14 Industries Offering the Best Employee Benefits

Irina999petrova / Shutterstock.com

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Smartest Dollar.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a number of abrupt changes to the U.S. economy, but some of the most lasting impacts could be in the future of work. From the rise of hybrid and remote work to the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting,” workers have been renegotiating how they work and what they look for in a job over the last 2½ years.

And amid continued tightness in the labor market, employers have been forced to respond and make jobs more appealing to current and potential employees. The Great Resignation is perhaps the most significant trend demonstrating workers’ increased power and mobility since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

While the Great Resignation has affected all industries and income levels, turnover has been most concentrated in low-wage sectors. Fields like retail and hospitality have seen a disproportionate share of the country’s job turnover in the last two years, with workers frequently citing difficult working conditions and low, stagnant wages as a reason for moving on to new roles. These fields are also least likely to offer key benefits like health insurance, paid time off, and flexible work arrangements — all of which took on new importance during the pandemic.

Workers seeking out benefits in their hunt for better jobs and working conditions may need to look in certain industries to find the employers who are most likely to offer benefits.

To determine which industries offer the best employee benefits, researchers at Smartest Dollar — an organization that reviews commercial insurance and other business products — calculated a composite score that equally weighted the percentage of private industry workers with access to paid holidays and paid vacation, life insurance, health insurance, retirement plans, paid family leave, and flexible hours. In the event of a tie, the industry with the greater percentage of private industry workers with access to paid holidays and paid vacation was ranked higher.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are the U.S. industries offering the best employee benefits.

14. Leisure and hospitality

Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 5.1
Paid holidays and vacation: 29%
Life insurance: 17%
Health insurance: 32%
Retirement plans: 31%
Paid family leave: 10%
Flexible hours: 10%

13. Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 16.7
Paid holidays and vacation: 65%
Life insurance: 31%
Health insurance: 54%
Retirement plans: 43%
Paid family leave: 13%
Flexible hours: 10%

12. Retail trade

imtmphoto / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 23.1
Paid holidays and vacation: 64%
Life insurance: 41%
Health insurance: 53%
Retirement plans: 73%
Paid family leave: 24%
Flexible hours: 6%

11. Construction

ronstik / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 23.1
Paid holidays and vacation: 75%
Life insurance: 49%
Health insurance: 75%
Retirement plans: 63%
Paid family leave: 12%
Flexible hours: 5%

10. Real estate and rental and leasing

fizkes / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 33.4
Paid holidays and vacation: 84%
Life insurance: 60%
Health insurance: 72%
Retirement plans: 61%
Paid family leave: 17%
Flexible hours: 14%

9. Transportation and warehousing

Henryk Sadura / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 35.9
Paid holidays and vacation: 86%
Life insurance: 69%
Health insurance: 85%
Retirement plans: 80%
Paid family leave: 9%
Flexible hours: 4%

8. Educational services

l i g h t p o e t / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 37.2
Paid holidays and vacation: 55%
Life insurance: 69%
Health insurance: 73%
Retirement plans: 72%
Paid family leave: 30%
Flexible hours: 11%

7. Health care and social assistance

S_L / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 51.3
Paid holidays and vacation: 84%
Life insurance: 63%
Health insurance: 78%
Retirement plans: 74%
Paid family leave: 29%
Flexible hours: 15%

6. Wholesale trade

Fusionstudio / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 62.8
Paid holidays and vacation: 93%
Life insurance: 69%
Health insurance: 89%
Retirement plans: 83%
Paid family leave: 25%
Flexible hours: 14%

5. Manufacturing

DuxX / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 68.0
Paid holidays and vacation: 94%
Life insurance: 80%
Health insurance: 90%
Retirement plans: 84%
Paid family leave: 23%
Flexible hours: 11%

4. Information

REDPIXEL.PL / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 73.1
Paid holidays and vacation: 89%
Life insurance: 78%
Health insurance: 87%
Retirement plans: 78%
Paid family leave: 51%
Flexible hours: 34%

3. Professional, scientific, and technical services

Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 78.2
Paid holidays and vacation: 91%
Life insurance: 74%
Health insurance: 89%
Retirement plans: 85%
Paid family leave: 41%
Flexible hours: 46%

2. Utilities

thanatphoto / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 87.2
Paid holidays and vacation: 99%
Life insurance: 98%
Health insurance: 99%
Retirement plans: 98%
Paid family leave: 49%
Flexible hours: 11%

1. Finance and insurance

fizkes / Shutterstock.comComposite score: 92.3
Paid holidays and vacation: 97%
Life insurance: 90%
Health insurance: 94%
Retirement plans: 93%
Paid family leave: 50%
Flexible hours: 38%

Methodology

Bacho / Shutterstock.com

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 Employee Benefits Survey and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. To determine which industries offer the best employee benefits, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated a composite score that equally weighted the percentage of private industry workers with access to:

Paid holidays and paid vacation
Life insurance
Health insurance
Retirement plans
Paid family leave
Flexible hours

In the event of a tie, the industry with the greater percentage of private industry workers with access to paid holidays and paid vacation was ranked higher.