For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 18, 2014 USDL-14-1714
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2014
The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current
employer was 4.6 years in January 2014, unchanged from January 2012, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today.
Information on employee tenure has been obtained from supplemental questions in the
Current Population Survey (CPS) every 2 years since 1996. These data are collected
as part of the Displaced Worker Supplement, which is sponsored by the Employment
and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. The CPS is a monthly
sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides information on the labor
force status of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The
questions about employee tenure measure how long workers had been with their
current employer at the time of the survey. A number of factors can affect median
tenure of workers, including changes in the age profile among workers, as well as
changes in the number of hires and separations. For further information about the
CPS, see the Technical Note.
Demographic Characteristics
In January 2014, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers
had more tenure and half had less tenure) for men was 4.7 years, unchanged from
January 2012. For women, median tenure in January 2014 was 4.5 years, about
unchanged from January 2012. Among men, 30 percent of wage and salary workers had
10 years or more of tenure with their current employer, compared with 28 percent
for women. (See tables 1 and 3.)
Median employee tenure was generally higher among older workers than younger ones.
For example, the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 (10.4 years) was more than
three times that of workers ages 25 to 34 years (3.0 years). A larger proportion of
older workers than younger workers had 10 years or more of tenure. Among workers
ages 60 to 64, 58 percent were employed for at least 10 years with their current
employer in January 2014, compared with only 12 percent of those ages 30 to 34.
(See tables 1 and 2.)
Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 21 percent of Hispanics had been with their
current employer for 10 years or more in January 2014, compared with 30 percent of
whites and 25 percent of both blacks and Asians. (See table 3.) The shorter tenure
among Hispanic workers can be explained, in part, by their relative youth. Forty-four
percent of Hispanic workers were between the ages of 16 and 34; by comparison, the
proportions for whites (35 percent), blacks (38 percent), and Asians (34 percent) were
smaller.
The share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their current
employer was 21 percent in January 2014, unchanged from the proportion in January 2012.
This short-tenured group includes new entrants and reentrants to the workforce, job
losers who found new jobs during the previous year, and workers who had voluntarily
changed employers during the year. Younger workers were more likely than older workers
to be short-tenured employees. For example, in January 2014, 72 percent of 16- to
19-year-olds had tenure of 12 months or less with their current employer, compared with
9 percent of workers ages 55 to 64. (See table 3.)
Within most age groups, men and women with less than a high school diploma had lower
median tenure in January 2014 than those with more education. (See table 4.)
Industry
In January 2014, wage and salary workers in the public sector had nearly double the
median tenure of private sector employees, 7.8 years versus 4.1 years. One factor
behind this difference is age. About three in four government workers were age 35
and over, compared with about three in five private wage and salary workers. Federal
employees had a higher median tenure (8.5 years) than state (7.4 years) or local
government (7.9 years) employees. (See table 5.)
Within the private sector, workers in manufacturing had the highest tenure among
major industries, at 5.9 years in January 2014. In contrast, workers in leisure and
hospitality had the lowest median tenure (2.3 years). These differences in tenure
reflect many factors, one of which is varying age distributions across industries;
on average, workers in manufacturing tend to be older than those in leisure and
hospitality.
Occupation
Among the major occupations, workers in management, professional, and related
occupations had the highest median tenure (5.7 years) in January 2014. Within this
group, employees had the longest tenure in the following occupations: management
(6.9 years), architecture and engineering (6.4 years), and education, training, and
library (6.2 years). Workers in service occupations, who are generally younger than
persons employed in management, professional, and related occupations, had the lowest
median tenure (3.3 years). Among employees working in service occupations, food
preparation workers had the lowest median tenure, at 2.2 years. (See table 6.)
Technical Note
The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the January 2014
Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census
Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of about
60,000 eligible households that provides information on the labor force status,
demographics, and other characteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional
population age 16 and over.
