Employee Tenure News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, September 24, 2026                               USDL-26-1532

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps 
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                                   EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2026


The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer
was 4.1 years in January 2026, up from 3.9 years in January 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. 

The U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office sponsored the January 2026 survey to
collect information on employee tenure. Since 1996, these surveys have been conducted
biennially in January as a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a
monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible 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 in this news release.

Demographic Characteristics

In January 2026, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more
tenure and half had less tenure) for men was 4.3 years, up from 4.2 years in January 2024. For
women, median tenure was 4.0 years in January 2026, up from the median of 3.6 years in January
2024. 

Median employee tenure was generally higher among older workers than younger ones. For
example, the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 (9.6 years) was more than three times that
of workers ages 25 to 34 (3.0 years). (See table 1.)

Among men age 25 years and over, 31.1 percent of wage and salary workers had 10 years or more
of tenure with their current employer in January 2026, higher than the figure for women (29.0
percent). A larger proportion of older workers than younger workers had 10 years or more of
tenure. For example, among workers ages 60 to 64, 52.6 percent had been employed for at least
10 years with their current employer in January 2026, compared with 20.3 percent of those ages
35 to 39. (See table 2.)

In January 2026, the share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their
current employer was 20.6 percent, down from the proportion in January 2024 (22.2 percent). 
This short-tenured group includes new hires, 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 2026,
74.1 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds had tenure of 12 months or less with their current
employer, compared with 9.2 percent of workers ages 55 to 64. (See table 3.) 

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 19.8 percent of White workers and 17.3 percent of
Asian workers had been with their current employer for a year or less in 2026. The percentages
of short-tenured workers who were Black or Hispanic were higher, at 25.0 percent and 24.2
percent, respectively. (See table 3.) 

Among women age 25 and over, those with less than a high school diploma had lower median
tenure (4.1 years) in January 2026 than associate degree holders (4.7 years) and college
graduates (4.9 years). For men age 25 and over, the median tenure for workers with less than a
high school diploma was 4.7 years, less than the median for those with an associate degree
(5.3 years) and college graduates (5.2 years). (See table 4.)

Industry

In January 2026, wage and salary workers in the public sector had a median tenure of 5.6
years, considerably higher than the median for private-sector employees (3.9 years). One
factor behind this difference is age, as government workers tend to be older on average than
those in the private sector. Within the public sector, federal government employees had a 
higher median tenure at 7.0 years than state (5.4 years) and local government (5.4 years)
employees. (See table 5.)

Within the private sector, workers in financial activities (5.0 years); mining, quarrying, and
oil and gas extraction (4.9 years); manufacturing (4.9 years); and information (4.9 years) had
the highest tenure among major industries in January 2026. By contrast, workers in leisure and
hospitality had the lowest median tenure (2.4 years). These differences in tenure reflect many
factors, one of which is varying age distributions across the industries; workers in the major
industries with the highest tenure tend to be older than those in leisure and hospitality.

Occupation

Among the major occupation groups, workers in management, professional, and related
occupations had the highest median tenure in January 2026 (4.9 years). Within this group,
employees with jobs in management occupations (6.1 years) had the longest tenure. Workers in
service occupations, who are generally younger than people employed in management,
professional, and related occupations, had the lowest median tenure (2.9 years). Among
employees working in service occupations, workers in food preparation and serving related
occupations (2.2 years) and personal care and service occupations (2.8 years) had the lowest
median tenure. (See table 6.)

Technical Note

The data in this news release were collected through a supplement to the January 2026 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 2026 CPS supplement, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, 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. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.

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 samples 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. 

Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating standard 
errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

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 people, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with
unincorporated businesses.

In the CPS supplement, questions on tenure were asked of all employed people. 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. Currently, the 2-year category includes 24 to 29 months, and the 3-year
category includes 2.5 to 3.5 years.

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.