Average Paid Time Off for Employees in the USA

If you’re a small business in the U.S., you’re not required to provide paid time off (PTO) to your employees. However, you may still choose to offer it anyway. PTO gives workers the chance to take a break from work and avoid burnout. It can also raise their morale and improve their productivity. With the PTO statistics below, you can get a better idea of how much time off employees in America and other countries take and even determine what type of PTO policy makes sense for your unique business.

Average Vacation Days per Year

When it comes to annual vacation days, numbers vary greatly. There is no hard and fast number employers in the United States must follow.

The average American worker gets 11 days of paid vacation per year. In the private sector, the average number of paid vacation days after five years of service increases to 15 days. After 10 years of service, it rises again to 17 days. For employees with 20 years of service or more, the average number of paid vacation days is 20. Keep in mind that these are strictly averages as there is no guaranteed PTO in the U.S.

On average, U.S. workers get 8 days of sick leave per year. There is often a connection between how many sick days an American worker gets and their employment status. In general, the more often they work and the longer they’ve been in their position, the more sick days they receive.

The average number of paid sick days is as follows:

• Eight days per year for full-time workers

• Six days per year for part-time workers

• Eight days per year for workers who received a fixed number of paid sick days after one year of service

• Ten days per year for union workers, after one year of service

• Seven days per year for nonunion workers, after one year of service

The average employee in the U.S. receives an average of 7.6 paid holidays

Though the national average is 7, statistics show that 21% of U.S. employees receive six paid holidays per year. The most common paid holidays in the United States are Thanksgiving, Christmas, Independence Day, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day. Of course, some employers give their workers more or less paid holidays. They may even offer floating holidays, which are paid days off that workers can take at any time during the year.

Federal employees have 11 annual paid holidays

While PTO is optional, certain paid holidays are legally required for federal workers in the U.S. These holidays for federal employees include:

• New Year’s Day (January 1)

• Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January)

• Washington’s Birthday (Third Monday in February)

• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)

• Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)

• Independence Day (July 4)

• Labor Day (First Monday in September)

• Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)

• Veterans Day (November 11)

• Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)

• Christmas Day (December 25)