The January 2014 CPS supplement obtained information on worker displacement and
workers' tenure with their current employer. The data on worker displacement are
online at www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#displaced.
Updated population controls for the CPS are introduced annually with the release
of the January data. Additional information about population controls is available
on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200, Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.
When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance
that the sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent.
The component of this difference that occurs because sample differ by chance is
known as sampling error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of
the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an
estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the
true population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted
at the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for
many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability
to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or
processing of the data.
A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating
standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
Tenure concepts and questions
Employee tenure is a measure of how long wage and salary workers had been with their
current employer at the time of the survey. Many of the estimates shown in this report
are medians; the median is the point at which half of all workers had more tenure and
half had less tenure. Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time
workers.
Wage and salary workers receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind,
or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors
but excludes all self-employed persons, both those with incorporated businesses and
those with unincorporated businesses.
In the CPS supplement, questions on tenure were asked of all employed persons. The
main question was: "How long has ... been working continuously for (fill in name of
present employer)?"
_____ Days
_____ Weeks
_____ Months
_____ Years
For responses of "1 year" or "2 years," a follow-up question was asked: "Could you
please give the exact number of months?"
The purpose of the follow-up question is to obtain more precise information on
workers who had been with their current employer for a relatively short time. This
follow-up question was included for the first time in the February 1996 CPS supplement
on worker displacement and tenure. CPS supplements that obtained information on tenure
in January of 1983, 1987, and 1991 did not include the follow-up question. In those
surveys, responses of 1 year or more could be coded only as the nearest full year, and
responses of less than a year were coded as the nearest full month.
Prior to January 1983, CPS supplements on tenure asked wage and salary workers, "When
did ... start working at (his/her) present job?" For wage and salary workers, the
meaning of the term "job" is ambiguous. For example, a worker who had been employed
at a particular company for 10 years and had been promoted to a managerial position
1 year prior to the survey may have been counted as having 10 years or 1 year of
tenure, depending on whether the respondent interpreted the question to mean tenure
with the current employer or tenure in the managerial position. To rectify this
ambiguity, the wording of the question was changed in January 1983 to specify the
length of time a worker had been with his or her current employer. The change
resulted in a break in historical comparability.
Interpreting tenure data
Data on tenure have been used as a gauge of employment security, with some observers
regarding increases in tenure as a sign of improving security and decreasing tenure
as a sign of deteriorating security. However, there are limitations to using the data
in this way. For example, during recessions or other periods of declining job security,
median tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure could rise if less-senior
workers are more likely to lose their jobs than are workers with longer tenure. During
periods of economic growth, median tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure
could fall if more job opportunities are available for new entrants to the workforce and
experienced workers have more opportunities to change employers and take better jobs.
Tenure also could rise under improving economic conditions, however, as fewer layoffs
occur and good job matches develop between workers and employers.
A changing age distribution among workers would also affect median tenure. Since older
workers are more likely to have long tenure with their current employer than younger
workers, aging baby boomers in the workforce would provide upward pressure on overall
median tenure.
