Employee Turnover Decreasing as Effects of Recession remain Prominent

In Bloomberg BNA’s Q2 2012 study, the Job Absence & Turnover Report, the company finds that the rate of job absence rose slightly over Q1 2011 but still fell far below pre-recession numbers. The employee turnover rate also remains considerably lower than pre-recession rates and actually fell slightly over Q1 2011. The increase in job absence during the quarter lacked consistency across all labor classifications making it difficult to predict any resurgence.

Employee separations, not including layoffs and workforce reductions, fell slightly from the levels recorded in Q1 2011 as median rates of employee turnover averaged a mere 0.6 percent of the workforce per month in Q1 2012; a rate unchanged over Q4 2011. The turnover statistics for Q1 2012 gave virtually no indication of a sustained trend as most Q1 separation rates, regardless of labor classification, saw little to no change over the prior 12 month period.

The survey included 274 respondents , about half were business with less than 250 employees, 16 percent had workforces between 250 and 499 employers, 10 percent employed between 500 and 999 employees, 10 percent had 1,000 to 2,499 employees, and 14 percent employed 2,500 employees or more. Broken down by industry, 21 percent respondents were manufacturing companies, 45 percent were non-manufacturing companies, and 34 were non-business-related establishments. Regionally, about one-fifth of polled employers were located in the Northeast, about one-third were in the South, another third were in the North Central region, and 12 percent were in the West, representing 423,790 workers.