Average Employee Tenure in American Companies

Changes in Employee Tenure

The question has been asked, how long do American’s work for the same employer? From information gathered from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was discovered that on the average, an American stays with the employer for about 4.6 years. This article reveals who stays the longest on his job, which industry stays the longest and how this has changed over the last decade.

The Current Landscape

It has been discovered that for Americans aged 16 and above, 21% stay for 12 months or less, 6% stay for between 13 to 23 months while 5% stay for about 2 years. 17% stay for about 3 to 4 years, 22% stay for between 5 to 9 years while 12% stay for between 10 to 14 years. 6% serve for between 16 to 19 years and 11% serve for over 20 years.

Gender Tenure

It was observed that women stay more slightly longer on the job as compared to males as females are 12.7% more likely to stay as compared to men’s 12.2%. This is also as a result of the growing number of women who hold their jobs for more than 10 years.

Here is a breakdown of males and females aged 25 and above who spent more than 10 years with their employers in the past decade
• 2002 – Males. 32.6%, Females 28.8%.
• 2004 – Males 32.4%, Females 28.6%.
• 2006 – Males 31.1%, Females 28.8%.
• 2008 – Males 32.9% Females 30%.
• 2010 – Males 34.3% Females 31.9%.
• 2012 – Males 34.6%, Females 32.8%.

For aged 12 and above, here is the percentage of those who spend at least 10 years or more with their employer as at 2012.
• White – 30.5%
• Black – 26.4%
• Asian – 22.7%
• Hispanic or Latino – 20.2%

Jobs with the Longest and Shortest Tenure

With respect to food related organizations, architects and engineers have a lower staff turnover rate. Here is a comparison of how different fields fared.

Longest
– Architecture and Engineering: 7 years
– Protective Service: 6.4 years
– Management Occupation: 6.3 years
– Education, training and library: 5.9 years
– Legal occupation: 5.4 years

Shortest
– Food preparation and service: 2.3 years
– Personal care and service: 3 years
– Health care support: 3.3 years
– Sales and related occupation: 3.4 years
– Farming, fishing and forestry: 3.9 years