Table 1. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary
workers by age and sex, selected years, 2004-2014
Age and sex January January January January January January
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
TOTAL
16 years and over......... 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.6
16 to 17 years................ .7 .6 .7 .7 .7 .7
18 to 19 years................ .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8 .8
20 to 24 years................ 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.3
25 years and over............. 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.5
25 to 34 years.............. 2.9 2.9 2.7 3.1 3.2 3.0
35 to 44 years.............. 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.3 5.2
45 to 54 years.............. 7.7 7.3 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.9
55 to 64 years.............. 9.6 9.3 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.4
65 years and over........... 9.0 8.8 10.2 9.9 10.3 10.3
Men
16 years and over......... 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.6 4.7 4.7
16 to 17 years................ .7 .7 .7 .7 .6 .7
18 to 19 years................ .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8 .9
20 to 24 years................ 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.4
25 years and over............. 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.5
25 to 34 years.............. 3.0 2.9 2.8 3.2 3.2 3.1
35 to 44 years.............. 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.4
45 to 54 years.............. 9.6 8.1 8.2 8.5 8.5 8.2
55 to 64 years.............. 9.8 9.5 10.1 10.4 10.7 10.7
65 years and over........... 8.2 8.3 10.4 9.7 10.2 10.0
Women
16 years and over......... 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.2 4.6 4.5
16 to 17 years................ .6 .6 .6 .7 .7 .7
18 to 19 years................ .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8 .8
20 to 24 years................ 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.3
25 years and over............. 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.4 5.4
25 to 34 years.............. 2.8 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.1 2.9
35 to 44 years.............. 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.2 5.1
45 to 54 years.............. 6.4 6.7 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.6
55 to 64 years.............. 9.2 9.2 9.8 9.7 10.0 10.2
65 years and over........... 9.6 9.5 9.9 10.1 10.5 10.5
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of
January data.
Table 2. Percent of employed wage and salary workers 25 years and over who had 10 years
or more of tenure with their current employer by age and sex, selected years, 2004-2014
Age and sex January January January January January January
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
TOTAL
25 years and over......... 30.6 30.0 31.5 33.1 33.7 33.3
25 to 29 years................ 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.5
30 to 34 years................ 10.9 10.6 10.1 12.8 12.5 12.3
35 to 39 years................ 23.2 22.8 23.0 25.7 25.2 24.4
40 to 44 years................ 32.4 31.8 32.9 35.3 35.1 33.1
45 to 49 years................ 42.1 39.9 40.2 40.8 41.6 41.6
50 to 54 years................ 48.5 46.6 47.7 48.9 48.4 48.1
55 to 59 years................ 50.9 50.1 52.4 52.4 54.1 53.3
60 to 64 years................ 49.7 48.4 53.6 54.5 55.1 58.0
65 years and over............. 48.7 48.5 56.3 53.1 55.5 55.0
Men
25 years and over......... 32.4 31.1 32.9 34.3 34.6 34.0
25 to 29 years................ 2.7 2.6 2.4 3.1 2.6 2.9
30 to 34 years................ 11.9 11.6 11.3 14.3 13.2 13.3
35 to 39 years................ 24.9 24.7 25.4 27.2 25.7 25.9
40 to 44 years................ 36.2 34.8 35.8 37.5 36.9 34.5
45 to 49 years................ 48.1 42.9 43.5 43.7 44.8 43.8
50 to 54 years................ 53.0 49.7 50.4 51.3 51.4 49.9
55 to 59 years................ 53.4 51.0 54.9 53.6 55.7 53.8
60 to 64 years................ 48.5 48.1 52.4 56.8 56.2 59.1
65 years and over............. 46.8 47.2 58.9 51.9 55.5 53.1
Women
25 years and over......... 28.6 28.8 30.0 31.9 32.8 32.6
25 to 29 years................ 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.6 2.3 2.1
30 to 34 years................ 9.8 9.4 8.7 11.1 11.8 11.1
35 to 39 years................ 21.3 20.5 20.3 24.0 24.7 22.7
40 to 44 years................ 28.5 28.4 29.9 32.9 33.2 31.5
45 to 49 years................ 36.2 36.9 36.7 38.0 38.3 39.4
50 to 54 years................ 44.1 43.6 45.0 46.5 45.5 46.3
55 to 59 years................ 48.4 49.1 50.0 51.2 52.6 52.8
60 to 64 years................ 51.0 48.7 54.8 52.2 54.0 56.9
65 years and over............. 50.7 49.9 53.8 54.3 55.6 56.9
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January
data.
