Quick answer
The core employee retention statistic is tenure. In January 2026, the median US wage and salary worker had been with their current employer 4.1 years, up from 3.9 years in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retention is weakest in leisure and hospitality (2.4 years), and Gallup reports 53% of US employees were open to leaving as of August 2026.
Employee retention statistics measure the opposite of turnover: how long people stay and what makes them stay. The best national measure is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employee Tenure survey, released September 24, 2026, with data for January 2026. It found a median of 4.1 years with the current employer. Monthly quit and separation rates are covered in our employee turnover statistics; this page goes deeper on tenure by age, industry and occupation, the reasons people give for leaving or staying, and the levers employers control.
Average employee tenure in 2026
BLS asks about tenure every two years in a supplement to the Current Population Survey of about 60,000 households. The figures below are medians for wage and salary workers in January 2026, from the BLS release.
- 4.1 years was the median tenure, up from 3.9 years in January 2024 and close to the 4.2 years of January 2016.
- Men had a median of 4.3 years (up from 4.2) and women 4.0 years (up from 3.6), so the gap between men and women narrowed.
- 20.6% of workers had been with their employer 12 months or less, down from 22.2% in 2024. That share was 25.0% for Black workers and 24.2% for Hispanic workers, compared with 19.8% for White and 17.3% for Asian workers.
- Among workers 25 and older, 31.1% of men and 29.0% of women had 10 or more years with their current employer.
- Public-sector workers had a median of 5.6 years and private-sector workers 3.9 years. Federal employees had 7.0 years, and state and local government employees 5.4 years each.
- Education matters less than you might expect: men 25 and older with less than a high school diploma had a median of 4.7 years, against 5.2 years for male college graduates.
Public-sector tenure has fallen steadily, from 7.7 years in 2016 to 5.6 years in 2026, while private-sector tenure rose from 3.7 to 3.9 years (BLS Tenure Table 5).
What this means for employers: A median of about four years means half of all workers have been in place less than that. If your average tenure is well below your industry's figure in the table further down, you have a retention problem worth measuring; if it is above, protect what is working before changing it.
Employee tenure statistics by age
Age is the strongest predictor of tenure. Workers ages 55 to 64 had a median of 9.6 years in January 2026, more than three times the 3.0 years of workers ages 25 to 34, according to BLS Tenure Table 1.
- 74.1% of workers ages 16 to 19 had been with their employer 12 months or less, compared with 9.2% of workers ages 55 to 64.
- 52.6% of workers ages 60 to 64 had been with their employer at least 10 years, compared with 20.3% of those ages 35 to 39.
- Tenure for ages 25 to 34 rose to 3.0 years, the highest in the 2016 to 2026 table (it was 2.8 years from 2016 to 2022). Tenure for ages 20 to 24 rose to 1.5 years from 1.3 in 2016.
- Tenure for ages 45 to 54 fell from 7.9 years in 2016 to 7.0 years in 2026, and for ages 55 to 64 from 10.1 to 9.6 years.
Job changes cluster early in a career. People born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs from ages 18 to 58, according to the BLS National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 release of August 26, 2025. They held 5.6 jobs at ages 18 to 24, 4.5 at 25 to 34, 2.9 at 35 to 44 and 2.2 at 45 to 54. A job that spans two age ranges is counted in both, so the ranges add up to more than 12.9.
What this means for employers: If your team is mostly under 25, short tenure is normal and you should plan for it with fast onboarding and cross-training. Older workers stay far longer, so losing one costs more in experience and is worth a direct conversation before it happens.
Retention rate statistics by industry and occupation
Median tenure is the clearest retention rate statistic by industry. The table compares January 2016, 2024 and 2026 from BLS Tenure Table 5.
| Industry | Median tenure, Jan 2016 | Jan 2024 | Jan 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 7.4 | 4.9 | 6.3 |
| Wholesale trade | 5.2 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| Finance and insurance | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Manufacturing | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Information | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| Hospitals | 5.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Other services | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 4.4 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| Construction | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
| Professional and business services | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Health care and social assistance | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Retail trade | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Social assistance | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Food services and drinking places | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| All private sector | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| All workers | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
Source: BLS, Employee Tenure in 2026, Table 5, median years with current employer, wage and salary workers. BLS notes that 2026 industries use the 2022 Census classification and earlier years were not revised, so year-to-year comparisons are approximate.
- Leisure and hospitality had the lowest median tenure of any major industry, 2.4 years, and food services and drinking places was 2.2 years.
