For the first time in six years, the share of U.S. workers offered health insurance through their employer has risen, a sign a tighter labor market is prompting businesses to offer more generous benefits.
In March, 69% of private-sector employees were offered medical benefits from their employer, according to an annual survey the Labor Department released Friday. That’s up from 67% in 2017, and the first time the rate has increased since 2012.
The portion of employees offered medical benefits at work had been slowly declining. The reversal in the past year occurred as unemployment fell to 4.1% in March from 4.5% in the same month of 2017. The rate declined further to 4.0% in June, near the lowest rate in 18 years.
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