Table 3. Distribution of employed wage and salary workers by tenure with current employer, age, sex, race, and
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, January 2014
Percent distribution by tenure with current employer
Age, sex, race, and Number
Hispanic or Latino employed
ethnicity (in thousands) 12 13 to 3 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 15 to 20
Total months 23 2 years years years 14 19 years
or less months years years or more
TOTAL
16 years and over.... 129,128 100.0 21.3 6.4 5.3 16.5 21.5 12.0 6.5 10.6
16 to 19 years........... 3,919 100.0 72.4 10.8 8.2 8.2 .4 - - -
20 years and over........ 125,209 100.0 19.7 6.2 5.2 16.8 22.2 12.3 6.7 10.9
20 to 24 years......... 13,061 100.0 49.2 11.8 11.4 20.3 7.2 .1 - -
25 to 34 years......... 29,683 100.0 26.6 8.9 7.2 24.2 25.8 6.6 .8 -
35 to 44 years......... 27,970 100.0 16.7 5.7 4.6 16.7 27.5 17.1 8.4 3.3
45 to 54 years......... 28,258 100.0 12.0 4.2 3.4 13.2 22.3 16.1 10.4 18.4
55 to 64 years......... 20,323 100.0 8.9 3.2 2.6 10.6 19.4 15.5 10.9 28.8
65 years and over...... 5,914 100.0 7.8 2.9 2.4 11.0 21.0 16.7 9.9 28.4
Men
16 years and over.... 66,325 100.0 20.9 6.3 5.2 16.4 21.4 11.8 6.6 11.3
16 to 19 years........... 1,847 100.0 71.8 10.9 7.5 9.4 .5 - - -
20 years and over........ 64,478 100.0 19.5 6.2 5.2 16.6 22.0 12.2 6.8 11.6
20 to 24 years......... 6,573 100.0 46.6 11.8 12.0 21.7 7.9 - - -
25 to 34 years......... 15,724 100.0 26.4 8.5 6.9 23.8 26.3 7.2 .9 -
35 to 44 years......... 14,722 100.0 15.8 5.9 4.4 16.4 27.2 17.3 9.4 3.6
45 to 54 years......... 14,268 100.0 12.5 4.2 3.2 12.2 21.1 15.7 10.8 20.4
55 to 64 years......... 10,180 100.0 9.3 2.9 2.6 10.5 18.8 14.3 10.2 31.4
65 years and over...... 3,010 100.0 9.0 3.8 2.8 11.2 20.1 15.9 8.9 28.3
Women
16 years and over.... 62,803 100.0 21.7 6.4 5.4 16.6 21.7 12.1 6.3 9.8
16 to 19 years........... 2,072 100.0 73.0 10.8 8.8 7.1 .4 - - -
20 years and over........ 60,732 100.0 20.0 6.3 5.2 17.0 22.4 12.5 6.5 10.1
20 to 24 years......... 6,488 100.0 51.8 11.8 10.7 18.9 6.6 .1 - -
25 to 34 years......... 13,959 100.0 26.8 9.4 7.5 24.6 25.2 5.8 .7 -
35 to 44 years......... 13,247 100.0 17.7 5.5 4.7 17.0 27.9 16.8 7.3 2.9
45 to 54 years......... 13,990 100.0 11.5 4.2 3.6 14.2 23.5 16.6 10.0 16.3
55 to 64 years......... 10,143 100.0 8.6 3.5 2.5 10.8 20.1 16.7 11.6 26.2
65 years and over...... 2,905 100.0 6.5 1.9 1.9 10.9 21.9 17.6 11.0 28.4
White
16 years and over.... 102,939 100.0 20.7 6.5 5.1 16.3 21.3 12.0 6.8 11.4
Men...................... 53,760 100.0 20.3 6.4 5.1 16.3 21.0 11.8 6.8 12.2
Women.................... 49,179 100.0 21.2 6.6 5.1 16.1 21.6 12.2 6.7 10.4
Black or African American
16 years and over.... 14,939 100.0 24.9 5.5 5.7 17.5 21.5 11.1 5.4 8.4
Men...................... 6,721 100.0 25.7 5.4 4.9 16.8 22.0 11.1 5.8 8.2
Women.................... 8,218 100.0 24.3 5.6 6.3 18.0 21.0 11.1 5.1 8.6
Asian
16 years and over.... 7,370 100.0 18.5 6.4 6.5 18.6 25.6 13.3 5.5 5.8
Men...................... 3,843 100.0 18.0 6.7 6.4 17.7 25.6 14.4 5.7 5.7
Women.................... 3,527 100.0 19.0 6.0 6.6 19.6 25.5 12.0 5.3 5.9
Hispanic or Latino
ethnicity
16 years and over.... 20,915 100.0 24.4 6.3 7.0 19.1 22.7 11.2 4.1 5.2
Men...................... 11,813 100.0 24.1 6.2 7.4 19.4 22.5 11.0 3.9 5.5
Women.................... 9,102 100.0 24.8 6.4 6.4 18.8 23.1 11.4 4.4 4.7
- Less than 0.05 percent.
NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be
of any race. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Dash represents zero or rounds to zero. Updated
population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 4. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers 25 years
and over by educational attainment, sex, and age, January 2014
25 years and over
Educational attainment and sex
Total 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years
years years years years and over
Total.......................... 5.5 3.0 5.2 7.9 10.4 10.3
Less than a high school diploma.... 4.4 2.7 3.7 5.2 8.1 8.6
High school graduates, no college.. 5.8 3.2 5.1 7.7 11.2 10.6
Some college, no degree............ 5.3 2.8 5.1 8.0 10.1 10.2
Associate degree................... 5.7 3.2 5.5 7.8 10.1 9.8
College graduates.................. 5.6 2.9 5.7 8.7 11.0 10.4
Bachelor's degree................ 5.4 3.0 5.7 8.6 10.4 10.1
Master's degree.................. 6.3 3.0 6.4 8.6 12.5 9.8
Doctoral or professional degree.. 5.6 1.9 4.8 9.6 11.0 16.1
Men............................ 5.5 3.1 5.4 8.2 10.7 10.0
Less than a high school diploma.... 4.2 3.0 3.8 4.8 8.0 8.2
High school graduates, no college.. 5.8 3.3 5.3 8.5 11.8 9.4
Some college, no degree............ 5.3 2.9 5.4 8.4 10.3 10.1
Associate degree................... 6.0 3.3 6.1 9.1 10.2 9.7
College graduates.................. 5.9 2.9 5.8 9.0 11.5 11.3
Bachelor's degree................ 5.7 3.0 6.1 9.5 10.8 10.3
Master's degree.................. 6.3 3.0 5.9 7.7 13.8 9.7
Doctoral or professional degree.. 5.9 1.9 4.6 9.6 10.5 19.2
Women.......................... 5.4 2.9 5.1 7.6 10.2 10.5
Less than a high school diploma.... 4.6 2.3 3.6 5.6 8.3 10.3
High school graduates, no college.. 5.9 3.0 4.8 6.8 10.4 11.9
Some college, no degree............ 5.3 2.6 4.8 7.8 10.0 10.3
Associate degree................... 5.5 3.1 5.2 7.3 10.1 9.9
College graduates.................. 5.4 2.9 5.7 8.5 10.5 10.1
Bachelor's degree................ 5.2 3.0 5.4 8.1 10.2 9.9
Master's degree.................. 6.3 3.1 6.8 9.6 11.5 10.1
Doctoral or professional degree.. 5.3 2.0 4.9 9.7 12.0 13.9
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 5. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by industry, selected years, 2004-2014
Industry January January January January January January
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Total, 16 years and over............................................ 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.6
Private sector........................................................ 3.5 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.2 4.1
Agriculture and related industries.................................. 3.7 3.8 4.3 4.8 4.1 3.6
Nonagricultural industries.......................................... 3.5 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.2 4.1
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction..................... 5.2 3.8 4.1 4.8 3.5 4.0
Construction...................................................... 3.0 3.0 3.5 4.2 4.3 3.9
Manufacturing..................................................... 5.8 5.5 5.9 6.1 6.0 5.9
Durable goods manufacturing..................................... 6.0 5.6 6.1 6.6 6.1 6.0
Nonmetallic mineral products.................................. 4.8 5.0 4.8 7.7 7.0 7.6
Primary metals and fabricated metal products.................. 6.4 6.2 5.2 7.2 5.6 6.1
Machinery manufacturing....................................... 6.4 6.6 6.0 8.3 5.4 6.2
Computers and electronic products............................. 5.2 5.9 6.7 5.9 7.7 5.1
Electrical equipment and appliances........................... 9.8 6.2 6.2 5.0 5.9 5.8
Transportation equipment...................................... 7.7 7.2 7.8 8.3 7.1 7.1
Wood products................................................. 5.0 4.7 6.2 4.7 5.3 4.6
Furniture and related product manufacturing................... 4.7 4.2 5.2 5.0 6.5 5.9
Miscellaneous manufacturing................................... 4.6 3.9 4.7 5.4 4.8 5.1
Nondurable goods manufacturing.................................. 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.9
Food manufacturing............................................ 4.9 5.2 4.3 4.7 4.9 4.7
Beverage and tobacco products................................. 8.0 5.4 6.9 8.1 6.4 4.8
Textiles, apparel, and leather................................ 5.0 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.3 5.3
Paper and printing............................................ 6.9 6.3 5.5 6.8 9.7 9.7
Petroleum and coal products................................... 11.4 5.0 4.3 5.1 6.4 6.1
