For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, September 22, 2020 USDL-20-1791 

Technical information: cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

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

EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2020

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

was 4.1 years in January 2020, little changed from 4.2 years in January 2018, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office sponsored the January 2020 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 2020, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure 

and half had less tenure) for men was 4.3 years, unchanged from the median in January 2018. 

For women, median tenure was 3.9 years in January 2020, little different from the median of 4.0 

years in January 2018. Among men, 29 percent of wage and salary workers had 10 years or more 

of tenure with their current employer in January 2020, higher than the figure of 27 percent for 

women. (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 (9.9 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, 54 

percent had been employed for at least 10 years with their current employer in January 2020, 

compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 34. (See tables 1 and 2.) 

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 29 percent of Whites had been with their current 

employer for 10 years or more in January 2020, compared with 22 percent of Hispanics, 23 

percent of Blacks, and 26 percent of Asians. (See table 3.) The longer tenure among Whites can 

be explained, in part, by the fact that they tend to be older. Twenty-three percent of White wage 
-2- 

and salary workers were age 55 and over; by comparison, the proportions for Blacks (19 

percent), Asians (19 percent), and Hispanics (15 percent) were smaller. 

In January 2020, the share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their 

current employer was 22 percent, unchanged from the proportion in January 2018. This shorttenured 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 2020, 75 

percent of 16- to 19-year-olds had tenure of 12 months or less with their current employer, 

compared with 10 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 2020 than those with more education. The median tenure for 

men and women with less than a high school diploma was 4.8 years and 4.1 years, respectively. 

College graduates had median tenure of 5.2 years and 4.9 years, respectively. (See table 4.)

Industry

In January 2020, wage and salary workers in the public sector had a median tenure of 6.5 years, 

nearly twice 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 employees had a higher median tenure (8.2 

years) than state (5.6 years) or local government (6.6 years) employees. (See table 5.)

Within the private sector, workers in manufacturing had the highest tenure among major 

industries at 5.1 years in January 2020. In contrast, workers in leisure and hospitality had the 

lowest median tenure (2.3 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 (4.9 years) in January 2020. Within this group, employees with 

jobs in management occupations (5.8 years), legal occupations (5.8 years), architecture and 

engineering occupations (5.1 years), and educational, training, and library occupations (5.0 

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 (2.9 years). Among employees working in service occupations, food service workers had 

the lowest median tenure at 1.9 years. (See table 6.)
Technical Note

The data in this release were collected through a 

supplement to the January 2020 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 2020 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 

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

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200, Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

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 errors from 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. 

A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS 

and information on estimating standard errors is available at 

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

Tenure 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 self-employed persons, both those with 

incorporated businesses and 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, 2010-2020

Age and sex January

2010

January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

Total

16 years and over 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1

16 to 17 years 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7

18 to 19 years 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

20 to 24 years 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3

25 years and over 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.0 4.9

25 to 34 years 3.1 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.8

35 to 44 years 5.1 5.3 5.2 4.9 4.9 4.9

45 to 54 years 7.8 7.8 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.5

55 to 64 years 10.0 10.3 10.4 10.1 10.1 9.9

65 years and over 9.9 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.3

Men

16 years and over 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.3 4.3

16 to 17 years 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.7

18 to 19 years 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8

20 to 24 years 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4

25 years and over 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.2 5.1 5.1

25 to 34 years 3.2 3.2 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9

35 to 44 years 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.1

45 to 54 years 8.5 8.5 8.2 8.4 8.1 8.2

55 to 64 years 10.4 10.7 10.7 10.2 10.2 10.0

65 years and over 9.7 10.2 10.0 10.2 10.2 10.3

Women

16 years and over 4.2 4.6 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.9

16 to 17 years 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7

18 to 19 years 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

20 to 24 years 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2

25 years and over 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.0 4.9 4.8

