For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, September 22, 2022 USDL-22-1894

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2022

The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.1 

years in January 2022, unchanged from the median in January 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office sponsored the January 2022 survey to collect 

information on employee tenure. Since 1996, these surveys have been conducted biennially in January 

as a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly sample survey of about 

60,000 households that provides information on the labor force status of the civilian noninstitutional 

population age 16 and over. The questions about employee tenure measure how long workers had been 

with their current employer at the time of the survey. A number of factors can affect median tenure of 

workers, including changes in the age profile among workers, as well as changes in the number of hires 

and separations. For further information about the CPS, see the Technical Note in this news release.

Demographic Characteristics

In January 2022, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure and 

half had less tenure) for men held at 4.3 years. For women, median tenure was 3.8 years in January 

2022, little changed from the median of 3.9 years in January 2020. Among men, 28 percent of wage and 

salary workers had 10 years or more of tenure with their current employer in January 2022, higher than 

the figure for women (26 percent). (See tables 1 and 3.)

Median employee tenure was generally higher among older workers than younger ones. For example, 

the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 (9.8 years) was more than three times that of workers ages 

25 to 34 years (2.8 years). Also, a larger proportion of older workers than younger workers had 10 years 

or more of tenure. For example, among workers ages 60 to 64, 53 percent had been employed for at least 

10 years with their current employer in January 2022, compared with 9 percent of those ages 30 to 34. 

(See tables 1 and 2.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 28 percent of Whites had been with their current employer 

for 10 years or more in January 2022, compared with 24 percent of Blacks, 22 percent of Asians, and 21 

percent of Hispanics. (See table 3.) The higher share of long-tenured workers among Whites may be 

due, in part, because they tend to be older. Among White wage and salary workers, 23 percent were age 

55 and over. By comparison, the proportions for Blacks (20 percent), Asians (17 percent), and Hispanics 

(15 percent) were smaller.
-2-

In January 2022, the share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their current 

employer was 24 percent, higher than the proportion in January 2020 (22 percent). This short-tenured 

group includes new hires, job losers who found new jobs during the previous year, and workers who had 

voluntarily changed employers during the year. Younger workers were more likely than older workers to 

be short-tenured employees. For example, in January 2022, about 79 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds had 

tenure of 12 months or less with their current employer, compared with about 12 percent of workers 

ages 55 to 64. (See table 3.)

Among workers age 25 and over, men and women with less than a high school diploma had lower 

median tenure in January 2022 than those with more education. The median tenure for men and women 

with less than a high school diploma was 4.5 years and 4.3 years, respectively. Male and female college 

graduates had median tenure of 5.1 years and 4.9 years, respectively. (See table 4.)

Industry

In January 2022, wage and salary workers in the public sector had a median tenure of 6.8 years, higher 

than the median of 3.7 years for private-sector employees. One factor behind this difference is age. 

About 3 in 4 government workers were age 35 and over, compared with about 3 in 5 private wage and 

salary workers. Federal government employees had a higher median tenure (7.5 years) than state (6.3

years) or local government (6.9 years) employees. (See table 5.)

Among the major private industries, workers in manufacturing had the highest tenure, at 5.2 years in 

January 2022. By contrast, workers in leisure and hospitality had the lowest median tenure (2.0 years). 

These differences in tenure reflect many factors, one of which is varying age distributions across the 

industries; workers in manufacturing tend to be older than those in leisure and hospitality.

Occupation

Among the major occupations, workers in management, professional, and related occupations had the 

highest median tenure (5.0 years) in January 2022. Within this group, employees with jobs in 

management occupations (6.2 years), educational, training, and library occupations (5.5 years), 

architecture and engineering occupations (5.2 years), and legal occupations (4.7 years) had the longest 

tenure. Workers in service occupations, who are generally younger than persons employed in 

management, professional, and related occupations, had the lowest median tenure (2.8 years). Among 

employees working in service occupations, food service workers had the lowest median tenure, at 1.6

years. (See table 6.)
Technical Note

The data in this release were collected 

through a supplement to the January 2022 Current 

Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is 

conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of about 

60,000 eligible households that provides information 

on the labor force status, demographics, and other 

characteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional 

population age 16 and over.

The January 2022 CPS supplement, which 

was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, 

obtained information on worker displacement and 

workers' tenure with their current employer. The data 

on worker displacement are online at 

www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#displaced. 