Chemicals..................................................... 5.3 6.1 7.6 7.3 6.1 7.1
Plastics and rubber products.................................. 5.7 5.0 5.3 7.4 6.1 6.5
Wholesale and retail trade........................................ 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.7 3.6
Wholesale trade................................................. 4.3 4.6 5.0 5.2 5.5 5.8
Retail trade.................................................... 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.3
Transportation and utilities...................................... 5.3 4.9 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.1
Transportation and warehousing.................................. 4.7 4.3 4.6 5.0 5.3 4.7
Utilities....................................................... 13.3 10.4 10.1 9.1 9.5 9.2
Information (1)................................................... 4.3 4.8 4.7 5.0 5.4 4.8
Publishing, except Internet..................................... 4.7 5.3 4.7 5.6 6.6 5.3
Motion pictures and sound recording industries.................. 2.2 1.9 1.9 3.8 2.6 2.4
Radio and television broadcasting and cable
subscriptions programming (2)...................................... 4.0 4.6 3.4 4.3 4.9 4.1
Telecommunications (2).......................................... 4.6 5.3 6.9 6.6 7.4 7.8
Financial activities.............................................. 3.9 4.0 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0
Finance and insurance........................................... 4.1 4.1 4.7 4.8 5.0 5.3
Finance....................................................... 4.0 3.9 4.4 4.5 4.7 5.0
Insurance..................................................... 4.4 4.7 5.2 5.5 5.7 6.0
Real estate and rental and leasing.............................. 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.9 4.5 4.4
Real estate................................................... 3.5 3.5 3.9 4.1 4.5 4.6
Rental and leasing services................................... 2.9 3.1 3.0 3.3 4.2 3.5
Professional and business services................................ 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.4 3.8 3.6
Professional and technical services............................. 3.6 3.8 3.3 4.0 4.4 4.2
Management, administrative, and waste services (1).............. 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.1
Administrative and support services........................... 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.8 3.0 3.0
Waste management and remediation services..................... 3.4 4.1 4.1 2.9 4.4 4.7
Education and health services..................................... 3.6 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.4 4.5
Educational services............................................ 3.8 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.8
Health care and social assistance............................... 3.6 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.4 4.4
Hospitals..................................................... 4.7 5.2 5.4 5.3 6.0 5.7
Health services, except hospitals............................. 3.3 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.9
Social assistance............................................. 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.2
Leisure and hospitality........................................... 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.4 2.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation............................. 2.8 3.1 2.8 3.3 3.1 3.0
Accommodation and food services................................. 1.9 1.6 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.1
Accommodation................................................. 3.1 2.5 3.1 3.3 3.8 3.5
Food services and drinking places............................. 1.6 1.4 1.6 2.2 2.1 2.0
Other services.................................................... 3.3 3.2 3.3 4.0 3.8 4.0
Other services, except private households....................... 3.5 3.3 3.4 4.1 3.8 4.2
Repair and maintenance........................................ 3.2 2.9 3.0 4.0 3.7 4.0
Personal and laundry services................................. 3.4 2.8 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.7
Membership associations and organizations..................... 3.9 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.3 4.9
Other services, private households.............................. 2.3 2.8 2.8 3.4 3.3 3.0
Public sector......................................................... 6.9 6.9 7.2 7.2 7.8 7.8
Federal government.................................................. 10.4 9.9 9.9 7.9 9.5 8.5
