Many thanks to NCEO and ESCA for this research!

Summary of Findings:
Overall, we find measurable evidence of this resiliency in greater financial security for employees heading into and during the pandemic, and job retention at the firm level compared to comparable conventional firms.
Before the pandemic, the average ESOP account balance at an S ESOP was more than double compared to the average account balance at a comparable conventional firm
($132k vs. 64k). See slide 9.
Controlling for company size, industry, and region, the ESOP advantage is an estimated $67,000 more assets in the average account balance. See slide 12.

• This is remarkable given the context that just over half (50.5) of American families have a retirement account at all. Among those that do, the median
  account value was $65,000 (Survey of Consumer Finances, 2019).

The average yearly employer contribution to the ESOP was 2.6 times that of companies offering a 401(k) ($6,567 vs. $2,507). See slide 13.
94% of total contributions to ESOPs came from the employer, compared to 31% for 401(k) plans. See slide 14.
Using active participants as a proxy for employment, and controlling for company size, industry, and region, being an ESOP is associated with retaining or adding an additional 6 employees from 2019 to 2020, compared to non-ESOP employers. See slide 18.