Paid Holidays Statistics By Reasons, Industry and Country
Saisuman Revankar
Updated · Sep 26, 2024
WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE
Introduction
Paid holidays Statistics: Paid holidays or Paid Time Holidays (PTO) is a policy of the human resource department that gives the employees a pool of encashable hours that can be used for any reason. Also, it is known as personal time off; the abbreviation PTO is usually used to describe any period that a worker is paid when taking a leave from work.
In big companies, a PTO policy usually bundles workers’ days off, vacation time, and sick days in a particular block of hours, preferably specifying a separate number of days allowable for every reason. The PTO plans are used basically in the US, where there are no laws for minimum vacation time. We shall shed more light on the “Paid Holidays Statistics” further in this article.
Editor’s Choice
- On average, U.S. employees receive 7.6 days of paid holidays per year.
- The manufacturing sector provides the best paid holiday benefits, with 97% of its employees receiving paid holidays.
- In contrast, the Leisure and Hospitality sector offers the least favorable paid holiday benefits, with only 37% of employees benefiting.
- Commonly recognized paid holidays in the U.S. include New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
- Private sector employees typically receive about 8 paid holidays annually.
- Employees in the financial and information sectors enjoy generous paid holiday policies, receiving about 8-9 days.
- Regionally, the Northeast U.S. offers the best paid holiday provisions, significantly above the national average.
- Spain provides 25 paid days off and 14 public holidays, totaling 39 days of annual leave, nearly one and a half months off for employees.
- The U.S. stands out as the only one among 41 nations that does not mandate paid leave for new parents.
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General Paid Holidays Statistics
- The companies own almost $1,898 per employee in accrued paid time off on average.
- almost 53% of workers stated that it’s “very important” to work at a workplace that promotes a good work-life balance and is related to their well-being.
- A limitless vacation policy helps workers retain their talent, gives them more independence and flexibility when they take off, and can increase productivity.
- one out of five employees misled management about the reason for the holiday.
- Around 71% of the employees have taken a staycation that is very close to where they stay.
- Almost 52% of the workers state of working at the time of their time off.
- According to Zippa, as many as 77% of the workers have said that they would choose a rise instead of the holiday days.
- 55% of United States employees do not use all their vacation days.
- The Vacation Trackers states that the Northeastern states of the United States have the best PTO allowance. The West Coast’s PTO allowance is almost 9.4 days, whereas the South and Midwest regions get only 8.5 days on average.
- The PTO statistics by job show that the philanthropic company offers the most PTO, 17.5 days on the median.
- The PTO time ranges from under a week to two weeks on the median.
(Reference: truelist.co)
- In the above chart, we can see the holidays paid for by a variety of industries.
- The Non-Profit Foundations have the highest paid time leaves at 17.5%, and Marketing has the least paid time leaves at 0%.
- 17.3% Government/ Military companies, 15.8% Utilities, 14.8% Media/Publishing/Printing, 14.2% Manufacturing, 14% Agriculture/Fishing/Forestry, 14% Insurance/ Banking/ Finance, 13.7% Internet, 12.3% Telecommunication, 11.4% Architecture/ Engineering, 10.9% Communication, 10.9% Legal, 10.6% Wholesale, 10.4% Medical/Healthcare, 9.8% Professional Services/ Business, 9.7% Real Estate, 8.7% Distribution/ Transportation, 8.6% Recreation/ Entertainment, 8.5% Education, 8.3% Retail, 7.9% Computers, 7.8% Business Services, 7.2% Biotechnology, 6.9% Food Service/Travel/Hospitality, 6% Consulting, 5.6% Accounting, 5.3% Aviation/Aerospace, 4.7% Automative, 3.3% Advertising, 2% Mining.
- 28 million people in the United States work without paid time off.
- In 2021, almost 33.3% of private-market employees received 10 to 14 days of paid vacation after a year on the job.
The Most Common Paid Holidays Statistics
However, the federal government doesn’t require paid holidays; many businesses use the list of federal holidays below to guide their policies. The most famous paid holidays are Christmas Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Labour Day, New Year’s Day, and Memorial Day.
(Reference: enterpriseappstoday.com)
- In 2023, the paid holidays statistics are abided by the private industry employees at 81% and state and local government employees at 68%.
- Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most common and often observed paid holidays, with almost 97% and 98% of the employees getting paid holidays to observe and celebrate the festivals.
- Christmas Evenings and New Year’s Evening are the more rarely given vacations on a counterpart, with almost 30% of the people in the United States getting paid for the holidays.
- The Fourth of July, the United States’ Independence Day, is the third most common paid holiday, with almost 96% of citizen employees getting a paid holiday to enjoy fireworks and barbeque.
