How Often Do Workers Get Paid?

It depends. Some get a paycheck every week, while others get paid only once a month. No single pay schedule accounts for the majority of businesses, according to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Percent distribution of private businesses by length of pay schedule, 2019
Weekly: 33.8%
Biweekly: 42.2%
Semimonthly: 18.6%
Monthly: 5.4%

The construction industry is most likely to pay every week (76 percent of construction businesses pay weekly). The financial activities industry is the one most likely to pay only monthly (8 percent of financial activities businesses pay monthly).

The less workers are paid, the more frequently they receive a paycheck, according to a BLS analysis of pay schedules in 2013. Among workers paid weekly, average hourly earnings were $18.62 in 2013. Among those paid biweekly, average hourly earnings were a higher $24.81. Earnings were highest among those paid semimonthly or monthly, an average of $29.75 and $28.45 per hour, respectively.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Length of Pay Periods in the Current Employment Statistics Survey and How Frequently Do Private Businesses Pay Workers?