Alabama Department of Labor

Does your employee benefits package measure up to others in your field?

A survey on employer benefits to Alabama workers reveals which occupational industries provide the most benefits, and what percentage of Alabama employers offer benefits to both full and part-time employees.

“Employers will find insight into what similar businesses provide as benefits to their employees, and may be used as a recruiting and retainment tool in finding and keeping valuable employees,” says Phyllis Kennedy, director, Alabama Department of Labor.

Benefits were examined based on the classification of the business, the size of the business, and the geographical region of the state. Five areas were examined: insurance, paid leave, retirement, miscellaneous benefits, and the costs of benefits.

The publication may be viewed online on the Alabama Department of Labor Web site at: http://labor.alabama.gov/. (Click on “Labor Market Information” under the hot links and follow prompts.) Listed below are some highlights from the survey.

1. Eighty one percent of all companies offer full-time employees medical insurance. Forty three percent of Alabama employers jointly pay medical insurance premiums, 23 percent pay the entire premium, and 34 percent require the employee to pay the full premium.
2. About 86 percent reported offering paid vacation leave and about half offered paid sick leave.
3. About 50 percent of employers offer a retirement plan to full-time employees. Seventy percent in the education and health industry offer retirement plans, while only 28 percent of Alabama companies in the leisure and hospitality industry offer this benefit to full-time employees.
4. Seven percent offer child care benefits.
5. Twenty five percent of all employers offer tuition/educational assistance or reimbursement benefits.
6. About ten percent offer hiring bonuses with employers in financial activities, leisure and hospitality, education and health, and professional and business services most likely to offer this bonus.
7. Overall, a little more than 25 percent of all employers offer flexible spending accounts for full-time employees.
8. Almost a quarter of all Alabama employers operate shifts for both their full and part-time employees.

Overall, the study concludes that the construction industry spends the least compensation in the form of insurance and retirement plans. Trade, transportation, and utilities, and professional and business services spend the most on insurance and retirement plans for their employees.

For further information on the survey, contact Tammy Jenkins, Labor Market Analyst, at (334) 242-8861, or tjenkins@labor.alabama.gov.