- Almost 97% of all the citizen employees get a paid holiday on the 1st of January, which is New Year’s Day.
- Around 96% of American citizens get paid holiday on Memorial Day, which generally results in a three-day weekend.
- 96% of people in the United States get a holiday to enjoy the American workers or Labour Day, which is on the first Monday in September.
- 11% of citizens’ employees get a paid holiday on Presidents Day, which is on the third Monday in February.
- Almost 60% of the citizen employees get a paid holiday as civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on the third Monday in January.
- 26% on Columbus Day, 28% on Veterans Day, 31% on Washington’s Birthday, and 45% on Juneteenth are the other common paid leaves in the United States of America as of 2023.
(Reference: statista.com)
- The above chart shows the share of civilian workers in the United States as of March 2022 and the number of paid holidays provided.
- In 2022, almost 21% of civilian employees with paid holidays had almost six days of paid leave in the US. Similarly, just 3% of the civilian employees had more than 14 days of paid holiday in the United States.
Paid Holidays By Region
- While countries in Asia have previously reported on their busy schedules and omission of taking off days from work, a release by Expedia in 2023 shows a different picture of how workers in Hong Kong and Japan handle their holiday time.
- According to a report carried out in early 2023, the citizens of Hong Kong and Japan have generally requested four extra days off work, on average, beyond the time allotted to them in 2022.
- This gave them an extended average true holiday time last year compared to employees in France and Germany. People in the above nations had more days available to them but needed to remember to take them all.
- Many nations, like the United States, rank lower than others in terms of the average number of holidays allotted.
- Despite this, the median employee in the United States leaves vacation days on the table, notwithstanding very few at a median of 1.5.
- Singapore is the most workaholic country in Asia, with almost 17 days allotted on a median and a median of 2.5 unused days.
- French and German civilian employees have more unused days on an average of 5.5 and 4, therefore.
(Reference: statista.com)
- In Germany and France, the average number of vacation days allotted each year is also higher, at 28.5 per year.
- As per the legal guarantee, 20 days in Germany and 25 days in France, respectively.
- In the United States, France, and Germany, there are between 14 and 10 public holidays, which are also added to the vacation day tally.
- In Japan, the highest of 16 days paid holidays are provided.
(Reference: forbes.com)
- Different parts of the United States offer varying amounts of paid time off (PTO) to workers, which can affect their work-life balance and job satisfaction.
- In the Northeast, like in states such as New York and Connecticut, workers enjoy the highest average PTO, with about 11.4 days off per year.
- Southern states, such as Florida and Georgia, along with Midwestern states like Ohio and Michigan, offer similar PTO, averaging around 8.4 to 8.5 days annually.
- Western states fall in between, with an average of approximately 9.4 days of PTO per year.
- These differences mean that workers in the Northeast have more time off compared to those in other regions, potentially influencing their decisions about where to live and work.
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Paid Holidays in the United States vs. other countries
- The number of paid holidays received by an American employee is generally far less than that of workers in other countries. This can be the reason the United States of America is known as a “burnout nation,” where employees from the U.S. feel stressed and overworked in their jobs.
- Following are the countries that get the most paid vacation days:
| Country | Number of Vacation Days |
| Iran | 53 |
| San Marino | 46 |
| Yemen | 45 |
| Andorra | 44 |
| Bhutan | 44 |
| Bahrain | 44 |
| Togo | 43 |
| Niger | 43 |
| Madagascar | 43 |
| Monaco | 42 |
- The median amount of PTO given in the United States is ten days, which seems minuscule compared to the nations with the most attractive paid leave allowances.
- Europe and the Middle East stand to rank the responsibility here, with Yemen and Iran giving 9 to 19 weeks of leave every year. The organizations in San Marino and Andora also generally give around nine weeks of paid holidays.
Following are the countries with the least paid vacation days:
| Country | Number of vacation days |
| Micronesia | 9 |
| Naura | 10 |
| United States | 10 |
| Palau | 12 |
| Kiribati | 13 |
| Mexico | 14 |
| China | 16 |
| Lebanon | 17 |
| Philippines | 17 |
| Nigeria | 17 |
- On the contrary, there is just one nation that looks to give lower paid leaves than the U.S.: a very minor Island nation named Micronesia.
- Naura is an independent country in a similar area that is tied to the United States, and it offers only ten holidays every year.
(Reference: forbes.com)
- France gives the maximum number of paid holidays in Europe, with almost 31 days PTO.
- The United Kingdom offers the second-largest paid holiday in Europe: 28 days of PTO, equivalent to almost 5.6 weeks. However, employees must work a five-day week to take advantage of the 28 days of leave.
- Spain gives almost 25 paid days and 14 paid holidays every year for 39 days of yearly leave. That means almost one and a half months of holiday for Spanish employees.
