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Source: Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics |
Turnover is a major issue in the labor market. Turnover occurs when a worker quits a job and goes to a similar job with another company. That change doesn’t show up as an increase or decline in the industry, but affects individual businesses.
The chart shows the annual turnover rates for each major industry, for Indianapolis and for Indiana.5 The first thing to observe is that the rates are very high for several industries. Annual turnover for administrative services is more than 90 percent, which means that only one out of 10 workers in that industry is likely to stay at the same job for a year. In the accommodations and food services industry, three out of four workers will quit and move on during a year.
The second thing to observe is that, while some industries have very high turnover, not all do. Fewer than one in 10 utilities workers changed jobs. Public administration and manufacturing also have low turnover. Finally, turnover rates are similar for Indianapolis and Indiana. Industries with very high turnover in Indianapolis also had very high turnover across the state, and those that were low were low in both places. When the difference is significant, the state usually has a higher rate of turnover.
During the one-year period from July 2005 through June 2006, Indianapolis employment grew by a few hundred workers. But more than 125,000 people were separated from a job. Most of them returned to the workforce immediately, either at a newly created job or in an existing job left vacant by another worker.
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