- Financial activities was highest among the major private industry groups BLS names, at 5.0 years, followed by mining, manufacturing and information at 4.9 years each.
- Retail trade rose to 3.2 years, its highest in the 2016 to 2026 table.
- Inside health care, hospitals (4.8 years) keep staff far longer than social assistance (2.9 years).
The occupation view, from BLS Tenure Table 6, shows the same pattern: hourly, customer-facing jobs turn over fastest.
Workzenly calculation from BLS data: the median manager has been in place about 2.8 times as long as the median food preparation and serving worker (6.1 vs 2.2 years). Service occupations as a group had a median of 2.9 years.
What this means for employers: Compare your tenure with your own industry line, not the national 4.1 years. A restaurant where the typical cook has stayed three years is beating its industry. For how operators in these sectors handle staffing, see our restaurant and healthcare guides.
Why employees leave: the statistics
Gallup's employee retention and attraction indicator, based on its Gallup Panel web surveys of US employees, gives the most recent picture.
- 53% of US employees were open to leaving their organization as of August 2026. Only 3 in 10 said now was a good time to find a quality job, so many are open to leaving but staying put.
- Among US employees who left in 2024, pay and benefits was the most common single reason, but it was cited only 16% of the time.
- Grouped by theme, engagement and culture accounted for 37% of exits and wellbeing and work-life balance for 31%, together 68%.
The Pew Research Center asked 965 people who quit a job in 2021 to name every reason that applied (survey of February 7 to 13, 2022). Respondents could pick several, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
- About three in ten quitters said working too few hours was a reason, the mirror image of the 39% who worked too many.
- 31% cited reasons related to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Low pay, no advancement and feeling disrespected were each a major reason for at least a third of quitters.
The two surveys disagree on the role of pay because they ask differently: Pew let each person name every reason that applied, while Gallup coded one main reason per exit. Pay comes up often, but it is rarely the only thing.
What this means for employers: Most of the reasons on both lists are about how work is managed: respect, a path forward, hours that fit a life. Those are cheaper to fix than a raise, and they show up in your engagement numbers before they show up as resignations.
What keeps employees: satisfaction and next-job priorities
Pew's "How Americans View Their Jobs" surveyed 5,902 US workers from February 6 to 12, 2023 (analysis of the 5,188 who are not self-employed). It shows which parts of a job people value and which they find lacking.
- 51% were extremely or very satisfied with their job overall.
- Relationships rate highest: 67% were highly satisfied with their relationship with coworkers and 62% with their manager or supervisor.
- 49% were highly satisfied with the feedback they get from their manager, and 49% with their benefits.
- 44% were highly satisfied with training and skills development.
- The lowest scores were pay (34%) and opportunities for promotion (33%).
- Overall satisfaction rose with age: 44% of workers 18 to 29, 51% of those 30 to 49, 55% of those 50 to 64 and 67% of those 65 and older.
Gallup asked US employees in 2025 what they would rate very important in their next job (Gallup):
- 60%: greater work-life balance and better personal wellbeing.
- 57%: greater stability and job security.
- 53%: better pay or benefits.
- 48%: the opportunity to do what they do best.
The Pew 2022 survey shows what leaving delivered. Among 2021 quitters now working elsewhere, 56% earned more, 53% had more opportunities for advancement, 53% had an easier time balancing work and family, and 50% had more flexibility to choose their hours. Only 42% had better benefits; 36% said benefits were about the same and 22% said worse.
What this means for employers: Good relationships already keep people. The gaps are pay, promotion and feedback. A regular review where an employee hears how they are doing and what the next step is costs little; our performance review templates and self-review examples make that routine.
Employee retention statistics behind the levers you control
Retention levers show up in the data in four places.
Benefits. In March 2026, private industry workers had access to paid sick leave (81%), paid holidays (81%), paid vacation (80%), retirement benefits (72%), medical care (71%), life insurance (59%) and paid family and medical leave (49%), according to the BLS Employee Benefits in the United States release of September 25, 2026. Access is uneven: 87% of full-time private workers could get medical care through work versus 23% of part-time workers, and only 58% of leisure and hospitality workers had paid sick leave. More detail is in our employee benefits statistics and PTO statistics.
Hours and schedules. In the Pew 2022 survey, 45% of quitters cited a lack of flexibility over their hours, 39% too many hours and about three in ten too few. Fair hours, predictable schedules and premiums such as shift differentials for unpopular shifts address all three.
