Kansas City, Kan. — As the national unemployment rate continues to teeter at just over eight percent, turnover rates are beginning to inch up. The average total turnover rate reported for employers from 2011 was 15.2 percent, according to Compdata Surveys BenchmarkPro 2012 survey results. That’s up slightly from 14.4 percent reported a year ago. Voluntary turnover rates were reported at 9.8 percent, up from 9.1 percent reported last year.
“Voluntary turnover rates were trending downward for several years, but the numbers are beginning to edge up again,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys. “This is likely because employees are beginning to feel more comfortable about re-entering the job market as the economy shows small signs of improvement.”
Turnover rates differ by industry as hospitality organizations averaged the highest total turnover rate at 33.7 percent. Total turnover was 16.5 percent in banking and finance, compared to 10.8 percent in insurance. Companies in the utilities industry reported the lowest average total turnover rate, 6.5 percent.
Despite the unemployment rate lingering at over eight percent, 95.9 percent of employers report they are actively recruiting new personnel. In fact, a growing number of companies are experiencing difficulty finding skilled workers as baby boomers are beginning to retire, taking their skill sets with them.
In order to fill the vacancies created by departing employees, employers utilize various methods. Advertising on the internet was used by 81.4 percent of employers. Employee referral programs and social media outlets were employed by 50.1 percent and 40.4 percent of organizations, respectively. Twenty-six percent of companies surveyed offered sign-on bonuses to recruit new employees and 9.8 percent utilized increasing start rates.
About the Survey
BenchmarkPro 2012 provides a comprehensive summary of pay data and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2012. More than 400 benchmark titles were surveyed, with data collected from nearly 34,000 organizations across the country.
Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988 and is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of organizations provide data in each of our eight industry specific surveys each year, ensuring the reliability of our results. For more information about the compensation and benefits surveys, contact Michelle Willis at (800) 300-9570.
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