Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 06-1563 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, September 8, 2006 EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2006 The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.0 years in January 2006, unchanged from Janu- ary 2004, according to the data released today by the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Information on employee tenure has been obtained from supplemental ques- tions in the Current Population Survey (CPS) every 2 years since 1996. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that provides information on the labor force status, demographics, and other characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The questions about employee tenure measure how long workers had been with their current employer at the time they were surveyed. A number of factors can affect the median tenure of the workforce, including changes in the age profile among workers as well as changes in the number of hires and separations. (See the Techni- cal Note.) Demographic Characteristics In January 2006, median tenure for men was 4.1 years, little different than that of women (3.9 years). From 1996 to 2002, the median tenure for men was about 0.5 year higher than for women. (See table 1.) Older workers tend to have more years of tenure than their younger coun- terparts. For example, median tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure and half had less tenure) for employees ages 55 to 64 was 9.3 years in January 2006, about three times the tenure for workers ages 25 to 34 (2.9 years). As would be expected, a larger percentage of older workers than younger workers had 10 or more years of tenure. For example, among wage and salary workers ages 55 to 59, about half were employed for 10 years or more with their current employer. Among workers ages 30 to 34, about 11 percent have 10 or more years of tenure; for workers ages 25 to 29, the proportion was about 2 percent. (See table 2.) The proportion of all wage and salary workers age 16 and over with at least 10 years of tenure with their current employer, at 26 percent in January 2006, was little changed from January 2004. Among men, 27 percent had at least 10 years of tenure with their current employer in January 2006 compared with 25 percent among women. (See table 3.) - 2 - In January 2006, 16 percent of Hispanic wage and salary workers (age 16 years and over) had been with their current employer for 10 or more years compared with 26 percent of white, 23 percent of black, and 21 percent of Asian workers. The shorter tenure among Hispanics can be explained, in part, by their relative youth. Nearly 50 percent of Hispanic workers age 16 and over were between the ages of 16 and 34. By contrast, fewer than 40 percent of whites, blacks, and Asians were 16 to 34 years old. (See table 3.) About 24 percent of wage and salary workers age 16 and over had 12 months or less of tenure with their current employer in January 2006. These short- tenured workers include new entrants and reentrants to the labor force, job losers who found new jobs during the previous year, and workers who had vol- untarily changed employers during the previous year. As would be expected, younger workers are more likely than older workers to have short tenure. For example, among 20- to 24-year-olds, about half had a year or less of tenure with their current employer. (See table 3.) Industry In January 2006, wage and salary workers in the public sector had almost double the median tenure of private sector employees, 6.9 versus 3.6 years. One factor behind this difference is age. About 75 percent of government workers were age 35 and over compared with about 60 percent of private wage and salary workers. Federal employees had a higher median tenure (9.9 years) than state (6.3 years) or local government (6.6 years) employees. (See table 5.) Within the private sector, workers in manufacturing had the highest tenure among major industries, at 5.5 years in January 2006. By comparison, workers in leisure and hospitality had the lowest median tenure (1.9 years). These differences in tenure reflect many factors, one of which is varying age dis- tributions across industries; workers in manufacturing tend to be older on average than those in leisure and hospitality. Occupation Among the major occupations, workers in management, professional, and re- lated occupations had the highest median tenure (5.2 years) in January 2006. Within