Employee Tenure News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, September 26, 2024                               USDL-24-1971

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


                                  EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2024


The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer
was 3.9 years in January 2024, down from 4.1 years in January 2022 and the lowest since
January 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office sponsored the January 2024 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 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 2024, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more
tenure and half had less tenure) for men was 4.2 years, a decrease from 4.3 years in January
2022. For women, median tenure was 3.6 years in January 2024, down from the median of 3.8 
years in January 2022. Among men, 28 percent of wage and salary workers had 10 years or more
of tenure with their current employer in January 2024, higher than the figure for women 
(24 percent). (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 (9.6 years) was more than three times
that of workers ages 25 to 34 (2.7 years). Also, 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 percent had been employed for at least 10 years with their current employer in January
2024, compared with 21 percent of those ages 35 to 39. (See tables 1 and 2.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 28 percent of Whites had been with their current
employer for 10 years or more in January 2024, compared with 25 percent of Asians, 22 percent
of Blacks, and 22 percent of Hispanics. (See table 3.) The higher share of long-tenured 
workers among Whites can be explained, in part, by the fact that they tend to be older. Among
White wage and salary workers, 23 percent were age 55 and over. By comparison, the proportions
for Blacks (19 percent), Asians (18 percent), and Hispanics (16 percent) were smaller.

In January 2024, the share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their
current employer was 22 percent, lower than the proportion in January 2022 (24 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 2024,
70 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds had tenure of 12 months or less with their current employer,
compared with 10 percent of workers ages 55 to 64. (See table 3.)

Among workers ages 25 and over, women with less than a high school diploma had lower median
tenure (3.8 years) in January 2024 than associate degree holders (4.9 years) and college
graduates (4.7 years). The median tenure for men with less than a high school diploma was
little different than for those with more education. (See table 4.)

Industry

In January 2024, wage and salary workers in the public sector had a median tenure of 6.2
years, nearly twice the median for private-sector employees (3.5 years). One factor behind
this difference is age. About 3 in 4 government workers were age 35 and over, compared with
about 3 in 5 private wage and salary workers. (See table 5.)

Within the private sector, workers in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 
(5.7 years), manufacturing (4.9 years), and financial activities (4.7 years) had the highest
tenure among major industries in January 2024. By contrast, workers in leisure and hospitality
had the lowest median tenure (2.1 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 (4.8 years) in January 2024. Within this group,
employees with jobs in management occupations (5.7 years), education, training, and library
occupations (5.3 years), and architecture and engineering occupations (4.9 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 (2.7 years).
Among employees working in service occupations, workers in food preparation and serving 
related occupations (2.0 years) and personal care and service occupations (2.5 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 2024 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 2024 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.