Growth and feedback. No advancement was cited by 63% of 2021 quitters (Pew), only 33% of workers were highly satisfied with promotion chances, and 49% with manager feedback (Pew 2023).
The first year. One in five workers (20.6%) had been in their job 12 months or less in January 2026 (BLS), so the early months are where retention is won or lost. Our employee onboarding statistics cover that stage.
For context, these levers act on a labor market where 3.4 million people quit in September 2026, a rate of 2.1%, according to the BLS JOLTS release of November 3, 2026. The next release, for October 2026, is scheduled for December 1, 2026.
What this means for employers: Start with what the data says people value and you can change this quarter: a written PTO policy, predictable schedules, and a review conversation every six or twelve months. Then measure tenure by role each quarter so you know whether it worked.
About this data
These employee retention statistics come from six sources. The BLS Employee Tenure survey is published every two years (January 2026 data, released September 2026). The BLS National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 job-count release follows one birth cohort and is updated every few years. The BLS National Compensation Survey benefits release is annual (March 2026 data). JOLTS is monthly. Gallup updates its retention indicator periodically from Gallup Panel surveys, and the Pew surveys from 2022 and 2023 are one-time studies, dated in the text.
Definitions: tenure is how long a worker has been with their current employer, not in their current job or occupation. A median tenure is not the same as a retention rate; a company's retention rate (the share of employees at the start of a period still employed at the end) has no single national source. Where we compare or divide figures, the text labels it as a Workzenly calculation.
We review this page when new releases come out. Journalists, students and bloggers are welcome to cite it with a link to this page.
More workforce statistics: Employee turnover statistics · Job satisfaction statistics · Onboarding statistics · Employee benefits statistics.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Tenure in 2026, January 2026 data (September 24, 2026). bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Tenure Table 1, Median years of tenure by age, 2016 to 2026. bls.gov/news.release/tenure.t01.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Tenure Table 5, Median years of tenure by industry, 2016 to 2026. bls.gov/news.release/tenure.t05.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Tenure Table 6, Median years of tenure by occupation, 2016 to 2026. bls.gov/news.release/tenure.t06.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Number of Jobs, Labor Market Experience, Marital Status, and Health: Results from a National Longitudinal Survey (August 26, 2025; reissued July 21, 2026). bls.gov/news.release/nlsoy.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026 (September 25, 2026). bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, September 2026 (November 3, 2026). bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
- Gallup, Employee Retention and Attraction indicator, accessed November 13, 2026 (US data as of August 2026; exit reasons for 2024; next-job priorities for 2025). gallup.com/467702
- Pew Research Center, "Majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 cite low pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected," March 9, 2022 (survey February 7 to 13, 2022). pewresearch.org
- Pew Research Center, "How Americans View Their Jobs," March 30, 2023 (survey February 6 to 12, 2023). pewresearch.org
Frequently asked questions
What is the average employee tenure in the US?
In January 2026, the median wage and salary worker had been with their current employer for 4.1 years, up from 3.9 years in January 2024, according to the BLS Employee Tenure release of September 24, 2026. Private-sector workers had a median of 3.9 years and public-sector workers 5.6 years.
Which industry has the lowest employee retention?
Leisure and hospitality. Its median tenure was 2.4 years in January 2026, and food services and drinking places was 2.2 years, according to BLS. By occupation, food preparation and serving workers had the shortest median tenure at 2.2 years, while management occupations had the longest at 6.1 years.
What share of employees are thinking about leaving?
Gallup reports that 53% of US employees were open to leaving their organization as of August 2026, based on its Gallup Panel surveys. Only 3 in 10 said it was a good time to find a quality job. Being open to leaving is broader than actively job hunting.
Why do employees leave their jobs?
Gallup found that in 2024, engagement and culture reasons accounted for 37% of US exits and wellbeing and work-life balance for 31%, while pay and benefits was the most common single reason at 16%. In Pew's 2022 survey, low pay and no advancement were each cited by 63% of 2021 quitters.
How many employees leave within the first year?
BLS does not track first-year attrition directly, but in January 2026, 20.6% of wage and salary workers had been with their employer 12 months or less, down from 22.2% in January 2024. That share was 74.1% for workers ages 16 to 19 and 9.2% for ages 55 to 64.
How many jobs does the average person hold?
People born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs from ages 18 to 58, according to the BLS National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 release of August 26, 2025. They held 5.6 jobs at ages 18 to 24 and 2.2 jobs at ages 45 to 54.