25 to 34 years 3.0 3.1 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.7

35 to 44 years 4.9 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.6

45 to 54 years 7.1 7.3 7.6 7.5 7.1 6.8

55 to 64 years 9.7 10.0 10.2 10.0 10.1 9.8

65 years and over 10.1 10.5 10.5 10.4 10.1 10.4

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 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, 2010-2020

Age and sex January

2010

January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

Total

25 years and over 33.1 33.7 33.3 33.2 33.2 32.2

25 to 29 years 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.1 1.6

30 to 34 years 12.8 12.5 12.3 12.5 12.1 9.9

35 to 39 years 25.7 25.2 24.4 24.4 25.7 24.7

40 to 44 years 35.3 35.1 33.1 34.3 34.4 33.8

45 to 49 years 40.8 41.6 41.6 41.8 42.8 42.3

50 to 54 years 48.9 48.4 48.1 48.0 47.1 47.3

55 to 59 years 52.4 54.1 53.3 53.0 52.5 51.0

60 to 64 years 54.5 55.1 58.0 54.7 56.5 54.0

65 years and over 53.1 55.5 55.0 55.3 54.4 55.4

Men

25 years and over 34.3 34.6 34.0 33.8 33.8 33.1

25 to 29 years 3.1 2.6 2.9 3.4 2.4 2.0

30 to 34 years 14.3 13.2 13.3 13.2 13.0 10.7

35 to 39 years 27.2 25.7 25.9 25.1 26.5 26.1

40 to 44 years 37.5 36.9 34.5 34.8 36.9 36.0

45 to 49 years 43.7 44.8 43.8 44.4 45.1 44.7

50 to 54 years 51.3 51.4 49.9 50.4 48.7 48.9

55 to 59 years 53.6 55.7 53.8 53.4 53.2 51.2

60 to 64 years 56.8 56.2 59.1 55.5 54.7 55.4

65 years and over 51.9 55.5 53.1 54.6 55.4 54.7

Women

25 years and over 31.9 32.8 32.6 32.6 32.5 31.2

25 to 29 years 1.6 2.3 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.3

30 to 34 years 11.1 11.8 11.1 11.7 11.0 8.9

35 to 39 years 24.0 24.7 22.7 23.7 24.8 23.1

40 to 44 years 32.9 33.2 31.5 33.8 31.7 31.6

45 to 49 years 38.0 38.3 39.4 39.1 40.4 39.8

50 to 54 years 46.5 45.5 46.3 45.6 45.5 45.7

55 to 59 years 51.2 52.6 52.8 52.6 51.7 50.8

60 to 64 years 52.2 54.0 56.9 53.9 58.2 52.6

65 years and over 54.3 55.6 56.9 55.9 53.4 56.2

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 2020

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 141,374 100.0 22.2 7.0 5.7 17.8 19.3 10.6 6.6 10.8

