Do Employees Change Jobs More Than They Used To?

New research on career trends casts doubt on the common belief that younger workers today are hopping from job to job at higher rates than previous generations.

The research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) found that while there have been shifts in the labor market in recent decades, job tenure patterns have largely remained the same from one generation to the next.

What the data says

In discussions about employment trends, it’s not uncommon to hear some variation of “young people aren’t sticking around anymore,” and data does show younger workers tend to switch jobs more than others. In their paper, “Debunking the Job-Hopping Myth: A Data-Driven Look at Tenure and Turnover Among Younger Workers,” researchers from NIRS argue that not only has that long been the case, but things aren’t much different now than they used to be.

In analyzing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, NIRS found that employees between the ages of 25 and 34 tended to stay with a given job for about three years in 1983. Fast forward to 2024 and that same age group had a median job tenure of 2.7 years—a difference of only a few months.

The same is true for slightly older workers: the NIRS analysis found job tenure in the 35-44 age group has also remained consistent since the 1980s.

However, NIRS found a surprising trend in the data—it turns out workers approaching retirement age aren’t staying in their jobs as long as they used to. Both the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups showed noticeable declines in career tenure since the 1980s.

The researchers argue the change in older groups could be for a number of reasons, including a decline in access to defined benefit (DB) pension plans in the private sector. Because pension benefits are based on a worker’s length of service, they provide a strong financial incentive to stay put compared to other types of retirement benefits.

Employee retention in the public sector

According to NIRS, 86 percent of public employees today have access to a DB plan at work compared to just 15 percent of private sector workers, and rates of quitting are much higher in the private sector. Retirement benefits are a big reason.

In Colorado, as part of a recent study comparing the PERA DB Plan to other types of plans, researchers surveyed State of Colorado employees and a large majority said their retirement plan played an important role in their career decisions. Of those surveyed, 81% said retirement benefits were a factor in their decision to work for the State and 83% cited retirement benefits as a factor in their decision to remain in State employment.

READ MORE: Study Confirms PERA a Valuable Tool for Recruiting, Retaining Public Workers

The research from NIRS makes it clear that the need for stable, secure retirement benefits is as strong today as it was decades ago. While some employment trends change over time, workers settling into their careers and planning for the future still value strong benefits that provide peace of mind.