NATION

NATION

Survey: Business owners are happiest Americans

NEW YORK — Business owners are the happiest Americans, according to a recent survey. Those working in manufacturing are the least satisfied.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index found that business owners scored highest, with 72.5, in “overall well-being” in a poll of more than 100,000 Americans in 11 sectors. Professionals and managers/executives came in at No. 2 (71.5) and No. 3 (70.9).

People making up the three top-scoring occupations are also those with the highest household income, Gallup said. Business owners do make a bit less than professionals and managers/ executives but scored highest on a measure of job satisfaction and work environment.

Companies to target family insurance coverage

NEW YORK — Health-care costs for U.S. workers are likely to rise next year, and companies are going to increasingly crack down on providing coverage to families of employees in an effort to cut costs, says consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

If you want your spouse to be included in your company’s health-insurance plan when you sign up for benefits in 2010, you could be paying an extra $600 to $1,000 a year if he or she has coverage available elsewhere, said Tom Billet, senior consultant with Watson Wyatt. That’s what he pinpointed as an average surcharge.

Associated Press