Which US industries have the highest employee turnover rates?

BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — Every year, people in every career field leave their jobs in search of a new one. In many cases, this is simply due to people seeking new opportunities in their field — but other ideas, like low pay, lack of appreciation or poor management can also lead people to quit. And as you might expect, some industries suffer more from this problem than others for one reason or another.

As part of a study of employee turnover across the country, law firm Schmidt & Clark analyzed layoffs from early 2024 as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and determined the average number of layoffs for many of America’s most-laboured industries. When these numbers were compared, leisure, hospitality, trade, manufacturing and construction, among other industries, were found to have extremely high layoff rates.

At the other end of the spectrum, the mining and logging industries report the lowest turnover rate (nearly seven hundred times lower than the retirement rate of leisure and hospitality), matched only by federal jobs. Other careers, including private teaching, finance, and wholesale trade, also show lower than average statistics compared to the top ten.

“According to research,” a Schmidt & Clark spokesperson said, “20% of workers in America consider leaving their jobs every day. With this in mind, business leaders should consider the reasons why people are considering leaving, including burnout, lack of opportunities for advancement and fewer pay increases. This campaign has highlighted the industries most at risk in 2024, with leisure and hospitality taking the top spot, suggesting that relevant leaders within this sector, such as hotel managers, should take time to examine workplace culture in the latter half of the year.”

For more information on labor turnover in the Midwest, as well as job openings and hiring rates, visit the BLS Midwest Information Office at this page.