16 to 19 years 4,792 100.0 74.9 11.3 7.7 5.8 0.3 - - -

20 years and over 136,581 100.0 20.4 6.8 5.6 18.3 19.9 11.0 6.8 11.2

20 to 24 years 13,514 100.0 50.8 13.5 10.8 20.2 4.6 - - -

25 to 34 years 34,141 100.0 27.6 9.5 7.9 26.4 23.0 5.0 0.7 -

35 to 44 years 30,001 100.0 16.9 5.9 4.9 18.6 24.7 16.2 8.8 4.0

45 to 54 years 27,932 100.0 12.7 4.6 3.5 13.6 20.7 14.8 11.4 18.6

55 to 64 years 23,027 100.0 9.7 4.0 3.3 12.7 18.1 13.5 10.6 28.2

65 years and over 7,966 100.0 9.0 3.5 3.6 11.2 17.4 14.8 10.6 30.0

Men

16 years and over 72,676 100.0 21.2 6.6 5.6 18.0 19.7 10.6 6.7 11.7

16 to 19 years 2,310 100.0 73.8 11.2 7.6 7.3 - - - -

20 years and over 70,366 100.0 19.5 6.4 5.6 18.3 20.3 11.0 6.9 12.1

20 to 24 years 6,870 100.0 48.5 13.6 11.3 21.8 4.8 0.1 - -

25 to 34 years 17,795 100.0 25.9 9.0 7.8 27.0 23.9 5.5 0.8 -

35 to 44 years 15,649 100.0 15.9 5.3 5.0 17.7 25.4 16.6 9.3 4.8

45 to 54 years 14,321 100.0 12.0 4.3 3.5 13.1 20.3 14.6 11.3 20.8

55 to 64 years 11,646 100.0 9.8 3.9 2.9 12.4 18.1 12.4 10.4 30.2

65 years and over 4,085 100.0 9.7 3.0 3.1 11.9 17.6 14.2 10.1 30.4

Women

16 years and over 68,697 100.0 23.3 7.4 5.7 17.7 18.8 10.6 6.6 9.9

16 to 19 years 2,482 100.0 76.0 11.5 7.7 4.3 0.5 - - -

20 years and over 66,215 100.0 21.4 7.2 5.6 18.2 19.5 11.0 6.8 10.3

20 to 24 years 6,644 100.0 53.2 13.5 10.3 18.6 4.4 - - -

25 to 34 years 16,346 100.0 29.4 10.1 8.0 25.7 21.9 4.4 0.5 -

35 to 44 years 14,352 100.0 17.9 6.7 4.7 19.5 24.0 15.7 8.4 3.1

45 to 54 years 13,612 100.0 13.5 4.9 3.5 14.1 21.2 15.0 11.5 16.4

55 to 64 years 11,381 100.0 9.5 4.1 3.7 13.0 18.2 14.7 10.7 26.1

65 years and over 3,881 100.0 8.2 4.0 4.1 10.4 17.2 15.4 11.2 29.6

White

16 years and over 109,188 100.0 21.5 7.0 5.4 17.3 19.5 10.7 6.8 11.7

Men 56,942 100.0 20.6 6.5 5.4 17.3 19.9 10.6 7.0 12.8

Women 52,247 100.0 22.6 7.5 5.4 17.4 19.1 10.8 6.7 10.5

Black or African American

16 years and over 17,353 100.0 25.8 6.4 6.4 20.1 17.9 9.2 5.6 8.5

Men 8,039 100.0 25.3 6.5 6.4 21.5 17.3 9.3 5.3 8.4

Women 9,315 100.0 26.3 6.4 6.4 18.9 18.4 9.1 5.9 8.6

Asian

16 years and over 9,321 100.0 19.5 7.4 6.8 19.4 20.8 12.1 7.0 7.0

Men 4,886 100.0 18.5 7.6 5.8 19.9 22.1 12.3 7.0 6.9

Women 4,435 100.0 20.7 7.2 8.0 18.7 19.5 12.0 7.0 7.0

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

16 years and over 25,806 100.0 25.5 6.2 6.8 20.0 19.3 9.8 5.4 7.0

Men 14,242 100.0 24.6 5.1 6.7 19.6 20.6 10.4 5.6 7.4

Women 11,564 100.0 26.6 7.4 7.0 20.5 17.8 9.2 5.0 6.5

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 2020

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 4.9 7.5 9.9 10.3

Less than a high school diploma 4.6 2.7 4.3 5.3 7.4 9.6

High school graduates, no college 5.0 2.8 4.7 6.7 10.2 10.3

Some college, no degree 4.7 2.7 4.8 6.9 9.8 10.1

Associate degree 5.0 2.9 4.7 7.4 10.4 10.2

College graduates 5.0 2.8 5.2 8.7 9.7 10.8

Bachelor's degree only 4.8 2.9 5.2 8.0 9.4 10.1

Master's degree 5.4 3.0 5.2 9.1 10.2 10.9

Doctoral or professional degree 5.5 2.0 5.1 10.7 10.3 14.7

Men 5.1 2.9 5.1 8.2 10.0 10.3

Less than a high school diploma 4.8 2.8 4.7 5.5 9.5 9.1

High school graduates, no college 5.1 3.0 4.9 7.0 10.5 9.6