Updated population controls for the CPS are 

introduced annually with the release of the January 

data. Additional information about population controls 

is available on the BLS website at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 

telecommunications relay services.

Reliability of the estimates

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both 

sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample,

rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is 

a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the 

true population values they represent. The component 

of this difference that occurs because samples differ by 

chance is known as sampling error, and its variability 

is measured by the standard error of the estimate. 

There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of

confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will 

differ by no more than 1.6 standard errorsfrom the true 

population value because of sampling error. BLS 

analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent 

level of confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by 

nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for 

many reasons, including the failure to sample a 

segment of the population, inability to obtain

information for all respondents in the sample, inability 

or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct 

information, and errors made in the collection or 

processing of the data.

Information about the reliability of data from 

the CPS and guidance on estimating standard errors is 

available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Concepts and questions

Employee tenure is a measure of how long 

wage and salary workers had been with their current 

employer at the time of the survey. Many of the 

estimates shown in this report are medians; the median 

is the point at which half of all workers had more 

tenure and half had less tenure. Data refer to the sole 

or principal job of full- and part-time workers.

Wage and salary workers receive wages, 

salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece

rates. The group includes employees in both the 

private and public sectors but excludes all selfemployed persons, both those with incorporated 

businesses as well as those with unincorporated

businesses.

In the CPS supplement, questions on tenure 

were asked of all employed persons. The main 

question was: "How long has ... been working 

continuously for (fill in name of present employer)?"

_____ Days

_____ Weeks

_____ Months

_____ Years

For responses of "1 year" or "2 years," a 

follow-up question was asked: "Could you please give 

the exact number of months?"

The purpose of the follow-up question is to 

obtain more precise information on workers who had 

been with their current employer for a relatively short 

time. This follow-up question was included for the 

first time in the February 1996 CPS supplement on 

worker displacement and tenure. CPS supplements 

that obtained information on tenure in January of 

1983, 1987, and 1991 did not include the follow-up

question. In those surveys, responses of 1 year or more 

could be coded only as the nearest full year, and 

responses of less than a year were coded as the nearest 

full month. Currently, the 2-year category includes 24 

to 29 months, and the 3-year category includes 2.5 to 

3.5 years.

Prior to January 1983, CPS supplements on 

tenure asked wage and salary workers, "When did ... 

start working at (his/her) present job?" For wage and 

salary workers, the meaning of the term "job" is 

ambiguous. For example, a worker who had been 

employed at a particular company for 10 years and had 

been promoted to a managerial position 1 year prior to 

the survey may have been counted as having 10 years 

or 1 year of tenure, depending on whether the

respondent interpreted the question to mean tenure 

with the current employer or tenure in the managerial 

position. To rectify this ambiguity, the wording of the 

question was changed in January 1983 to specify the 

length of time a worker had been with his or her 
current employer. The change resulted in a break in 

historical comparability.

Interpreting tenure data

Data on tenure have been used as a gauge of 

employment security, with some observers regarding 

increases in tenure as a sign of improving security and 

decreasing tenure as a sign of deteriorating security. 

However, there are limitations to using the data in this 

way. For example, during recessions or other periods 

of declining job security, median tenure and the 

proportion of workers with long tenure could rise if 

less-senior workers are more likely to lose their jobs 

than are workers with longer tenure.

During periods of economic growth, median 

tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure 

could fall if more job opportunities are available for 

new entrants to the workforce and experienced 

workers have more opportunities to change employers 

and take better jobs. Tenure also could rise under 

improving economic conditions, however, as fewer 

layoffs occur and good job matches develop between 

workers and employers.

A changing age distribution among workers 

would also affect median tenure. Since older workers 

are more likely to have long tenure with their current 

employer than younger workers, aging baby boomers 

in the workforce would provide upward pressure on 

overall median tenure.
Table 1. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by age and sex,

selected years, 2012-2022

Age and sex January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

January

2022

Total

16 years and over 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1

16 to 17 years 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

18 to 19 years 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7

20 to 24 years 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.2

25 years and over 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.9

25 to 34 years 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8

35 to 44 years 5.3 5.2 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.7

45 to 54 years 7.8 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.5 6.9

55 to 64 years 10.3 10.4 10.1 10.1 9.9 9.8

65 years and over 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.3 9.9

Men

16 years and over 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3

16 to 17 years 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.7

18 to 19 years 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7

20 to 24 years 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3

25 years and over 5.5 5.5 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1

25 to 34 years 3.2 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9

35 to 44 years 5.4 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.0

45 to 54 years 8.5 8.2 8.4 8.1 8.2 7.5

55 to 64 years 10.7 10.7 10.2 10.2 10.0 10.0

65 years and over 10.2 10.0 10.2 10.2 10.3 9.7

Women

16 years and over 4.6 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.8

16 to 17 years 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6

18 to 19 years 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

20 to 24 years 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1

25 years and over 5.4 5.4 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.7

