The Scoop on Holiday Bonuses

No one ever minds a little extra cash to help celebrate the holidays. You may be wondering how often holiday bonuses are awarded these days, and what they look like for others. Read on to learn about:

• What is the average holiday bonus?
• Which industries give the biggest bonuses?

What is the average holiday bonus?

The numbers involved vary quite a bit, depending on the company, industry, and whether all year-end bonuses or only specific types of holiday bonuses should be included in the figure. That said, Indeed reports that they’re usually an additional payment equal to 5-10% of one’s annual salary. Complete Payroll reports that in 2022, a 5% bonus was average, or about $1,900. Jobcase reports that about 5.6% is average for annual bonuses, while also providing a breakdown of various types of bonus structures and the different names that can be attached to them.

Numbers can be higher or lower than these figures, and just because companies offer bonuses doesn’t mean they’re giving them to everyone. The aforementioned Zippia report indicated that while 33% of US companies gave year-end bonuses, just 11% of all employees received them.

It further broke down the prevalence of bonuses among employees in various industries. Among the industry types accounted for, the information industry offered year-end bonuses to the highest share of their employees (26%) with construction and financial industries tied for second at 18%. As previously noted, their model made a distinction between year-end and holiday bonuses, as did similar breakdowns provided by smartasset in 2021.

Which industries give the biggest bonuses?

Pay is structured differently across industries, and not every year-end bonus should be seen as a gift, with many of them tied to employee performance or other factors. That said, LinkedIn offered this list of professions and industries which paid the highest bonuses in 2016:

1. Energy & Mining - $10,000
2. Hardware & Networking - $9,000
3. Software & IT Services - $8,000
4. Consumer Goods - $7,500
5. Finance - $7,100
6. Retail - $6,000
7. Healthcare - $5,500
8. Manufacturing - $5,380
9. Construction - $5,000
10. Corporate Services - $5,000

What to expect?

Year-end bonuses appear to be generally increasing in popularity, but that doesn’t mean any specific employer will provide them, or that they’ll give them to every employee. Consider your profession, industry, and pay structure when sizing up any bonus that may come your way, and whether or not you consider it a true act of generosity.

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