25+ Employee Retention Statistics, Turnover & Cost Data (2026)

The Great Resignation has cooled, but employee retention in 2026 is a different kind of hard. Quitting has slowed to its lowest level in nearly a decade, yet median tenure is at a 20-year low, engagement just posted its weakest reading since 2020, and the bill for losing one employee now lands somewhere between half and twice that person's annual salary.

The numbers behind that picture come from a small group of primary sources. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the JOLTS and Employee Tenure series that anchor every quits and tenure figure below. SHRM, the Work Institute, and ADP Research Institute quantify the cost and shape of turnover. Gallup, McKinsey, and Deloitte explain why people leave and what would keep them. Below are 27 statistics verified against those primary sources for 2026.

Turnover Rates: How Much Are People Quitting in 2026

1. The US quits rate held steady at 2.0% in March 2026.

BLS JOLTS reports 3.2 million workers quit in March 2026, holding the quits rate at 2.0%. That is down from 2.2% in March 2025 and a long way from the 3.0% Great Resignation peak. (BLS JOLTS)

2. Total separations ran at 5.4 million per month in early 2026.

Across quits, layoffs, and other separations, US employers saw about 5.4 million workers leave in March 2026, with quits making up 3.2 million. Hires came in at 5.6 million the same month, a thin margin that explains why every retained employee matters more than it did three years ago. (BLS JOLTS)

3. Annual US quits fell by 285,000 year over year through March 2026.

BLS notes quits in March 2026 were down 285,000 versus March 2025, continuing a multi-year cooldown. Voluntary turnover is the lowest it has been since the early pandemic, which is why employers who built playbooks for a hot market need to recalibrate. (BLS JOLTS)

4. Small-business turnover hit a record low of 3.9% in early 2026.

ADP Research Institute's Today at Work report finds the turnover rate at establishments with fewer than 50 employees dropped to a record low of 3.9% in March 2026, the lowest figure in the nine-year history of the series. The cooldown is broad, but small employers are seeing it most. (ADP Research Institute)

5. Only 22% of global workers strongly agree their job is safe from elimination.

The same ADP report finds 22% of global workers strongly agreed their job was safe from elimination in early 2026. Insecurity is most acute among lower-paid, repetitive-task workers, which means retention programs need to address fear, not just compensation. (ADP Research Institute)

Tenure: How Long People Actually Stay

6. Median employee tenure fell to 3.9 years in January 2024.

The BLS Employee Tenure release puts median tenure with the current employer at 3.9 years for all wage and salary workers as of January 2024, down from 4.1 years in 2022 and the lowest reading since 2002. The line has been drifting down for two decades, and the post-pandemic reshuffle accelerated it. (BLS)

7. Private-sector tenure is now just 3.5 years, versus 6.2 years in the public sector.

Within the private sector, median tenure is just 3.5 years, compared with 6.2 years in the public sector. The gap is the largest it has been in the BLS series and helps explain why government and education employers face a different retention problem than private firms. (BLS)

8. Workers ages 25 to 34 stay an average of only 2.7 years.

Median tenure for workers ages 55 to 64 is 9.6 years, more than three times the 2.7 years recorded for workers ages 25 to 34. Younger workers were always more mobile, but the gap is widening, and any retention strategy built on five-year vesting cliffs is now misaligned with how the workforce actually moves. (BLS)

9. Leisure and hospitality has the shortest tenure at 2.1 years.

BLS reports median tenure of 2.1 years in leisure and hospitality, by far the lowest of any private-sector industry. At the top, mining and oil and gas extraction sits at 5.7 years, followed by manufacturing (4.9) and financial activities (4.7). (BLS)

10. Men still outlast women in median tenure: 4.2 years versus 3.6 years.

BLS puts median tenure at 4.2 years for men, down from 4.3 in 2022, and 3.6 years for women, down from 3.8. Both fell, but the gender gap widened as women shifted out of lower-tenure roles disrupted by the pandemic. (BLS)

The Real Cost of Replacing an Employee

11. SHRM estimates replacement cost at 50% to 200% of annual salary.

SHRM's long-standing benchmark puts the all-in cost of replacing an employee at 50% to 200% of that person's annual salary, typically the equivalent of six to nine months of pay for general roles. For a worker earning $60,000, that is anywhere from $30,000 to $120,000 walking out the door per departure. (SHRM)

12. The Work Institute estimates US employers spent nearly $900 billion replacing workers who quit in 2023.

The Work Institute's 2024 Retention Report calculates the total US bill for replacing workers who quit in 2023 at roughly $900 billion, using a research-backed estimate of 33.3% of an employee's base salary as the all-in cost per departure. That figure folds in recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity, manager time, and the temporary coverage that fills the gap. (Work Institute)

13. 75% of US turnover is preventable, according to the Work Institute.

