LABOR MARKETS & OPERATING RISK · SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
Employee Tenure Rises, With Wide Gaps Across Industries
BLS reported median employee tenure of 4.1 years in January 2026, up from 3.9 years in 2024, while private-sector tenure ranged from 2.4 years in leisure and hospitality to 5.0 years in financial activities.
What BLS released on September 24
Source publication date: September 24, 2026. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer for a median 4.1 years in January 2026, up from 3.9 years in January 2024. The figures come from a biennial Current Population Survey supplement. BLS cautions that tenure can reflect workforce age as well as hiring and separation patterns, so the change is not a direct measure of business productivity or labor scarcity.
- 01Up from 3.9 years in 2024
- 0220.6% had one year or less
- 03Industry patterns vary widely
Short tenure declined while age differences remained large
The share of workers with one year or less at their employer fell to 20.6% from 22.2% in 2024. Median tenure was 9.6 years for workers ages 55 to 64 and 3.0 years for those ages 25 to 34. Those national age patterns can matter when a business depends on long-tenured managers, technicians, or client relationships, but they do not establish the retirement timing, retention, or recruiting outlook of a particular company.
Industry and occupation results were uneven
Private-sector median tenure was 3.9 years. Financial activities workers had a 5.0-year median; manufacturing, information, and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction each were at 4.9 years. Leisure and hospitality was lowest at 2.4 years. Management occupations had a 6.1-year median, while service occupations were at 2.9 years. Different workforce age, job design, seasonality, and hiring patterns can contribute to those gaps.
Practical borrower takeaway
Calculate voluntary and involuntary turnover, vacancy duration, overtime, recruiting fees, training cost, time to productivity, and revenue or capacity at risk for critical roles. Identify key-person dependence, cross-training, succession coverage, retention initiatives, and the cash needed if hiring takes longer than planned. Reconcile the staffing schedule to current payroll and monthly projections. Use the BLS figures as context; lenders will underwrite the applicant's actual team, controls, margins, liquidity, and repayment capacity.
Borrowers should translate national tenure data into company-specific turnover, vacancy time, training cost, key-person dependence, and staffing resilience before presenting projections.
Discuss a financing need →This independent summary is based on the cited source and is provided for general educational purposes only. Terms and program requirements may change.