Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series on benefits in job postings. Find more about family benefits here, retirement benefits here, medical/insurance benefits here, and leave-related benefits here.
Key points:
- 59% of job postings advertised at least one employer-provided benefit in May, up from less than 40% in early 2020.
- The most likely sectors to advertise a benefit were low-wage sectors (62% of postings mention at least one benefit) and sectors with limited remote opportunities (64%), but these segments also offer fewer benefits overall.
- Professional sectors have the lowest share of postings advertising a benefit — not necessarily because benefits aren’t offered in these jobs, but likely because many benefits are assumed or expected by job seekers in these sectors, and so are not included in employer job postings.
The share of job postings on Indeed that advertise at least one employer-sponsored benefit rose by more than 50% between January 2020 and May 2024, likely driven by post-pandemic labor market tightness. The data indicate that employers — especially those operating in typically lower-paying sectors and/or those offering limited remote work opportunities — view at least some benefits as an important recruiting tool amid the sometimes still-intense competition to attract candidates.
The share of postings advertising a benefit has increased since the pandemic
A majority (59%) of job postings on Indeed advertised at least one benefit in May, up from less than 40% in January 2020. Especially in sectors where benefits are not commonly offered, advertising benefits in job postings can be an excellent recruiting tool, setting a company apart from competitors. However, this same recruiting tactic may be less important in other sectors, including tech and other professional/knowledge worker industries, where job seekers may expect benefits to be offered. In other words, benefits may be more commonly included as part of a negotiated compensation package in some sectors, and a low share of postings with benefits explicitly offered in these sectors probably does not mean benefits aren’t offered at all.
Advertised benefits by wage tier
While the increase in advertised benefits is widespread, sectors that typically pay the least have the largest share of postings that include at least one benefit — even as they tend to offer fewer benefits overall. As of May 2024, 62% of postings for jobs in low-wage sectors advertised at least one benefit, compared to 57% of postings in middle-wage sectors and 58% of postings in high-wage sectors. Many higher-paying jobs may be expected to offer benefits, making employers less likely to explicitly include benefits in advertisements in order to stand out to job seekers. In a tight labor market, adding benefits to job postings in lower-wage sectors — where they aren’t often a given and where job seekers may be less likely to assume they’re offered — could go a long way in attracting applicants.
Advertised benefits by remote tier
The difference among sectors that typically offer more and less remote opportunities is even more stark. High-remote sectors, which are also those most likely to be sectors with more knowledge workers, are less likely to mention benefits in postings than middle- and low-remote sectors. As of May, at least one benefit was advertised in 64% of postings in low-remote sectors, compared to 59% for middle-remote and 56% for high-remote.
Which benefits are the most common in job postings?
Medical and insurance-related benefits are the most commonly offered benefits among the four main categories explored in depth in this research. It is important to note that federal law requires the majority of large companies with full-time employees to provide health insurance. As of May 2023, 88% of full-time private industry workers had access to healthcare, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest category in the Medical and Insurance benefit group. Close behind medical benefits, the second-most common benefit type offered by employers are retirement benefits, including 401(k)s, followed by leave benefits (including paid time off and family-related benefits. These four categories are not only more common across sectors, but are also the kinds of benefits that may be largely assumed or expected by job seekers in many professional roles, including in the education and tech-related industries. However, with the exception of family benefits, sectors traditionally thought of as more generous with benefits — including many tech sectors — are generally NOT among the sectors with the highest share of postings mentioning these benefits.
Unlike the other kinds of benefits analyzed, family-related benefits are not the norm in many professional sectors. Employers in these sectors that advertise family-related benefits in their postings could stand out by including those benefits in advertisements. For example, 12% of postings for software development jobs advertised at least one family benefit in May, the highest of any sector analyzed, and above the 7% cross-sector total. Software development is typically both a higher-paying sector and one in which there are more remote opportunities. Additionally, it is not the sector most likely to advertise any of the other benefit types analyzed — likely because those other benefit types are assumed or expected by job seekers in the software development field.
Advertised benefits by sector
The sectors with the largest share of postings advertising at least one benefit are Veterinary (80%), followed by Dental (78%), Beauty & Wellness (75%), Childcare (75%) and Personal Care & Home Health (73%). Importantly, most of these sectors are low-remote and less likely to offer the kinds of implied benefits that may be expected of high-remote positions. Companies in these sectors have a greater incentive to overtly mention benefits in their job postings, knowing that benefits aren’t always offered for many of these roles.
The sectors with the lowest share of job postings advertising a benefit are high- or middle-remote sectors. It’s less likely that job seekers in these professions would look at benefits as a differentiator when weighing their options. So companies in these sectors may decide it’s better to use their limited space in a job posting to instead expound on skills required, company culture, and/or more-unexpected benefits.
The sectors with the fastest-growing share of postings tend to be sectors that started 2020 with a low share of postings that included a benefit and reached the middle range by May 2024. These sectors include Cleaning & Sanitation and Arts & Entertainment.
Conclusion
Whether or not a company showcases its included benefits in job postings depends greatly on both the sector that company works in and the type of benefit offered. While the majority of all job postings advertise at least one benefit, professional and high-remote sectors are less likely to include benefits in their job postings — with the exception of unexpected benefits, like parental leave. The inverse is true for high in-person sectors, where benefits are less likely to be assumed by job seekers. Companies that don’t include benefits in their postings in low-remote sectors may be missing out on an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and attract applicants, while professional sectors might garner more attention by offering more-unexpected benefits.
Methodology
We track benefits by tallying US job postings on Indeed that mention at least one benefit in the job posting from January 2020 to May 2024. Data is not adjusted for seasonality. Overall benefit calculation is limited to one benefit per job posting, while the share of postings by benefit type is limited to one job posting per benefit type. The overall count of benefits includes any benefit advertised, even those excluded from the deep dive categories. As such, aggregations by benefit type can exceed the share of overall postings for that benefit, as a job posting can include more than one benefit type.
The remote/hybrid and wage tiers of occupational sectors were determined by sorting each sector by their average remote/hybrid and wage share of job postings in 2023. The sectors are then split into three tiers, each covering one-third of job postings in 2023.
The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of the performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.