Research Summary. After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:
Food services and drinking places have the highest turnover rates, with workers staying on average only 1.8 years
Food prep and serving related jobs (only 1.9 years)
Employees in the utilities industry (7.4 years) experience the longest tenure in the private sector
Workers in the public sector tend to stay at their jobs much longer (7.7 years) than the average private sector employee (3.7 years)
By occupation, management positions have the longest tenure (6.3 years)
Industries With The Highest Turnover Rates
PSA to all the graduating seniors who are freaking out about taking the perfect job right out of school:
This first job you have, probably won’t be the last job either. At least that’s what the stats say.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.2 years as of January 2016. That’s the lowest since the stat was 4.1 in January of 2008.
These are the 10 industries with the lowest median years of tenure (employees in these industries stay at their jobs the shortest length of time):
10 Industries With Highest Turnover
Food services and drinking places – 1.8 years
Motion pictures and sound recording industries – 2.4
Social assistance – 2.6
Administrative and support services – 2.6
Rental and leasing services – 3.4
Health services except hospitals – 3.4
Repair and maintenance – 3.5
Radio and television broadcasting and cable subscriptions – 3.6
Construction – 4
Beverage and tobacco products – 4.3
As you can see, there are plenty of job fields where the turnover rate is high.
Methodology
Using the Employee Tenure Survey, a bi-annual study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which focuses on how long workers have been at their current jobs, we looked at the industries with the lowest median years of tenure – those industries where people stay at their jobs the shortest amount of time.
Our barometer we focused on were those industries with a median tenure of five years or less.
Food services and drinking places
In 2016, full-service restaurants employed the second-most workers of any industry in the United States, just behind elementary and secondary schools.
With nearly 11.9 million employees as of last month, food services and drinking establishments continue to be one of the most popular industries. With another 1.2 million people expected to join the industry by 2026, employees can expect to keep on changing in and out of restaurants.
As many establishments in the industry do not require a college degree to work there – restaurants make for great summer jobs for teenagers and college students.
Motion pictures and sound recording industries
This industry has been on quite the roll lately, having recently experienced its largest employment count since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping this data in 1990.
Over 442,000 people worked in the industry at its height in October of 2016. While that number has tapered off some, the industry still employed just over 400,000 workers as of last month.
With a median years of tenure of just below two and half, one reason this industry can fluctuate so dramatically is that many projects within it (films, shows, etc.) are all time-sensitive and time-limited. Actors, animators, or editors may only work on a project for six months and then it’s on to the next one.
Social assistance
Social workers and personal care aides fall under the social assistance industry umbrella. This group of workers has also continued to steadily grow over the years, with 3.8 million employees in the industry as of last month.
However, this job field also experiences a lot of turnover given the responsibilities of the positions. Working with underprivileged youth, families, and other difficult circ*mstances give the industry the third-lowest tenure mark.
How useful was this post?
Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating / 5. Vote count:
No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Author
McLeod Brown
McLeod Brown is a former writer and researcher for the Zippia Career Advice blog. His work at Zippia focused on understanding the relationship between colleges, debt, and jobs. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a BA in Business Administrator, he is now pursuing a masters of science in analytics from the Institute of Advanced Analytics.
FAQs
The industry with the highest attrition rate varies, but traditionally, sectors like hospitality and retail tend to experience higher turnover due to factors like seasonal work and part-time employment. However, specific rates can vary by region and time.
What industries have the highest turnover rate? ›
The industry with the highest attrition rate varies, but traditionally, sectors like hospitality and retail tend to experience higher turnover due to factors like seasonal work and part-time employment. However, specific rates can vary by region and time.
What career has the highest turnover rate? ›
12 examples of high turnover jobs
- Waiter. ...
- Retail sales associate. ...
- Technical support specialist. ...
- Customer service representative. ...
- HR specialist. ...
- Accountant. ...
- Nurse. ...
- Software developer.
High turnover is a sign that something has gone wrong within a company's culture. It's typically an indicator of a larger problem, whether it be employee burnout, a lack of competitive compensation, disorganized leadership or other issues affecting employees' day-to-day experience at work.
What are high turnover businesses? ›
A high turnover rate means that many of your employees – more than what's expected in your line of business – have quit the organization over a certain period of time. What's considered a high turnover rate depends on the industry you're in. Different industries and countries have different expected turnover rates.
What company has the highest retention rate? ›
Employees at HSBC Bank and Neutrogena stay with their companies for 10.2 years, putting these two companies at the top of the list. Both companies have been around for over 100 years. Here are the top 10 companies employees do not want to leave, according to Resume.io.
What is Amazon's employee turnover rate? ›
Before the pandemic, Amazon was losing about 3% of its workforce weekly, or 150% annually. By contrast the annual average turnover in transportation, warehousing and utilities was 49% in 2021 and in retail it was 64.6%, less than half of Amazon's turnover.
What industry has the lowest turnover rate? ›
Government jobs typically have the lowest employee turnover rates across all industries. Industries among the lowest turnover rates as of April 2023 include: Federal government: 0.6%
What is Apple's employee turnover rate? ›
By her own admission, Apple has an employee attrition rate of 19%, which, while low, is something the company wants to improve upon. And Ahrendts and Apple CEO Tim Cook told Fortune last year that they both would like to attack diversity issues in technology.
Which company has lowest attrition rate? ›
Additionally, attrition rates can vary over time, and different sources may report different rates based on their methodology and data sources. However, some IT companies in India that are known for having lower attrition rates include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, and Wipro.
What emerges is a troubling picture of Amazon's business model—one in which the company views its workers as disposable and designs its operations to foster high turnover. Workers who can't keep up with extreme productivity goals are fired or encouraged to quit. replenish its workforce with fresh bodies.
What are the two major influences on high employee turnover? ›
Step 2: Address the Root Causes of High Turnover Rates
- Workload management: Ensuring that employees have manageable workloads that do not lead to overwork and burnout.
- Organizational culture changes: Creating a positive work environment that supports employee well-being, collaboration, and work-life balance.
Several factors can cause high turnover rates, including employees feeling overworked, companies failing to offer adequate professional advancement opportunities and businesses offering insufficient pay or benefits to employees.
What is the average turnover rate in the US? ›
The average turnover rate among US businesses between 2022 and 2023 was 17.3%, which is down from 24.7% reported in the 2022 survey. The average rate of voluntary turnover due to employee resignation (17.3%) was much higher than the rate of involuntary turnover (4.8%), where the company terminated the employee.
What is the root cause of employee turnover? ›
Reasons behind employee turnover include lack of growth and progression, inadequate compensation, and inefficient management. Understanding the causes of high staff turnover can help managers know how it affects the company.
What is a healthy turnover rate? ›
For Starters, There's No Magic Number When It Comes to Employee Turnover. According to Gallup, 10% turnover is healthy, but every industry and every organization is different.
What is a 100% turnover rate? ›
To get the percentage of turnover, you take the number of people who left your company during a period divided by the average headcount for that same period and multiply it by 100. It is possible for your turnover rate to be more than 100%. This means that you replaced your entire workforce during that time period.
Why do some jobs have high turnover? ›
Several factors can cause high turnover rates, including employees feeling overworked, companies failing to offer adequate professional advancement opportunities and businesses offering insufficient pay or benefits to employees.
Can you have turnover over 100%? ›
In a more natural case, you very well could have more than 100% turnover. If you have high turnover, then you could be hiring more people with continuous quitting and more hiring, etc. At the end the year you have about the same number of employees but you had many more start, work for a while, and then leave.