Some college, no degree 4.9 2.8 5.1 8.7 9.9 10.0

Associate degree 5.1 3.1 5.2 8.3 11.2 9.6

College graduates 5.2 2.9 5.4 9.6 9.5 11.6

Bachelor's degree only 5.0 2.9 5.6 9.0 9.2 11.0

Master's degree 5.6 3.1 5.1 9.9 9.6 11.3

Doctoral or professional degree 6.2 2.2 5.3 11.1 10.2 14.7

Women 4.8 2.7 4.6 6.8 9.8 10.4

Less than a high school diploma 4.1 2.6 3.4 5.0 5.4 10.0

High school graduates, no college 4.9 2.4 4.4 6.2 9.9 11.6

Some college, no degree 4.4 2.6 4.5 5.2 9.6 10.2

Associate degree 4.9 2.7 4.2 6.6 10.2 11.1

College graduates 4.9 2.8 5.0 7.9 9.9 10.2

Bachelor's degree only 4.6 2.9 4.8 7.2 9.5 9.5

Master's degree 5.3 2.8 5.2 8.4 10.8 10.5

Doctoral or professional degree 5.1 1.9 5.0 10.4 10.3 14.8

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,

2010-2020

Industry January

2010

January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

Total, 16 years and over 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1

Private sector 4.0 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.8 3.7

Agriculture and related industries 4.8 4.1 3.6 4.5 4.6 3.5

Nonagricultural industries 4.0 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.8 3.7

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 4.8 3.5 4.0 4.6 5.1 4.6

Construction 4.2 4.3 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.0

Manufacturing 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.3 5.0 5.1

Durable goods manufacturing 6.6 6.1 6.0 5.4 5.3 5.3

Nonmetallic mineral products 7.7 7.0 7.6 5.1 5.2 5.2

Primary metals and fabricated metal products 7.2 5.6 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.4

Machinery manufacturing 8.3 5.4 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.3

Computers and electronic products 5.9 7.7 5.1 5.3 5.8 6.1

Electrical equipment and appliances 5.0 5.9 5.8 4.7 4.5 4.5

Transportation equipment 8.3 7.1 7.1 6.1 5.7 5.5

Wood products 4.7 5.3 4.6 4.7 3.5 3.9

Furniture and related product manufacturing 5.0 6.5 5.9 4.8 4.8 5.5

Miscellaneous manufacturing 5.4 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.8 4.7

Nondurable goods manufacturing 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.1 4.7 4.8

Food manufacturing 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.5 3.9 4.2

Beverages and tobacco products 8.1 6.4 4.8 4.3 4.1 3.9

Textiles, apparel, and leather 4.7 4.3 5.3 5.6 5.0 5.0

Paper and printing 6.8 9.7 9.7 5.3 5.4 5.9

Petroleum and coal products 5.1 6.4 6.1 6.6 5.0 5.7

Chemicals 7.3 6.1 7.1 5.3 4.7 5.2

Plastics and rubber products 7.4 6.1 6.5 5.3 5.0 4.5

Wholesale and retail trade 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.3

Wholesale trade 5.2 5.5 5.8 5.2 5.1 5.0

Retail trade 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.0 3.1

Transportation and utilities 5.3 5.6 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.3

Transportation and warehousing 5.0 5.3 4.7 4.4 4.2 3.9

Utilities 9.1 9.5 9.2 7.4 9.5 7.7

Information1 5.0 5.4 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.2

Publishing, except Internet 5.6 6.6 5.3 5.7 4.1 5.4

Motion pictures and sound recording industries 3.8 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.9 2.7

