Recognizing Trends and Statistics in Employee Turnover for 2024

 Overall figures on employee turnover

Here are some recent trends to help you get an idea, while we have more detailed statistics in the areas below that offer a more nuanced look at certain issues, sectors, and team members:

• According to BLS data, the average annual separation rate (voluntary and involuntary departing) decreased little from 3.9% in 2022 to 3.6% in 2023.
• About two thirds of all separations are the result of someone resigning.
• In the US, job vacancies peaked in 2022 and subsequently somewhat declined, which may have an effect on attrition and turnover rates.
• Hiring is exceeding total separations by a small margin.
• Replacing someone now costs more and takes an average of 44 days longer.
• In every industry, the average turnover rate is less than 20%, while the average rate of voluntary attrition is roughly 13%.
• Presently, high achievers represent a high-risk group; on average, 47% of them will leave their organizations by 2022.
• Average employees are 400% less productive than high performers.
• 38% of workers leave their jobs during the first year, and 40% of those individuals leave within 90 days.

The size, sector, and workforce of your company will all affect the typical turnover rate. We'll take a closer look at that shortly. For the time being, it's critical to take into account how these figures indicate problems with employee morale that go far beyond typical pay or professional advancement.

If companies don't make the necessary investments in their teams, individuals, managers, and culture, employee turnover figures could create a very dire picture.

The distribution of separations and turnover rates in 2023 is displayed in the following pie chart:

1. Separations that are voluntary (about two thirds of all separations)
2. One-third of all separations are involuntary.
3.High performers leaving (47%).
4. Employees leaving within the first year (38%)
5. Employees leaving within 90 days (15.2% of the first-year leavers, i.e., 38% of 40%)

Here is the pie chart showing the distribution of separations and turnover rates in 2023:

1. Voluntary Separations : 2.4%
2. Involuntary Separations : 1.2%
3. High Performers Leaving : 47%
4. Leaving Within 1 Year : 38%
5. Leaving Within 90 Days : 15.2%

The important components of employee turnover and separations are visually represented in this graphic, which also emphasizes the high risk of losing strong performers and the considerable impact of voluntary separations.

Effects of age group and other factors

Employee characteristics and demographics also have an impact on employee turnover rates. These comparisons are rarely made extensively in studies, and the context can be challenging.

In order to create the best understanding possible, tenure will be used in this section as a slightly different statistic. How long team members are anticipated to remain with their current company in terms of pay and remuneration is known as employee tenure. This study makes an effort to maintain consistency in tenure while accounting for variables such as the age distribution of coworkers, layoffs, and other personal characteristics.

These are the findings:

• For men, the median length of employment is 4.3 years.
• 28% of men have worked for their present employer for ten years or longer.
• For women, the median length of employment is 3.8 years.
• Currently, 26% of women have worked for ten years or more.
• The average tenure of public sector workers is 6.8 years.
• The average tenure of employees in the private sector, who are often younger, is 3..7 years.
• As employees age, their tenure tends to increase.
• Manufacturing employees have some of the longest tenures in the private sector (5.2 years), whilst hospitality employees have some of the shortest (2 years).
• At 6.2 years, professional managers often have some of the longest tenures among occupation levels.

Read more : BLS Data

In addition to being older, white employees have the longest tenure (28%), with the majority being white. Approximately 23% of white workers are older than 55. Tenure rates across ethnic demographic groups are rather consistent when team member age is taken into account.

Lack of opportunities for professional growth

According to a survey conducted in 2022, 33% of those who resigned their professions cited a lack of career advancement as their main reason. Thirty percent more of those quitting their jobs claimed that opportunity was a small factor in their decision.

People are looking for opportunities to succeed, grow, and expand. How do you expect your staff to feel about themselves at work when it seems like work and tasks are stagnant?

Encouraging individuals to seek and apply for internal opportunities is one of the best ways to keep them around and help them improve. It feels like you're already telling them "no" and that they aren't qualified for the position if your team members notice an internal position that they desire and you don't ask them to apply or don't assist them in doing so.

Issues of Work-life balance

People's decisions to stay or leave an organization are largely influenced by their work-life balance. I just wrote about the subject in-depth on my blog, but the following are some important conclusions : 

• Companies with a good work-life balance see 25% lower employee turnover.
• 95% of HR specialists attributed job burnout as the reason for the departure of talented workers.
• Globally, 60% of workers say they have a good work-life balance.
• 33% of workers who have a good work-life balance intend to continue in their current positions.
• Positive work-life balance, according to 57% to 61% of respondents, will make them decline a job offer.
• If their jobs hindered them from enjoying life, 48% of respondents would quit.
• 67% of respondents claim that after starting to work remotely, their work-life balance improved.

Leadership and management impact

It's possible that you have heard some variation of the proverb, "People quit bad managers, not jobs."

The saying appears to endure because it is mostly true. According to a recent survey, 57% of workers have quit their jobs due to their managers or other leaders. Although the causes can differ, many of them come down to :

• Managers who are harsh, impolite, or disparaging.
• There are managers who do not adhere to the same policies, particularly when it comes to sick leave and PTO policies.
• A failure to acknowledge and support someone's efforts.
• Ineffective or unpleasant dialogue.
• Micromanagement.

According to a data gathering by Forbes, those who don't feel encouraged are three times more likely to look for work elsewhere. Not only that, but unappreciated workers are twice as likely to leave. Your unfavorable staff turnover trends can be the result of your managers and leaders.

References : 

1. Whiting, G. (n.d.). Available at: https://hubstaff.com/blog/employee-turnover-statistics/.‌