25 to 34 years 3.1 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7

35 to 44 years 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.5

45 to 54 years 7.3 7.6 7.5 7.1 6.8 6.3

55 to 64 years 10.0 10.2 10.0 10.1 9.8 9.5

65 years and over 10.5 10.5 10.4 10.1 10.4 10.0

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not

meet publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 75,000).
Table 2. Percent of employed wage and salary workers 25 years and over who had 10 years or more of tenure with their

current employer by age and sex, selected years, 2012-2022

Age and sex January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

January

2022

Total

25 years and over 33.7 33.3 33.2 33.2 32.2 31.0

25 to 29 years 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.1 1.6 1.7

30 to 34 years 12.5 12.3 12.5 12.1 9.9 9.4

35 to 39 years 25.2 24.4 24.4 25.7 24.7 21.0

40 to 44 years 35.1 33.1 34.3 34.4 33.8 32.4

45 to 49 years 41.6 41.6 41.8 42.8 42.3 39.0

50 to 54 years 48.4 48.1 48.0 47.1 47.3 46.0

55 to 59 years 54.1 53.3 53.0 52.5 51.0 50.2

60 to 64 years 55.1 58.0 54.7 56.5 54.0 53.3

65 years and over 55.5 55.0 55.3 54.4 55.4 52.4

Men

25 years and over 34.6 34.0 33.8 33.8 33.1 32.2

25 to 29 years 2.6 2.9 3.4 2.4 2.0 2.4

30 to 34 years 13.2 13.3 13.2 13.0 10.7 10.1

35 to 39 years 25.7 25.9 25.1 26.5 26.1 23.1

40 to 44 years 36.9 34.5 34.8 36.9 36.0 34.3

45 to 49 years 44.8 43.8 44.4 45.1 44.7 41.8

50 to 54 years 51.4 49.9 50.4 48.7 48.9 47.3

55 to 59 years 55.7 53.8 53.4 53.2 51.2 52.5

60 to 64 years 56.2 59.1 55.5 54.7 55.4 53.2

65 years and over 55.5 53.1 54.6 55.4 54.7 51.5

Women

25 years and over 32.8 32.6 32.6 32.5 31.2 29.6

25 to 29 years 2.3 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.3 1.1

30 to 34 years 11.8 11.1 11.7 11.0 8.9 8.5

35 to 39 years 24.7 22.7 23.7 24.8 23.1 18.7

40 to 44 years 33.2 31.5 33.8 31.7 31.6 30.4

45 to 49 years 38.3 39.4 39.1 40.4 39.8 36.1

50 to 54 years 45.5 46.3 45.6 45.5 45.7 44.5

55 to 59 years 52.6 52.8 52.6 51.7 50.8 47.7

60 to 64 years 54.0 56.9 53.9 58.2 52.6 53.5

65 years and over 55.6 56.9 55.9 53.4 56.2 53.4

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet

publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 75,000).
Table 3. Distribution of employed wage and salary workers by tenure with current employer, age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino

ethnicity, January 2022

Age, sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Number employed

(in thousands)

