Survey: Job benefits shrinking - Baltimore Business Journal:

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areas, according to an annuakl report from the of the NationalCapitap Area. A survey of 265 companiess in the Baltimore and Washington region shows the average benefit rateis 28.8 percentt this year. That is down from 29.2 percen t in 2008 and 30.9 percenft in 2007. “The survey data indicatess someinteresting trends,” said George Lane, a principal for who chairs the group’s compensation surveyh committee. “Employers are cutting back benefitws or sharing price increases in healthcare benefitd to controlthe costs.
The increase in the cost of prescriptionm drug plansis moderating, and more companies are developing paid time off programx instead of defined categories like annua leave and sick leave, he said. The surve found paid time off programs have increasedf from 36 percent of area employers in 2007 to 43 percent this year. More employers are offering domestic partner benefitsas well, up from 43 percent in 2007 to 53 percenft in 2009.