2026 Employee Tenure — 2026-09-24

The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.1 years in January 2026, up from 3.9 years in January 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The U.S. Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office sponsored the January 2026 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 eligible 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.