Percent distribution by tenure with current employer

Total

12

months

or less

13 to 23

months 2 years 3 to 4years

5 to 9

years

10 to 14

years

15 to 19

years

20 years

or more

Total

16 years and over 139,890 100.0 24.3 5.7 5.2 17.9 19.9 9.7 6.4 10.8

16 to 19 years 4,983 100.0 78.5 8.8 6.0 6.4 0.3 - - -

20 years and over 134,907 100.0 22.3 5.6 5.1 18.4 20.6 10.1 6.7 11.2

20 to 24 years 12,934 100.0 54.2 12.4 9.9 19.1 4.3 - - -

25 to 34 years 32,546 100.0 30.6 7.6 7.2 25.9 23.2 5.0 0.6 -

35 to 44 years 30,927 100.0 19.2 5.3 4.7 18.8 25.4 14.0 9.2 3.4

45 to 54 years 27,665 100.0 12.9 4.0 3.9 15.4 21.2 13.2 10.4 18.9

55 to 64 years 23,090 100.0 11.6 2.5 2.5 12.6 19.3 12.6 10.1 28.9

65 years and over 7,745 100.0 11.2 2.2 3.0 11.7 19.5 13.9 9.9 28.5

Men

16 years and over 72,383 100.0 22.9 5.5 5.1 18.1 20.1 10.3 6.6 11.4

16 to 19 years 2,416 100.0 78.4 8.2 6.1 6.6 0.5 - - -

20 years and over 69,967 100.0 21.0 5.4 5.0 18.5 20.8 10.7 6.8 11.8

20 to 24 years 6,477 100.0 51.9 11.7 10.2 21.1 5.1 0.1 - -

25 to 34 years 16,999 100.0 28.9 7.5 7.3 25.6 24.3 5.7 0.6 -

35 to 44 years 16,300 100.0 17.7 5.1 4.5 18.8 25.4 14.8 9.8 3.9

45 to 54 years 14,209 100.0 12.0 3.8 3.7 14.9 21.0 13.3 11.0 20.3

55 to 64 years 11,864 100.0 11.3 2.6 2.1 12.6 18.7 13.7 9.0 30.2

65 years and over 4,117 100.0 11.4 1.9 2.9 13.5 18.8 14.1 9.9 27.5

Women

16 years and over 67,507 100.0 25.7 6.0 5.3 17.7 19.6 9.1 6.3 10.3

16 to 19 years 2,567 100.0 78.6 9.4 5.8 6.1 0.1 - - -

20 years and over 64,940 100.0 23.7 5.9 5.3 18.2 20.3 9.4 6.6 10.7

20 to 24 years 6,457 100.0 56.6 13.1 9.6 17.2 3.5 - - -

25 to 34 years 15,546 100.0 32.5 7.7 7.1 26.1 21.9 4.3 0.5 -

35 to 44 years 14,627 100.0 20.9 5.6 4.9 18.8 25.3 13.1 8.5 2.8

45 to 54 years 13,456 100.0 13.9 4.3 4.1 15.9 21.5 13.1 9.8 17.5

55 to 64 years 11,226 100.0 11.9 2.4 2.9 12.7 20.0 11.4 11.4 27.4

65 years and over 3,628 100.0 11.0 2.7 3.1 9.6 20.2 13.7 10.0 29.7

White

16 years and over 107,284 100.0 23.4 5.8 5.1 17.5 19.9 9.9 6.7 11.6

Men 56,560 100.0 22.0 5.7 4.9 17.5 20.2 10.6 6.9 12.2

Women 50,724 100.0 24.9 6.0 5.3 17.6 19.6 9.2 6.5 11.0

Black or African American

16 years and over 17,214 100.0 28.6 5.0 5.0 18.8 18.7 9.0 5.8 9.1

Men 8,048 100.0 28.7 4.5 5.4 19.3 18.2 8.8 5.5 9.6

Women 9,166 100.0 28.5 5.3 4.7 18.3 19.1 9.2 6.1 8.7

Asian

16 years and over 9,889 100.0 22.5 5.9 5.9 21.3 22.1 10.0 4.9 7.5

Men 5,053 100.0 19.9 5.6 6.0 23.2 23.5 10.1 4.4 7.3

Women 4,835 100.0 25.1 6.2 5.7 19.4 20.6 9.9 5.4 7.7

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

16 years and over 26,167 100.0 27.5 5.4 6.5 19.1 20.7 8.7 5.0 7.1

Men 14,596 100.0 25.5 4.9 6.3 19.0 21.5 10.2 5.2 7.4

Women 11,572 100.0 29.9 6.0 6.8 19.3 19.7 6.9 4.7 6.8

NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons

whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Updated population

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown where

base is less than 75,000).
Table 4. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers 25 years and over by