State government.................................................... 6.4 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.4 7.4
Local government.................................................... 6.4 6.6 7.1 7.5 8.1 7.9
1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Data for these industries are not directly comparable over time due to industry classification changes in 2003 and 2009.
NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2009, industries reflect the introduction of the 2007 census industry classification
system into the Current Population Survey. This industry classification system is derived from the 2007 North American Industry
Classification System. No historical data have been revised. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release
of January data.
Table 6. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by occupation, selected years,
2004-2014
Occupation January January January January January January
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Total, 16 years and over.......................................... 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.6
Management, professional and related occupations..................... 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.5 5.7
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.9 6.3
Management occupations........................................ 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.9
Business and financial operations occupations................. 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.6 5.2 5.0
Professional and related occupations.............................. 4.7 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.4 5.3
Computer and mathematical occupations......................... 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.8 4.8 5.0
Architecture and engineering occupations...................... 5.8 6.5 6.4 5.7 7.0 6.4
Life, physical, and social science occupations................ 4.2 4.7 4.0 4.6 5.3 5.0
Community and social service occupations...................... 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.6 5.0 5.1
Legal occupations............................................. 4.1 5.0 4.3 4.6 5.4 5.4
Education, training, and library occupations.................. 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.9 6.2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations.... 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.9 4.2 3.4
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations............ 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.8 5.2 5.2
Service occupations................................................... 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.2 3.3
Healthcare support occupations................................ 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.5
Protective service occupations................................ 5.5 5.5 5.9 5.0 6.4 6.5
Food preparation and serving related occupations.............. 1.8 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.3 2.2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations..... 3.3 3.7 3.6 4.1 4.0 4.3
Personal care and service occupations......................... 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.9 3.0 2.9
Sales and office occupations.......................................... 3.4 3.4 3.5 4.1 4.2 4.0
Sales and related occupations..................................... 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.4 3.4 3.4
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.7 4.8 4.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations.......... 3.7 3.5 4.0 4.7 4.7 4.4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 3.7 3.6 3.1 4.2 3.9 3.2
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 3.2 3.0 3.5 4.1 4.3 3.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 4.7 4.6 5.0 5.7 5.3 5.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations........... 4.2 4.0 4.5 4.6 4.8 4.5
Production occupations............................................ 5.0 4.8 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.2
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 3.4 3.3 3.8 4.0 4.3 3.8
NOTE: Effective with January 2011 data, occupations reflect the introduction of the 2010 Census occupational
classification system into the Current Population Survey, or household survey. This classification system is derived from
the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). No historical data have been revised. Data for 2011 and later years are
not strictly comparable with earlier years. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January
data.
United States Department of Labor