this group, employees with jobs in architecture and engineering occu- pations (6.5 years) and management occupations (6.0 years) had the longest tenure. Workers in service occupations, who are generally younger than per- sons employed in management, professional, and related occupations, had the lowest median tenure (2.8 years). Among employees working in service occu- pations, food service workers had the lowest median tenure, at 1.8 years. (See table 6.) - 3 - Technical Note The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the January 2006 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that provides information on the labor force status, demographics, and other characteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. The January 2006 CPS supplement obtained information on worker displace- ment and workers' tenure with their current employer. The data on worker displacement appear in the BLS news release USDL 06-1454, "Worker Displace- ment, 2003-05," issued on August 17, 2006. Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Reliability of the estimates Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies de- pending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct in- formation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and in- formation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. Tenure questions and concepts In the January 2006 CPS supplement, questions on tenure were asked of all employed persons. The first question was: "How long has ... been working continuously for (fill in name of present employer)?" _____ Days _____ Weeks _____ Months _____ Years For responses of "1 year" or "2 years," a follow-up question was asked: "Could you please give the exact number of months?" - 4 - The purpose of the follow-up question is to obtain more precise infor- mation on workers who had been with their current employer for a relatively short time. This follow-up question was included for the first time in the February 1996 CPS supplement on worker displacement and tenure. CPS sup- plements that obtained information on tenure in January of 1983, 1987, and 1991 did not include the follow-up question. In those surveys, responses of 1 year or more could be coded only as the nearest full year, and responses of less than a year were coded as the nearest full month. Prior to January 1983, CPS supplements on tenure asked wage and salary workers, "When did ... start working at (his/her) present job?" For wage and salary workers, the meaning of the term "job" is ambiguous. For example, a worker who had been employed at a particular company for 10 years and had been promoted to a managerial position 1 year prior to the survey may have been counted as having 10 years or 1 year of tenure, depending on whether the respondent interpreted the question to mean tenure with the current employer or tenure in the managerial position. To rectify this ambiguity, the wording of the question was changed in January 1983 to specify the length of time a worker had been with his or her current employer. The change resulted in a break in historical comparability, and, for this reason, estimates of tenure are not presented in this release for years prior to 1983. Data refer to the sole or pricipal job of full- and part-time workers. All data exclude the incorporated and unincorporated self employed. Interpreting tenure data Data on tenure have been used as a gauge of employment security, with some observers regarding increases in tenure as a sign of improving security and decreasing tenure as a sign of deteriorating security. However, there are limitations to using the data in this way. For example, during reces- sions or other periods of declining job security, median tenure and the pro- portion of workers with long tenure could rise because less-senior workers are more likely to lose their jobs than are workers with longer tenure. Dur- ing periods of economic growth, median tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure could fall because more job opportunities are available for new entrants to the workforce and experienced workers have more opportunities to change employers and take better jobs. Tenure also could rise under im- proving economic conditions, however, as fewer layoffs occur and good job matches develop between workers and employers. A changing age distribution among workers would also affect median tenure. Since older workers are more likely to have long tenure with their current employer than younger workers, aging baby boomers in the workforce would pro- vide upward pressure on overall median tenure. Table 1. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by age and sex, selected years, 1996-2006 Age and sex February February February January January January 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 TOTAL 16 years and over.......... 3.8 3.6 3.5 3.7 4.0 4.0 16 to 17 years................ .7 .6 .6 .7 .7 .6 18 to 19 years................ .7 .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 20 to 24 years................ 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 25 years and over............. 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.9 25 to 34 years.............. 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.9 2.9 35 to 44 years.............. 5.3 5.0 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.9 45 to 54 years.............. 8.3 8.1 8.2 7.6 7.7 7.3 55 to 64 years.............. 10.2 10.1 10.0 9.9 9.6 9.3 65 years and over........... 8.4 7.8 9.4 8.6 9.0 8.8 Men 16 years and over.......... 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.1 16 to 17 years................ .6 .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 18 to 19 years................ .7 .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 20 to 24 years................ 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.4 25 years and over............. 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.0 25 to 34 years.............. 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.9 35 to 44 years.............. 6.1 5.5 5.3 5.0 5.2 5.1 45 to 54 years.............. 10.1 9.4 9.5 9.1 9.6 8.1 55 to 64 years.............. 10.5 11.2 10.2 10.2 9.8 9.5 65 years and over........... 8.3 7.1 9.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Women 16 years and over.......... 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.8 3.9 16 to 17 years................ .7 .6 .6 .7 .6 .6 18 to 19 years................ .7 .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 20 to 24 years................ 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.2 25 years and over............. 4.7 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.7 4.8 25 to 34 years.............. 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.8 35 to 44 years.............. 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.5 4.6 45 to 54 years.............. 7.0 7.2 7.3 6.5 6.4 6.7 55 to 64 years.............. 10.0 9.6 9.9 9.6 9.2 9.2 65 years and over........... 8.4 8.7 9.7 9.4 9.6 9.5 NOTE: Data for 1996 and 1998 are based on population controls from the 1990 census. Data beginning in 2000 reflect the introduction of Census 2000 population controls and are not strictly comparable with data for prior years. Some data in this table may vary slightly from the data published in the Employee Tenure 2004 news release (USDL 04-1829) due to recalculation of the estimates with the new population controls. In addition, data for January 2004 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2003 and 2004, and data for January 2006 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and 2006. Table 2. Percent of employed wage and salary workers 25 years and over who had 10 years or more of tenure with their current employer by age and sex, selected years, 1996-2006 Age and sex February February February January January January 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 TOTAL 25 years and over.......... 30.5 30.7 31.5 30.8 30.6 30.0 25 to 29 years................ 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.4 30 to 34 years................ 14.7 14.7 13.9 11.7 10.9 10.6 35 to 39 years................ 26.9 27.0 26.1 25.2 23.2 22.8 40 to 44 years................ 36.1 35.6 35.8 33.9 32.4 31.8 45 to 49 years................ 44.5 42.9 45.2 41.2 42.1 39.9 50 to 54 years................ 50.4 48.8 48.7 49.4 48.5 46.6 55 to 59 years................ 54.0 52.9 53.1 53.3 50.9 50.1 60 to 64 years................ 51.5 54.4 53.0 50.5 49.7 48.4 65 years and over............. 47.4 45.0 49.8 48.0 48.7 48.5 Men 25 years and over.......... 33.1 32.7 33.4 32.6 32.4 31.1 25 to 29 years................ 3.3 3.1 3.0 2.6 2.7 2.6 30 to 34 years................ 15.6 15.3 15.1 13.0 11.9 11.6 35 to 39 years................ 30.5 29.7 29.4 27.2 24.9 24.7 40 to 44 years................ 41.7 39.1 40.2 37.4 36.2 34.8 45 to 49 years................ 50.8 47.4 49.0 45.4 48.1 42.9 50 to 54 years................ 