educational attainment, sex, and age, January 2022

Educational attainment and sex

25 years and over

Total 25 to 34

years

35 to 44

years

45 to 54

years

55 to 64

years

65 years and

over

Total 4.9 2.8 4.7 6.9 9.8 9.9

Less than a high school diploma 4.5 2.7 3.9 4.9 5.8 7.5

High school graduates, no college 4.9 2.9 4.5 6.3 9.2 10.2

Some college, no degree 4.8 2.8 4.3 7.9 8.7 8.5

Associate degree 4.9 3.0 4.4 6.4 10.4 9.7

College graduates 5.0 2.8 5.1 7.6 10.4 10.3

Bachelor's degree only 4.9 2.8 5.1 7.4 10.1 9.4

Master's degree 5.2 2.8 5.1 7.6 10.3 10.3

Doctoral or professional degree 5.5 2.0 4.8 9.2 14.5 19.6

Men 5.1 2.9 5.0 7.5 10.0 9.7

Less than a high school diploma 4.5 2.7 4.1 5.1 6.3 7.4

High school graduates, no college 5.1 3.1 4.8 7.2 9.8 10.4

Some college, no degree 5.0 3.1 4.8 9.0 9.0 8.9

Associate degree 5.2 3.1 4.8 7.6 10.7 9.5

College graduates 5.1 2.7 5.3 7.9 10.4 9.8

Bachelor's degree only 5.0 2.9 5.4 8.0 10.1 7.8

Master's degree 5.1 2.7 5.0 7.2 10.2 10.1

Doctoral or professional degree 6.3 1.9 5.2 10.0 14.1 18.9

Women 4.7 2.7 4.5 6.3 9.5 10.0

Less than a high school diploma 4.3 2.5 3.6 4.6 5.5 8.5

High school graduates, no college 4.7 2.5 4.0 5.5 8.0 10.0

Some college, no degree 4.5 2.3 3.8 6.5 8.4 8.2

Associate degree 4.6 2.8 3.9 5.3 10.2 9.8

College graduates 4.9 2.8 4.9 7.5 10.5 11.7

Bachelor's degree only 4.7 2.8 4.8 7.0 10.2 11.0

Master's degree 5.3 2.9 5.2 8.0 10.4 10.5

Doctoral or professional degree 4.9 2.1 4.4 7.7 15.2 20.1

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet

publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 75,000).
Table 5. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by industry, selected years,

2012-2022

Industry January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

January

2022

Total, 16 years and over 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1

Private sector 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7

Agriculture and related industries 4.1 3.6 4.5 4.6 3.5 4.7

Nonagricultural industries 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 3.5 4.0 4.6 5.1 4.6 5.2

Construction 4.3 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.9

Manufacturing 6.0 5.9 5.3 5.0 5.1 5.2

Durable goods manufacturing 6.1 6.0 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.3

Nonmetallic mineral products 7.0 7.6 5.1 5.2 5.2 4.9

Primary metals and fabricated metal products 5.6 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.4 5.1

Machinery manufacturing 5.4 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.3 5.6

Computers and electronic products 7.7 5.1 5.3 5.8 6.1 5.4

Electrical equipment and appliances 5.9 5.8 4.7 4.5 4.5 5.2

Transportation equipment 7.1 7.1 6.1 5.7 5.5 6.3

Wood products 5.3 4.6 4.7 3.5 3.9 4.3

Furniture and related product manufacturing 6.5 5.9 4.8 4.8 5.5 3.6

Miscellaneous manufacturing 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7

Nondurable goods manufacturing 5.8 5.9 5.1 4.7 4.8 5.0

Food manufacturing 4.9 4.7 4.5 3.9 4.2 4.2

Beverages and tobacco products 6.4 4.8 4.3 4.1 3.9 4.5

Textiles, apparel, and leather 4.3 5.3 5.6 5.0 5.0 5.5

Paper and printing 9.7 9.7 5.3 5.4 5.9 5.5

Petroleum and coal products 6.4 6.1 6.6 5.0 5.7 9.8

Chemicals 6.1 7.1 5.3 4.7 5.2 5.1

Plastics and rubber products 6.1 6.5 5.3 5.0 4.5 4.7

Wholesale and retail trade 3.7 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.1

Wholesale trade 5.5 5.8 5.2 5.1 5.0 4.9

Retail trade 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.0 3.1 2.8

Transportation and utilities 5.6 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.3 3.7

Transportation and warehousing 5.3 4.7 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.4

Utilities 9.5 9.2 7.4 9.5 7.7 6.0

Information1 5.4 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.2

Publishing, except Internet 6.6 5.3 5.7 4.1 5.4 3.8

Motion pictures and sound recording industries 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.9 2.7 1.4

Radio and television broadcasting and cable

subscriptions programming 4.9 4.1 3.6 5.0 5.3 4.2

Telecommunications 7.4 7.8 6.0 5.2 6.6 7.5

Financial activities 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.5

Finance and insurance 5.0 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.8

