Americans Half as Likely to Take Vacation Now Than in the ’80s

According to Business Insider, a recent analysis of U.S. federal data by the Washington Post has found that Americans are about half as likely to take vacation now than they were in the 1980s.

According to the federal data, an average of 1.7% of American workers were on vacation in December 2022. In the early 1980s, that figure was closer to 3.2%.

Even though Americans are taking less vacation time off, 90% of private industry workers have access to paid time off.

Economic and human resources experts speculate that the reason for the decline is due to fear of losing one’s job if too much time is spent away from it.

 “Except for in very short periods of time, the late ’90s or the few years leading up to the pandemic recession, workers have had very little leverage,” economist Elise Gould said. “You see that in wages, so then why wouldn’t you see that in their ability to take benefits?”

In the analysis, blue-collar workers were found to be the least likely to take paid vacation, while teachers were the most likely. Older and more educated workers were reportedly more likely to use their paid time off as well.

Fear of job loss also appears to hold the younger generations back when reporting misbehavior at the workplace. Read more about that trend in Gen Z Workers Afraid to Speak Up. Also see Not Much of a Holiday for Pressured Workers to read about the trickled-down pressure to work even while on vacation.