Markets closed for MLK Day on Monday

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All financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

Banks also will take a holiday, as will many government offices.

But the majority of U.S. businesses don’t observe MLK Day, which has been true since the holiday was established in 1986, according to information research firm BNA.

A survey the firm compiled last fall showed that the percentage of employers who give all or most workers MLK Day as a paid holiday has remained at about 30% for the last five years, though up from 14% in 1986.

‘Nonbusiness employers are much more likely to make Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday than are nonmanufacturing or manufacturing establishments,’ BNA said. ‘More than one-half of nonbusiness organizations (56%) will make January 17 a paid holiday, compared with 21% of nonmanufacturing firms and 10% of manufacturers.’

-- Tom Petruno