Finance 4.7 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.8

Insurance 5.7 6.0 5.2 5.4 5.0 4.9

Real estate and rental and leasing 4.5 4.4 3.8 3.6 4.6 3.9

Real estate 4.5 4.6 3.9 3.7 4.7 3.9

Rental and leasing services 4.2 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.8 3.7

Professional and business services 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.4

Professional and technical services 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.7

Management, administrative, and waste services1 3.1 3.1 2.8 3.3 2.9 2.7

Administrative and support services 3.0 3.0 2.6 3.1 2.8 2.6

Waste management and remediation services 4.4 4.7 4.6 5.8 5.3 4.0

Education and health services 4.4 4.5 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.0

Educational services 4.3 4.8 4.0 4.2 3.9 4.1

Health care and social assistance 4.4 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.9

Hospitals 6.0 5.7 5.6 4.9 5.0 5.1

Health services, except hospitals 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4

Social assistance 3.1 3.2 2.6 3.0 2.9 3.1

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 5. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by industry, selected years,

2012-2022 -- Continued

Industry January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

January

2022

Leisure and hospitality 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.8

Accommodation and food services 2.3 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1 1.9

Accommodation 3.8 3.5 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.1

Food services and drinking places 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.0 1.7

Other services 3.8 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.1 3.9

Other services, except private households 3.8 4.2 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.0

Repair and maintenance 3.7 4.0 3.5 3.3 3.3 4.3

Personal and laundry services 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.3

Membership associations and organizations 4.3 4.9 4.9 4.5 4.8 4.7

Other services, private households 3.3 3.0 3.3 4.5 4.0 3.2

Public sector 7.8 7.8 7.7 6.8 6.5 6.8

Federal government 9.5 8.5 8.8 8.3 8.2 7.5

State government 6.4 7.4 5.8 5.9 5.6 6.3

Local government 8.1 7.9 8.3 6.9 6.6 6.9

1Includes other industries, not shown separately.

NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2020, industries reflect the introduction of the 2017 Census industry classification system into the Current

Population Survey. This industry classification system is derived from the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). No historical

data have been revised. Tenure data for 2014-2018 use the 2012 Census industry classification system, derived from the 2012 NAICS. Tenure data for

2012 use the 2007 Census industry classification system, derived from the 2007 NAICS. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the

release of January data.
Table 6. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by occupation, selected years,

2012-2022

Occupation January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

January

2022

Total, 16 years and over 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1

Management, professional, and related occupations 5.5 5.7 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0

Management, business, and financial operations occupations 5.9 6.3 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.3

Management occupations 6.3 6.9 6.3 6.4 5.8 6.2

Business and financial operations occupations 5.2 5.0 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.3

Professional and related occupations 5.4 5.3 4.9 4.7 4.6 4.7

Computer and mathematical occupations 4.8 5.0 4.4 4.3 3.9 4.2

Architecture and engineering occupations 7.0 6.4 5.5 5.7 5.1 5.2

Life, physical, and social science occupations 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.1 4.5

Community and social service occupations 5.0 5.1 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.3

Legal occupations 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.8 4.7

Education, training, and library occupations 5.9 6.2 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.5

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations 4.2 3.4 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.5

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.3 4.7 4.6

Service occupations 3.2 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.8

Healthcare support occupations 3.3 3.5 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.9

Protective service occupations 6.4 6.5 6.2 5.0 5.3 6.0

Food preparation and serving related occupations 2.3 2.2 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.6

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations 4.0 4.3 3.8 4.1 4.0 3.6

Personal care and service occupations 3.0 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.1 2.7

Sales and office occupations 4.2 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.6

Sales and related occupations 3.4 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

Office and administrative support occupations 4.8 4.6 4.0 3.8 4.1 3.7

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.2 4.1

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 3.9 3.2 4.1 4.0 3.5 4.1

Construction and extraction occupations 4.3 3.7 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.9

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.7 4.4

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.0 3.8 3.6

Production occupations 5.3 5.2 4.7 4.4 4.9 4.6

Transportation and material moving occupations 4.3 3.8 3.9 3.5 3.3 3.1

NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2020, occupations reflect the introduction of the 2018 Census occupational classification system into the Current

Population Survey. This classification system is derived from the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). No historical data have been

revised. Data for 2020 are not strictly comparable with earlier years. Tenure data for 2012-2018 use the 2010 Census occupational classification

system, derived from the 2010 SOC. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.