobs were offered dental plans, 71.1% were offered dependent health coverage, 73.3% were offered paid vacation, and 80.3% were offered paid holidays.
A larger percentage of full-time jobs in the information industry were offered health insurance (86.7%) and dependent health insurance (83.5%) than average. Of the jobs in this industry, 81.7% were offered dental insurance, 53.0% were offered paid vacation, and 79.5% were offered retirement plans.
Compared to the average for jobs in all industries, a greater proportion of full-time jobs in the financial activities industry were offered the majority of benefits discussed. The exceptions were child care (0.2%), dependent health insurance (73.7%), educational/tuition assistance (51.1%), paid vacation (72.3%), and vision plans (56.0%). In financial activities, 79.9% of jobs were offered health insurance, dental coverage was offered to 73.2%, and retirement plans were offered to 80.0%.
The professional & business services industry includes a wide range of firms such as temporary help agencies, engineering firms, landscaping and snow removal services, and law offices. Overall, full-time jobs in this industry were somewhat less likely to be offered benefits compared to the average for all jobs. Of these jobs, 70.5% were offered health insurance and 72.2% were offered a retirement plan. Slightly over half (52.9%) were offered dental insurance, 61.9% were offered dependent health insurance, and 79.3% were offered paid holidays. Paid vacation was offered to 63.7% of jobs.
The educational & health services industry includes both private and public employers such as school districts, doctor's offices, and colleges and universities. They include a full range of employer sizes, from the very small to the very large. Overall, full-time jobs in this industry were more likely than average to be offered all benefits. In particular, 87.8% of jobs were offered health insurance and 83.6% were offered retirement benefits. They were also more likely than average to be offered benefits such as dependent health insurance (84.3%), child care (16.1%), and life insurance (81.4%).
Leisure & hospitality is a highly seasonal industry that includes hotels, restaurants, and museums. Compared to other industries, leisure & hospitality had the smallest proportion of full-time jobs offered any benefit. The exception was child care, in which 24.9% of jobs were offered this benefit, the highest of any industry. Of these jobs, 34.6% were offered health insurance and 44.5% were offered retirement plans. Additionally, 31.6% were offered dental coverage, 32.5% were offered dependent health insurance, 19.9% were offered paid holidays, and 66.1% were offered paid vacation.
The other services industry includes businesses such as automotive repair services, hair salons, membership organizations, and commercial laundries. Only 62.8% of full-time jobs in this industry were offered health insurance and 52.1% were offered retirement benefits, both lower than the statewide percentages of 77.7% and 73.5%, respectively. Dental benefits were offered to 50.5% of jobs, 57.2% were offered dependent health insurance, 66.3% were offered paid holidays, and 74.0% were offered paid vacation.
Full-time jobs in state & local government were very likely to be offered all benefits. In 2011, 97.0% of these jobs were offered health insurance and 76.2% were offered retirement plans. Similarly, 96.5% were offered dental plans, 96.6% were offered dependent health insurance, 99.5% were offered paid holidays, and 73.5% were offered paid vacation time.
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Figure 12 shows the percentage of employers who offered health insurance in 2011 and the percentage of full-time jobs offered those benefits by industry. State & local government (97.0%), natural resources & mining (91.0%), and educational & health services (87.8%) had the highest proportion of jobs offered health insurance. However, only three industries, natural resources & mining, information, and state & local government, had 50% or more (59.3%, 63.3%, and 81.4%, respectively) of their firms which offered this benefit.
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The largest proportions of jobs offered retirement plans worked in natural resources & mining (87.8%; see Figure 13), manufacturing (86.2%), and educational & health services (83.6%). State & local government (81.4%), information (63.3%), and natural resources & mining (59.3%) had the largest percentage of employers offering the benefit.
Defined-contribution plans were offered to a larger estimated proportion of full-time jobs than were defined-benefit plans (see Table 12). In all industries, 84.3% of full-time jobs were offered defined-contribution plans compared to 26.0% of jobs offered defined-benefit plans. Defined-contribution plans were usually paid for jointly by both the employee and the employer (77.7%), while the largest proportion of defined-benefit plans were paid solely by the employer (49.8%).
Similarly, a large proportion of part-time jobs in all industries were offered defined-contribution plans (79.6%) but only 20.4% were offered defined-benefit plans. Nearly all full-time jobs in natural resources & mining who were offered retirement plans were offered a defined-contribution plan (99.3%). In fact more than 9 out of 10 firms for all industries, with the exception of educational & health services and state & local government, offered defined-contribution plans.
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A greater estimated proportion of jobs in firms with 50 or more employees were offered defined-benefit retirement plans (31.8%; see Table 13) than in firms with fewer employees. Only 8.0% of jobs in firms with one to four employees and 8.4% of jobs in firms with 10-19 employees were offered this type of retirement plan. Nearly 9 out of 10 full-time jobs in each size class were offered defined-contribution plans.
Among all size classes, more than 90% of employers offered a defined-contribution retirement plan, of which 89.3% of all workers were offered the benefit (see Figure 14). Conversely, 12.9% of employers offered a defined-benefit plan regardless of size class, and 25.1% of full-time workers were offered the plan.
Table 14 shows the average percentage of full- and part-time workers offered insurance and retirement benefits and chose to enroll (referred to as a take-up rate or enrollment rate). Of those that were full-time, 60.8% enrolled in defined-contribution retirement plans while nearly all (79.5%) enrolled in defined-benefit plans. Employees are typically enrolled in defined-benefit plans automatically by their employers. Nearly three-fourths (73.1%) enrolled in health insurance plans, and 49.0% chose to enroll in dependent health insurance plans.
In addition to declining proportions of workers offered selected benefits, the take-up rate also generally fell from 2008 to 2011. For full-time workers, the take-up rate for health insurance declined by 5.0% (see Table 15. Likewise, the rate of enrollment for dependent health insurance dropped by 1.2%. The take-up rate for workers offered a defined-benefit plan dropped by 13.3%, while the take-up rate for defined-contribution retirement plans fell by 5.1%.
The decline in the take-up rate for part-time workers offered insurance and retirement plans was generally steeper than for full-time employees. The largest decline in the enrollment rate for part-time employees was for short-term disability (-50.6%). Enrollment rates for health insurance fell by 0.5%, while the take-up rate for dependent health insurance increased by 4.1%. The take-up rate for retirement plans fell for both defined-contribution and defined-benefit plans (-0.2% and -26.3%, respectively).
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Slightly over half (50.9%; see Table 16) of employers jointly paid the cost of their full-time employees' health insurance while 0.9% of employees were responsible for the costs of the benefit and 48.1% of employers paid the entire cost. A little over two-thirds (68.6%) of employers fully paid for life insurance and 65.7% fully funded the payments for long-term disability. About half (53.5%) of employers fully funded payments for short-term disability insurance.
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Full- and part-time workers received the same number of days of paid holidays (7.1 days; see Table 17). Full-time workers were offered an average of 7.9 days of sick leave and part-time workers were offered an average of 6.9 days. After 10 years, full-time workers were offered an average of 14.2 days of paid vacation compared to 11.3 days for part-time workers.