54.9 52.8 51.6 54.0 53.0 49.7 55 to 59 years................ 55.7 56.5 53.7 56.5 53.4 51.0 60 to 64 years................ 50.4 55.7 52.4 48.4 48.5 48.1 65 years and over............. 47.6 42.3 48.6 46.4 46.8 47.2 Women 25 years and over.......... 27.6 28.4 29.5 28.8 28.6 28.8 25 to 29 years................ 2.2 2.2 1.9 1.8 1.9 2.1 30 to 34 years................ 13.6 14.0 12.5 10.2 9.8 9.4 35 to 39 years................ 22.9 24.0 22.3 22.9 21.3 20.5 40 to 44 years................ 30.4 31.8 31.2 30.2 28.5 28.4 45 to 49 years................ 38.1 38.4 41.4 37.0 36.2 36.9 50 to 54 years................ 45.8 44.6 45.8 44.8 44.1 43.6 55 to 59 years................ 52.1 49.2 52.5 49.9 48.4 49.1 60 to 64 years................ 52.7 53.0 53.6 52.6 51.0 48.7 65 years and over............. 47.2 47.7 51.0 49.7 50.7 49.9 NOTE: Data for 1996 and 1998 are based on population controls from the 1990 census. Data beginning in 2000 reflect the introduction of Census 2000 population controls and are not strictly comparable with data for prior years. Some data in this table may vary slightly from the data published in the Employee Tenure 2004 news release (USDL 04-1829) due to recalculation of the estimates with the new population controls. In addition, data for January 2004 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2003 and 2004, and data for January 2006 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and 2006. Table 3. Distribution of employed wage and salary workers by tenure with current employer, age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, January 2006 Percent distribution by tenure with current employer Age, sex, race, and Number Hispanic or Latino employed ethnicity (in thousands) 12 13 to 3 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 15 to 20 Total months 23 2 years years years 14 19 years or less months years years or more TOTAL 16 years and over..... 125,668 100.0 24.4 7.0 5.2 16.9 20.9 9.5 6.7 9.4 16 to 19 years........... 5,563 100.0 75.1 10.5 7.2 6.8 .4 - - - 20 years and over........ 120,105 100.0 22.0 6.8 5.1 17.4 21.9 9.9 7.0 9.8 20 to 24 years......... 13,083 100.0 50.4 12.5 10.2 19.4 7.5 (1) - - 25 to 34 years......... 28,392 100.0 28.8 9.3 6.8 23.4 25.3 5.6 .8 (1) 35 to 44 years......... 30,466 100.0 18.6 6.2 4.6 17.2 26.1 13.7 9.3 4.4 45 to 54 years......... 28,845 100.0 13.5 4.6 3.2 14.0 21.7 12.7 11.1 19.2 55 to 64 years......... 15,619 100.0 11.4 3.9 2.6 12.9 19.7 12.7 11.3 25.5 65 years and over...... 3,699 100.0 10.4 3.1 2.8 12.6 22.6 12.8 10.3 25.4 Men 16 years and over..... 65,212 100.0 23.9 6.8 5.3 16.7 20.7 9.6 6.6 10.3 16 to 19 years........... 2,696 100.0 74.1 9.9 8.3 7.2 .4 - - - 20 years and over........ 62,516 100.0 21.8 6.7 5.2 17.2 21.5 10.0 6.8 10.8 20 to 24 years......... 6,840 100.0 49.7 12.0 10.2 20.8 7.3 .1 - - 25 to 34 years......... 15,477 100.0 28.0 9.1 7.2 22.8 25.9 6.0 1.0 (1) 35 to 44 years......... 16,184 100.0 17.9 5.8 4.5 16.5 25.5 14.9 9.8 5.1 45 to 54 years......... 14,392 100.0 13.0 4.3 3.1 13.0 20.6 12.5 11.3 22.2 55 to 64 years......... 7,750 100.0 11.6 4.1 3.0 12.8 18.5 11.7 9.5 28.8 65 years and over...... 1,873 100.0 10.7 3.4 3.0 12.4 23.3 12.4 8.9 25.9 Women 16 years and over..... 60,456 100.0 24.9 7.2 5.0 17.2 21.2 9.3 6.8 8.4 16 to 19 years........... 2,867 100.0 76.0 11.1 6.2 6.4 .3 - - - 20 years and over........ 57,589 100.0 22.4 7.0 5.0 17.7 22.2 9.8 7.2 8.8 20 to 24 years......... 6,243 100.0 51.2 13.0 10.2 17.8 7.7 - - - 25 to 34 years......... 12,915 100.0 29.8 9.5 6.5 24.0 24.6 5.2 .5 - 35 to 44 years......... 14,282 100.0 19.3 6.8 4.7 17.9 26.7 12.3 8.8 3.6 45 to 54 years......... 14,453 100.0 14.0 4.9 3.4 14.9 22.8 13.0 10.8 16.2 55 to 64 years......... 7,870 100.0 11.1 3.6 2.3 13.1 20.9 13.6 13.2 22.2 65 years and over...... 1,826 100.0 10.0 2.7 2.6 12.8 22.0 13.2 11.7 25.0 White 16 years and over.... 102,900 100.0 24.0 6.9 5.1 16.8 20.9 9.7 6.9 9.8 Men...................... 54,241 100.0 23.4 6.7 5.1 16.6 20.7 9.9 6.9 10.8 Women.................... 48,659 100.0 24.6 7.2 5.0 17.0 21.1 9.4 6.9 8.7 Black or African American 16 years and over.... 14,265 100.0 26.2 6.6 5.7 17.2 21.1 8.4 6.5 8.2 Men...................... 6,501 100.0 26.4 6.7 6.4 17.8 19.8 8.6 5.5 8.9 Women.................... 7,764 100.0 26.1 6.6 5.1 16.7 22.2 8.2 7.5 7.7 Asian 16 years and over.... 5,463 100.0 23.7 8.3 5.8 19.0 22.5 9.9 4.3 6.4 Men...................... 2,941 100.0 23.1 9.0 6.2 17.5 24.9 9.3 3.5 6.5 Women.................... 