2005 benefits - Introduction

Employee Benefits

Introduction

Employee benefits are a significant component of compensation for many workers. The 2005 South Dakota Employee Benefits Survey was conducted by the Labor Market Information Center to further develop an understanding of the benefits offered to employees in South Dakota. The results of this survey are meant to provide helpful information to employers, potential employers, employment training organizations, vocational counselors, workers and job seekers.

Download a copy of the survey form used (.pdf format).

Survey Response

Surveys were sent to more than 3,000 private employers in South Dakota to collect data on select, commonly-offered benefits. Responses were gathered to generate a 55 percent response rate. The sample of employers surveyed is representative of the size class and industry structure in South Dakota.

Employers were asked to report the number of full- and part-time workers employed by their organization. As illustrated in the chart below, 69 percent of the reported employees are full-time, and 31 percent are part-time employees.

The table below gives a breakdown of survey response by industry.

NAICS Code	Industry	Surveyed	Responded	Response Rate
21	Mining	53	28	53%
22	Utilities	168	98	58%
23	Construction	198	119	60%
31	Manufacturing	200	118	59%
42	Wholesale Trade	198	106	54%
44	Retail Trade	197	84	43%
48	Transportation & Warehousing	183	107	59%
51	Information	200	90	45%
52	Finance & Insurance	200	99	50%
53	Real Estate, Rental & Leasing	198	86	43%
54	Professional & Technical Services	196	117	60%
55	Management of Companies & Enterprises	126	60	48%
56	Administrative & Waste Services	187	94	50%
61	Educational Services	125	66	53%
62	Health Care & Social Assistance	192	109	57%
71	Arts, Entertainment & Recreation	210	120	57%
72	Accommodation & Food Services	198	92	47%
81	Other Services, Except Public Administration	198	105	53%

The table below gives a breakdown of survey response by size class.

	Surveyed	Responded	Response Rate
Less than 10 employees	1205	637	53%
10 to 49 employees	1345	711	53%
50 to 99 employees	329	167	51%
100 to 249 employees	257	134	52%
250 or more employees	91	49	54%

Methodology

The results of this study are analyzed from two angles: the percent of employers offering benefits and the percent of employees offered benefits. The latter case is weighted by the number employees reported. In other words, a firm employing 250 workers would carry much more weight than a firm with three workers. Since larger firms are more likely to offer benefits, the percent of employees offered a benefit will usually be higher than the percent of employers offering that benefit.

In this analysis, benefits are initially summarized for all reported employers and employees. Benefits are further analyzed based on size class and industry division. The findings of the survey show that employer size and industry have a large impact on the incidence of benefits offered. Typically, the larger the employer, the more likely most benefits will be offered.

A final section summarizes provisions regarding insurances, paid leave and retirement. This data takes a look at the contributory distribution for insurances and retirement, and how many days are typically granted for the different types of leave offered.

Implications

Keep in mind that even though employees are offered certain benefits, they do not always choose to participate in those benefits. For example, health insurance may be offered to an employee, but he/she may choose to participate in the health plan of their spouse’s employer instead. For select benefits, employers were questioned regarding the number of employees offered as well as the number participating in the benefit. However, due to space limitations on the survey, this detail was not required for every benefit.

It is also important to note that this publication is not intended to be inclusive of all benefits offered by employers. The data presented summarizes only the customary benefits that were asked about on the survey. Other less common benefits may be available to employees in the state, but are not identified in this publication. Also, some employers report that they offer higher wages in lieu of offering benefits.

Û Return to the Employee Benefits menu.

	Labor Market Information Center SD DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

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