- The United States has zero guarantees for paid days off or vacations, but this is a necessity in other countries.
- The voluntary rather than compulsory paid holidays may be why the employees in the United States are generally burned out and have a low work-life balance.
- Japan has almost 15 days of holiday compared to Spain, which has 14 days, and zero in the U.S.
Maternity Leave Statistics
The latest data on maternity leave policies worldwide provides valuable insights for market research. Let’s explore some key findings:
- Bulgaria: Offers the longest maternity leave globally, with 58 weeks of paid leave, showcasing a strong commitment to supporting mothers during infancy.
- Sweden: Leads in parental leave policies, offering 480 shared days of parental leave, setting a high standard for global comparison.
- U.S. Private Sector: In 2017, only 15% of private workers had access to paid family leave, indicating limited accessibility to this benefit.
- Finland: Parents can take up to 158 days off, extending until the child is two years old, demonstrating progressive parental support measures.
- France: Provides 16 weeks of full-pay leave for first and second children, highlighting efforts to support new mothers financially and emotionally.
- Japan: Offers 14 weeks of maternity leave with 67% compensation, indicating varying levels of support for new parents internationally.
- U.S. Corporate Sector: In 2018, 85% of U.S. employees who took family leave were unpaid, revealing significant disparities in corporate policies regarding paid leave.
- United Kingdom: Mothers can take up to a year’s maternity leave, with 39 weeks paid, showcasing variations in paid leave durations globally.
- Singapore provides mothers with 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave, indicating government recognition of the importance of supporting new mothers.
- Global Workforce: Approximately 25% of women return to work ten days after giving birth due to a lack of paid leave, highlighting challenges faced by new mothers in balancing work and childcare responsibilities.
- Denmark: Offers 18 weeks of maternity leave with full pay, reflecting a commitment to work-family balance.
- Brazil: New mothers are entitled to 120 days of fully paid maternity leave, showcasing significant support for working mothers.
- U.S. Policy: The U.S. is the only country among 41 nations that does not mandate any paid leave for new parents, indicating a significant gap in family policies compared to other developed nations.
- These findings underscore the diverse landscape of maternity leave policies globally and highlight areas for improvement to support working parents effectively.
- y ten holidays every year.
(Reference: statista.com)
- A study about maternity leave policies worldwide found that only two countries, Papua New Guinea and the United States, don’t offer new mothers paid time off.
- This information is crucial for businesses looking to understand the landscape of family-friendly policies.
- Maternity leave is important because it helps mothers recover from childbirth and form strong bonds with their babies. This can lead to better outcomes for both the mother and child.
- The study, conducted by UNICEF in 2019, used data from Eurostat and the OECD to compare policies across different countries.
- It identified Sweden, Norway, and Iceland as having the most family-friendly policies, including generous maternity leave.
- Estonia was highlighted as offering the most paid maternity leave, with 82 weeks of leave at full pay, based on the country’s average wage replacement rate.
- Despite the World Health Organization’s recommendation for a minimum of 16 weeks of maternity leave, the U.S. offers none.
- While some U.S. states have their own paid leave programs, the number of women taking maternity leave in the country has remained relatively constant over the past two decades.
- This suggests that more comprehensive policies may be needed at the federal level to address the issue effectively. Understanding these trends can help businesses make informed decisions about employee benefits and workplace policies.
Conclusion
The maximum number of companies still give their workers paid holidays even if the federal government and the maximum number of people in the states don’t need paid vacations as a part of the law. The employees in the United States generally get 7.6 paid holidays every year. Still, this number may vary, and that is dependent on the industry, state, and the number of years an employee has been in the same profession and company.
In total, the United States is very behind many nations in paid vacation opportunities. This is not only due to the government or the companies either. The maximum number of Americans decide not to take their paid leave days. We can make a statement that “Americans are workaholics”!
Sources
FAQ.
Which countries have the highest number of paid holidays?
Iran ranks first with the highest number of paid leave days, 53, which also includes 26 paid
vacation days and 27 paid public holidays.
How many paid holidays are there in India?
The Indian workers get almost 15 days of paid leave every year.
Saisuman Revankar
Saisuman is a professional content writer specializing in health, law, and space-related articles. Her experience includes designing featured articles for websites and newsletters, as well as conducting detailed research for medical professionals and researchers. Passionate about languages since childhood, Saisuman can read, write, and speak in five different languages. Her love for languages and reading inspired her to pursue a career in writing. Saisuman holds a Master's in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources and has worked in a Human Resources firm for a year. She was previously associated with a French international company. In addition to writing, Saisuman enjoys traveling and singing classical songs in her leisure time.
