Employee Turnover Rate by Industry: 2026 Data (BLS)

This page compares employee turnover rates by industry using one consistent source and definition: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

The latest release covers May 2026. To avoid making a benchmark from one noisy month, the main table averages the 12 seasonally adjusted monthly rates from June 2025 through May 2026. It includes total separations and quits, plus a clear explanation of what each number means.

Citation summary: BLS JOLTS data for June 2025 through May 2026 show arts, entertainment, and recreation averaging a 5.76% monthly total separations rate, followed by accommodation and food services at 5.59%. The total nonfarm average was 3.27%. Multiplying those averages by 12 gives rough annualized benchmarks of 69.1%, 67.1%, and 39.2%, respectively.

Suggested citation: Turnozo, “Employee Turnover Rate by Industry: 2026 Data (BLS),” updated July 22, 2026. Calculated from BLS JOLTS seasonally adjusted monthly total separations and quits rates for June 2025 through May 2026.

10 quick turnover statistics

1. 3.2%: total nonfarm separations rate in May 2026, according to the latest BLS release.
2. 3.27%: average monthly total nonfarm separations rate across the 12 months ending May 2026.
3. 39.2%: rough annualized total nonfarm benchmark, calculated as 3.27% × 12.
4. 5.76%: average monthly total separations rate for arts, entertainment, and recreation, the highest figure in this comparison.
5. 5.59%: average monthly total separations rate for accommodation and food services.
6. 4.48%: average monthly rate for professional and business services.
7. 3.85%: average monthly rate for retail trade, equivalent to 46.2% annualized.
8. 2.33%: average monthly manufacturing rate, equivalent to 28.0% annualized.
9. 2.03%: average monthly finance and insurance rate, equivalent to 24.4% annualized.
10. 1.44%: average monthly government rate, equivalent to 17.3% annualized.

Turnover rates by industry

The “12-month average” columns use June 2025 through May 2026. The annualized column is the average monthly total separations rate multiplied by 12.

May 2026 values are preliminary in the latest BLS release. BLS can revise recent months, so this page records both the period and calculation method instead of presenting the figures as permanent constants.

What the industry comparison shows

Hospitality remains the clearest high-churn sector

Accommodation and food services averaged 5.59% total separations per month and 4.29% quits per month. The small gap between those two figures means voluntary exits account for much of the movement.

That distinction matters. A high total separations rate can come from layoffs or seasonal staffing changes. A high quit rate points more directly to employees choosing to leave.

Retail is high, but the old 60% shortcut is too blunt

Retail trade averaged 3.85% total separations per month, or 46.2% annualized, across this 12-month window. The average quit rate was 2.71% per month.

The benchmark is still high compared with manufacturing, finance, education, or government. It is also lower than the 60% figure repeated across many secondary articles. A current, consistently defined BLS benchmark is more useful than recycling an old industry shorthand.

Manufacturing and finance are comparatively stable

Manufacturing averaged 2.33% monthly total separations, while finance and insurance averaged 2.03%. Their annualized benchmarks were 28.0% and 24.4%, respectively.

That does not mean every employer in those sectors should target the same rate. A plant, bank, insurance brokerage, and seasonal operation have different job mixes. It means their broad labor markets moved less than retail, hospitality, transportation, or professional and business services during this period.

Government remains the low-turnover baseline

Government averaged 1.44% total separations per month and a 0.79% quit rate. That is less than half the total nonfarm monthly average.

Total separations versus quits

“Turnover” is often used as if every source measures the same thing. It does not.

• Total separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, retirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and disability separations.
• Quits are voluntary separations initiated by employees, excluding retirements and transfers.
• Annual employer turnover may use departures divided by average headcount, but private surveys often differ on which departures count.
• Retention rate measures who stayed, so it is related to turnover but not interchangeable with it.

For voluntary employee turnover, the quits column is the cleaner comparison. For total staffing movement and replacement workload, total separations are more useful.

Methodology and calculation notes

1. Source: BLS JOLTS seasonally adjusted rate series accessed through the BLS Public Data API.
2. Window: June 2025 through May 2026, the latest 12 monthly observations available on July 22, 2026.
3. 12-month average: sum of the 12 monthly rates divided by 12.
4. Annualized benchmark: 12-month average monthly rate multiplied by 12.
5. Rounding: monthly averages are shown to two decimals; annualized figures are shown to one decimal.
6. Limit: adding monthly rates does not track unique employees. One role can turn over more than once in a year, and one person can appear in more than one monthly flow.
7. Scope: JOLTS covers US nonfarm employers. These figures should not be presented as global benchmarks.

Source table

Calculate your own turnover rate

Use your own workforce data before treating an industry benchmark as a target.

Company turnover rate = departures during the period ÷ average headcount × 100

If your business started the year with 48 employees and ended with 52, average headcount is 50. If 18 employees left, the company turnover rate is 36%.

What shift-based teams can control

An industry benchmark explains the labor market around you. It does not diagnose why your employees leave.

Start with exit reasons, tenure at departure, location, role, manager, and schedule stability. If last-minute changes, poor availability matching, or difficult shift swaps keep appearing, those are operational problems you can work on.

Turnozo helps small teams publish schedules to employees' phones, collect availability, manage shift swaps and open shifts, and turn clock-in data into timesheets. It will not fix pay, management, or career progression. It can make the weekly schedule less chaotic.

For the financial side, use the employee turnover cost guide. For voluntary-exit and retention context, compare the employee retention statistics. Retail and healthcare teams can also use the narrower retail turnover and healthcare turnover references without mixing their private-survey definitions with BLS total separations.