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24 percent of establishments increased pay or paid bonuses because of COVID-19 pandemic

February 18, 2022

Nearly one quarter of U.S. private-sector businesses, employing 54 million workers, increased wages and salaries, paid wage premiums, or paid bonuses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Establishments that increased pay or paid bonuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Industry Percent of establishments Percent of employment in establishments Employment in establishments

Total U.S. private sector

24.2% 45.8% 54,016,218

Natural resources and mining

14.5 24.1 431,736

Utilities

12.7 22.3 121,479

Construction

17.3 23.7 1,722,515

Manufacturing

29.4 54.7 6,650,670

Wholesale trade

19.8 41.0 2,322,598

Retail trade

32.7 53.7 7,999,511

Transportation and warehousing

24.6 53.3 2,997,398

Information

14.3 24.3 665,579

Financial activities

16.5 31.2 2,579,297

Professional and business services

17.7 35.7 7,340,921

Educational services

21.5 31.0 854,023

Health care and social assistance

34.8 62.3 11,842,575

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

17.8 38.2 662,846

Accommodation and food services

45.8 60.5 6,768,091

Other services, except public administration

16.7 28.1 1,056,979

Industries with the highest percentage of establishments that increased wages and salaries, paid wage premiums, or paid bonuses were accommodation and food services (45.8 percent); health care and social assistance (34.8 percent); retail trade (32.7 percent); manufacturing (29.4 percent) and transportation and warehousing (24.6 percent). These establishments employed more than half of the workers in these industries.

These data are from the Business Response Survey to the Coronavirus Pandemic. For more information, see U.S. Business Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic — 2021. We also have more charts on how businesses responded to the pandemic.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 24 percent of establishments increased pay or paid bonuses because of COVID-19 pandemic at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/24-percent-of-establishments-increased-pay-or-paid-bonuses-because-of-covid-19-pandemic.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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