Study says Americans are taking more vacation time
An estimated 1.6 million people are projected to use the Long Island MacArthur Airport this year, according to Airport Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
A new study found that American workers used an average of 17.2 days of vacation in 2017, marking the highest level for vacation usage since 2010.
The research from Project: Time Off showed an increase of .4 vacation days from 2016, which was more than a full day more than the low of 16 days in 2014. While it’s a good start, 52 percent of Americans still left vacation time unused last year.
The State of American Vacation 2018 survey also found that 24 percent of Americans have not taken a vacation in more than a year. While 84 percent of Americans say it is important to travel during vacation, less than half of the vacation time they take is used to hit the road.
Last year, Americans accumulated 705 million unused days, up from 662 million days unused in 2016. Despite Americans taking more vacation, the increase in unused days is attributed to employees earning more time off. The study found that unused vacation time is a $255 billion missed economic opportunity that has the potential to create 1.9 million jobs.
