Employee turnover statistics for 2026, by industry, role, and tenure. Sourced from BLS, SHRM, LinkedIn, and Work Institute. With cost data and 2026 trends.
Turnover statistics give HR leaders the context to interpret their own numbers. A 18% turnover rate is high in tech; reasonable in retail; alarming in healthcare. This guide compiles the most-cited turnover statistics for 2026 from BLS, SHRM, LinkedIn, Work Institute, and other primary sources.
Each statistic includes source, year, and one-line context. Use them in business cases, internal presentations, and benchmark conversations — with attribution.
U.S. total turnover rate (annualized): ~47%. (BLS JOLTS, 2024) — Includes voluntary and involuntary.
U.S. voluntary turnover (quits rate): ~25–28%. (BLS, 2024) — The portion driven by employee decision.
Turnover rates vary 5x across industries. (BLS) — From low single-digits in some federal roles to 70%+ in hospitality.
2024–2025 saw turnover rates moderate from 2022 peaks. (BLS) — Post-Great-Resignation cooling.
Hospitality and food service: 70–90% annual turnover. (BLS, 2024) — The category baseline.
Retail: 50–60% annual turnover. (BLS) — Frontline retail historically high.
Healthcare: 20–25% overall, but 35%+ for nurses. (BLS, AONL) — Specialty roles drive higher rates.
Manufacturing: 30–40% annual turnover. (BLS) — Frontline-heavy and labor-market sensitive.
Technology: 13–18% voluntary turnover. (LinkedIn, 2024) — Lower than headlines suggest in 2024–2025.
Financial services: 15–18% voluntary turnover. (LinkedIn) — Regulated and relationship-heavy.
Professional services / consulting: 18–22%. (LinkedIn) — Up-or-out cultures push the rate.
Government: 5–10% voluntary turnover. (BLS) — The lowest broad category.
First-year turnover averages 25–35% across industries. (Work Institute) — Onboarding gap is real.
30% of new hires leave within 6 months. (Work Institute) — Early-tenure attrition is the largest single chunk.
Turnover risk peaks at 6–12 months and again at 3 years. (Multiple sources) — Two distinct attrition windows.
Tenure under 2 years accounts for 50%+ of all voluntary turnover. (LinkedIn) — Early-tenure investment matters most.
Career growth opportunity is the #1 reason employees leave. (Work Institute, 2024) — Above compensation in most years.
Compensation is the #2 reason. (Work Institute) — Important but less than commonly assumed.
Work-life balance is the #3 reason. (Work Institute) — Rising in importance post-2020.
Manager-related reasons account for 50%+ of voluntary turnover. (Gallup framing) — When you ask sideways, manager surfaces.
77% of voluntary turnover is preventable. (Work Institute) — Most departures are not inevitable.
Replacing an employee costs 50–200% of annual salary. (SHRM, multiple sources) — The most-cited turnover cost range.
Senior role replacement can cost 200–400% of annual salary. (Center for American Progress) — Specialty and seniority amplify cost.
Total cost of voluntary turnover in the US: $1+ trillion annually. (Gallup estimate) — Macro cost.
Hidden indirect costs (lost productivity, knowledge loss) are 60–80% of total turnover cost. (Multiple sources) — The portion most companies under-count.
Sales roles: 25–30% annual turnover. (LinkedIn) — Higher than average due to performance dynamics.
Customer service: 30–40% annual turnover. (BLS) — Frontline and emotional-labor heavy.
Software engineers: 13–18% voluntary turnover. (LinkedIn, 2024) — Below the high estimates of 2021.
Nurses: 18–35% annual turnover, with significant variation by setting. (AONL) — Critical-care nursing higher.
Frontline managers: 20–30% turnover. (Gallup) — Higher than employees overall in many industries.
Disengaged employees are 2.5x more likely to leave within 12 months. (Gallup) — Engagement is a leading indicator of turnover.
High-engagement organizations have 18% lower turnover. (Gallup meta-analysis) — Engagement-to-retention quantification.
Predictive attrition models can identify 70%+ of leavers 3–6 months ahead. (Various people-analytics platforms) — AI-driven detection effectiveness.
Gen Z workers report the highest turnover rates of any generation. (BLS, LinkedIn) — Job-hopping pattern continues.
Millennials average 3-year tenure per role. (LinkedIn) — Below older generations at same career stage.
Working parents face higher turnover risk during the 0–6 month parental return period. (Multiple HR research) — A specific intervention window.
Women turnover rates rose disproportionately during the pandemic and have not fully recovered to pre-2020 patterns. (BLS) — Compositional shift.
Hybrid arrangements correlate with 35% lower turnover than fully in-office. (Various 2023–2024 studies) — Flexibility-retention link.
Forced return-to-office mandates correlate with 8–15% turnover spikes within 6 months. (Various 2023–2024 studies) — RTO retention cost.
Remote workers' turnover rates are similar to in-office when manager quality is high. (Microsoft Work Trend Index) — Manager mediates the remote effect.
AI displacement-driven turnover is rising in white-collar roles. (Various analyst estimates) — A new category of attrition driver.
Skills-based career paths reduce turnover by 15–25%. (LinkedIn Learning) — Visible growth path retains.
Internal mobility programs reduce voluntary turnover by 30–40%. (LinkedIn) — Move-within-company as alternative to exit.
Predictive attrition analytics adoption is growing 35% year over year. (Gartner) — Tooling adoption pace.
Companies with strong continuous listening have 12–18% lower turnover. (Multiple sources) — Listening + acting correlation.
What is a normal turnover rate? Highly industry-dependent. The U.S. all-industry average is around 47% (annualized, including voluntary and involuntary). Tech runs 13–18% voluntary; retail and hospitality 50–90%; healthcare 20–35%.
How do I calculate my company's voluntary turnover rate? Divide the number of voluntary departures in a period by the average headcount over that period. Annualize if comparing to industry averages.
What is a "good" voluntary turnover rate? Healthy voluntary turnover sits in the 8–15% range for most knowledge-work organizations. Below 5% may signal stagnation; above 20% signals systemic issues.
Is voluntary turnover always bad? No. Some voluntary turnover is healthy (underperformers leaving, role transitions). The goal is to retain high performers and engaged employees, not to eliminate all turnover.
Where can I get my industry-specific turnover benchmarks? BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for U.S. industry data. SHRM, LinkedIn, and Mercer publish industry-specific reports. Internal benchmarking against companies of similar size and stage is also valuable.
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