Radio and television broadcasting and cable

subscriptions programming2 4.3 4.9 4.1 3.6 5.0 5.3

Telecommunications2 6.6 7.4 7.8 6.0 5.2 6.6

Financial activities 4.6 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.8

Finance and insurance 4.8 5.0 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.9

Finance 4.5 4.7 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.8

Insurance 5.5 5.7 6.0 5.2 5.4 5.0

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

Real estate 4.1 4.5 4.6 3.9 3.7 4.7

Rental and leasing services 3.3 4.2 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.8

Professional and business services 3.4 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.5

Professional and technical services 4.0 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.9 3.9

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

Administrative and support services 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.6 3.1 2.8

Waste management and remediation services 2.9 4.4 4.7 4.6 5.8 5.3

Education and health services 4.1 4.4 4.5 3.9 3.9 3.8

Educational services 4.4 4.3 4.8 4.0 4.2 3.9

Health care and social assistance 4.1 4.4 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.8

Hospitals 5.3 6.0 5.7 5.6 4.9 5.0

Health services, except hospitals 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.5 3.4

Social assistance 3.1 3.1 3.2 2.6 3.0 2.9

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,

2010-2020 -- Continued

Industry January

2010

January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

Leisure and hospitality 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.3

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

Accommodation and food services 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1

Accommodation 3.3 3.8 3.5 3.0 3.1 3.2

Food services and drinking places 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.0

Other services 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.1

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

Repair and maintenance 4.0 3.7 4.0 3.5 3.3 3.3

Personal and laundry services 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.6 3.8

Membership associations and organizations 4.5 4.3 4.9 4.9 4.5 4.8

Other services, private households 3.4 3.3 3.0 3.3 4.5 4.0

Public sector 7.2 7.8 7.8 7.7 6.8 6.5

Federal government 7.9 9.5 8.5 8.8 8.3 8.2

State government 6.4 6.4 7.4 5.8 5.9 5.6

Local government 7.5 8.1 7.9 8.3 6.9 6.6

1Includes other industries, not shown separately.

2Data for these industries are not directly comparable over time due to industry classification changes in 2003 and 2009.

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. 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,

2010-2020

Occupation January

2010

January

2012

January

2014

January

2016

January

2018

January

2020

Total, 16 years and over 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1

Management, professional, and related occupations 5.2 5.5 5.7 5.1 5.0 4.9

Management, business, and financial operations occupations 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.5 5.5 5.3

Management occupations 6.1 6.3 6.9 6.3 6.4 5.8

Business and financial operations occupations 4.6 5.2 5.0 4.6 4.5 4.7

Professional and related occupations 5.0 5.4 5.3 4.9 4.7 4.6

Computer and mathematical occupations 4.8 4.8 5.0 4.4 4.3 3.9

Architecture and engineering occupations 5.7 7.0 6.4 5.5 5.7 5.1

Life, physical, and social science occupations 4.6 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.1

Community and social service occupations 4.6 5.0 5.1 4.3 4.6 4.6

Legal occupations 4.6 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.8

Education, training, and library occupations 5.6 5.9 6.2 5.3 5.1 5.0

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

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 4.8 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.3 4.7

Service occupations 3.1 3.2 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.9

Healthcare support occupations 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.1 3.0 2.8

Protective service occupations 5.0 6.4 6.5 6.2 5.0 5.3

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

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

Personal care and service occupations 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.1

Sales and office occupations 4.1 4.2 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.7

Sales and related occupations 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.3

Office and administrative support occupations 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.0 3.8 4.1

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

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 4.2 3.9 3.2 4.1 4.0 3.5

Construction and extraction occupations 4.1 4.3 3.7 4.2 4.2 4.0

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.7

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.0 3.8

Production occupations 5.3 5.3 5.2 4.7 4.4 4.9

Transportation and material moving occupations 4.0 4.3 3.8 3.9 3.5 3.3

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. Data for 2020 are not strictly comparable with other years. Updated population controls are introduced annually

with the release of January data.