Based on its analysis of more than 20,000 exit interviews, the Work Institute concludes that 75% of employee turnover could have been avoided if employers had a better understanding of what their people wanted. That is the single most important number for any retention business case: three out of four departures are not inevitable. (Work Institute)

14. As much as 60-70% of turnover cost is hidden, indirect cost.

SHRM research summarized by HR expert Edie Goldberg finds direct line items (recruiting fees, job postings, background checks, onboarding) often account for less than half of the true cost. The other 60% to 70% sits in lost productivity, ramp-up time, extra load on remaining staff, and lost institutional knowledge. (SHRM)

15. New hires typically take three to six months to reach full productivity.

SHRM-aligned replacement-cost models build in a three-to-six-month ramp window before a new hire reaches full output. That productivity gap is one of the largest line items in any honest turnover P&L and the single biggest reason replacement cost so often exceeds the leaver's annual salary. (SHRM)

Generational Quit Behavior

16. Gen Z is switching jobs 134% more often than pre-pandemic.

LinkedIn's Economic Graph data shows Gen Z employees are switching jobs at a rate 134% higher than they did pre-pandemic. Professionals entering the workforce today are on pace to hold roughly twice as many jobs over their careers as workers who entered 15 years ago. (LinkedIn Economic Graph)

17. 80% of Gen Z workers decide within 60 days whether to stay long-term.

Survey data cited by LinkedIn's workforce research finds that 80% of Gen Z employees decide within their first 60 days on the job whether they will stay long-term or start looking for their next role. That puts a disproportionate share of retention impact on onboarding, the first manager, and the early benefits experience. (LinkedIn Economic Graph)

18. 72% of Gen Z have left or considered leaving over inflexible work policies.

A LinkedIn survey referenced in its workforce research finds 72% of Gen Z is the most likely generation to have either left or considered leaving a job because their employer did not offer a feasible flexible work policy. Flexibility is no longer a perk for this cohort; it is a deal-breaker. (LinkedIn Economic Graph)

19. Only 25% of Gen Z and 21% of millennials prefer fast-paced promotions.

Deloitte's 2026 Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey of 22,500+ respondents across 44 countries finds 25% of Gen Zs and 21% of millennials prefer fast-paced promotions. 44% and 45% prefer steady progress, and roughly one in five would take a lateral step to find the right role. (Deloitte)

20. 50% of Gen Z cite stress and burnout as the top barrier to leadership.

The Deloitte 2026 survey finds the top barriers to pursuing leadership are stress and burnout (50% of Gen Zs, 49% of millennials), excessive responsibility (50% and 48%), and work-life balance (41% and 46%). Promotion-based retention must deal with these blockers, not just comp bands. (Deloitte)

Why People Quit and What Keeps Them

21. 54% of leavers say they did not feel valued by their organization.

McKinsey's Great Attrition research finds the top three reasons employees gave for quitting were not feeling valued by their organization (54%), not feeling valued by their manager (52%), and lacking a sense of belonging (51%). When employers were asked the same question, they guessed compensation and work-life balance, exactly the issues employees ranked lower than belonging and recognition. (McKinsey)

22. 63% of Great Resignation quitters cited a lack of advancement opportunities.

Pew Research Center's survey of US workers who quit in 2021 found 63% cited lack of advancement, 57% feeling disrespected, 45% lack of flexibility, and 43% insufficient benefits. Low pay was named by 63% as a major or minor factor. These drivers remain the consensus baseline through 2026. (Pew Research)

23. Global engagement fell to 20% in 2025, costing $438 billion.

Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 finds global engagement dropped to 20% in 2025, the lowest since 2020 and only the second annual decline in 12 years. The gap cost the world economy roughly $438 billion in lost productivity that year, and on Gallup's longer-horizon model totals US$8.9 trillion, about 9% of global GDP. (Gallup)

24. Engaged business units see up to 59% lower turnover.

Gallup's meta-analysis of its engagement database finds that business units in the top quartile of engagement experience 59% less turnover in high-turnover organizations and 24% less turnover in low-turnover organizations versus bottom-quartile peers. Top-quartile units also realize 21% higher profitability, which is what makes the retention business case land in the CFO's office. (Gallup)

25. 42% of HR leaders say retaining full-time employees is a challenge.

SHRM's 2025 Talent Trends survey of 2,040 HR professionals finds 42% report difficulty retaining full-time employees, and 35% of organizations now use an internal talent marketplace, up from 25% in 2024. The pivot toward internal mobility is one of the clearest structural changes in how employers make staying more attractive than leaving. (SHRM)

26. Health-related benefits are extremely or very important to 88% of employers.

SHRM's 2025 Employee Benefits Survey of 3,969 HR pros finds 88% of employers rate health benefits as extremely or very important. Flexible working (68%), family care (67%), and career development (65%) form the next tier. 28% of health-care and social-assistance employers now offer retention bonuses, versus 20% across all businesses. (SHRM)

27. Engagement and well-being drive 69% of why people leave their jobs.

Gallup's analysis of departure data finds engagement-and-culture issues plus well-being and work-life balance together account for 69% of the reasons employees leave, dwarfing pay and benefits in isolation. That number is the clearest argument for treating retention as a culture and management problem first and a comp problem second. (Gallup)

Frequently Asked Questions

Retention in 2026 is a slower, more expensive game than the one HR teams played during the Great Resignation. Tenure is at a 20-year low, replacement costs sit between half and twice annual salary, and the things that keep people, recognition, belonging, flexibility, and benefits that fit a human life, do not show up on a pay stub. The leverage now sits in everyday perks that make staying feel cheaper than leaving: meaningful health and family benefits, fair flexibility, and employee-discount programs that quietly stretch a paycheck. That last loop is exactly where 99coupons.ai lives, surfacing verified merchant codes for the everyday spending where retention is won or lost.