2,522 100.0 24.5 7.4 5.3 20.7 19.8 10.7 5.2 6.4 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 16 years and over.... 17,741 100.0 30.1 6.5 7.3 20.2 20.3 7.2 4.6 3.7 Men...................... 10,550 100.0 29.7 6.0 7.7 20.5 20.5 7.4 4.7 3.5 Women.................... 7,191 100.0 30.6 7.3 6.8 19.7 20.1 7.0 4.4 4.1 1 Less than 0.05 percent. NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and 2006. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Table 4. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers 25 years and over by educational attainment, sex, and age, January 2006 25 years and over Educational attainment and sex Total 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years years years years and over Total.......................... 4.9 2.9 4.9 7.3 9.3 8.8 Less than a high school diploma.... 3.8 2.4 3.7 5.1 6.6 7.1 High school graduates, no college........................... 5.0 3.0 4.8 6.9 9.0 9.2 Some college, no degree............ 4.9 2.7 4.9 7.9 8.0 9.5 Associate degree................... 5.3 3.2 5.4 7.4 9.5 8.4 College graduates.................. 5.1 3.0 5.1 8.2 10.4 9.5 Bachelor's degree................ 4.9 3.0 5.1 7.9 9.9 9.5 Master's degree.................. 5.6 3.2 5.3 9.1 10.6 7.4 Doctoral or professional degree.......................... 5.9 2.0 4.9 8.0 14.2 15.3 Men............................ 5.0 2.9 5.1 8.1 9.5 8.3 Less than a high school diploma.... 4.0 2.5 4.0 6.0 6.5 8.6 High school graduates, no college........................... 5.0 3.1 5.1 7.4 8.1 7.7 Some college, no degree............ 5.0 2.7 5.5 9.0 8.3 7.9 Associate degree................... 5.5 3.4 5.8 9.3 9.8 11.6 College graduates.................. 5.3 3.0 5.2 8.8 11.1 8.4 Bachelor's degree................ 5.1 3.1 5.3 8.6 10.4 7.5 Master's degree.................. 5.6 2.8 5.3 8.6 10.2 7.4 Doctoral or professional degree.......................... 7.5 2.0 5.1 9.2 14.8 17.2 Women.......................... 4.8 2.8 4.6 6.7 9.2 9.5 Less than a high school diploma.... 3.6 1.8 3.2 4.3 6.6 6.7 High school graduates, no college........................... 5.0 2.8 4.5 6.4 9.6 10.0 Some college, no degree............ 4.8 2.7 4.5 7.2 7.9 10.0 Associate degree................... 5.1 2.9 5.1 6.6 8.8 7.4 College graduates.................. 4.9 3.0 5.0 7.6 10.1 10.1 Bachelor's degree................ 4.7 2.9 5.0 7.2 9.6 13.3 Master's degree.................. 5.6 3.3 5.3 9.6 11.6 7.3 Doctoral or professional degree.......................... 4.7 1.9 4.6 6.0 11.4 10.7 NOTE: Data reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and January 2006. Table 5. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by industry, selected years, 2000-06 Industry February January January January 2000 2002 2004 2006 Total, 16 years and over............................... 3.5 3.7 4.0 4.0 Private sector........................................... 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6 Agriculture and related industries..................... 3.7 4.2 3.7 3.8 Nonagricultural industries............................. 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6 Mining............................................... 4.8 4.5 5.2 3.8 Construction......................................... 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 Manufacturing........................................ 4.9 5.4 5.8 5.5 Durable goods manufacturing........................ 4.8 5.5 6.0 5.6 Nonmetallic mineral products..................... 5.5 5.3 4.8 5.0 Primary metals and fabricated metal products..... 5.0 6.3 6.4 6.2 Machinery manufacturing.......................... 5.3 6.8 6.4 6.6 Computers and electronic products................ 3.9 4.7 5.2 5.9 Electrical equipment and appliances.............. 5.0 5.5 9.8 6.2 Transportation equipment......................... 6.4 7.0 7.7 7.2 Wood products.................................... 3.7 4.3 5.0 4.7 Furniture and fixtures........................... 4.4 4.7 4.7 4.2 Miscellaneous manufacturing...................... 3.7 4.5 4.6 3.9 Nondurable goods manufacturing..................... 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.4 Food manufacturing............................... 4.6 5.0 4.9 5.2 Beverage and tobacco products.................... 5.5 4.6 8.0 5.4 Textiles, apparel, and leather................... 4.7 5.0 5.0 4.4 Paper and printing............................... 5.1 6.2 6.9 6.3 Petroleum and coal products...................... 9.5 9.8 11.4 5.0 Chemicals........................................ 6.0 5.7 5.3 6.1 Plastics and rubber products..................... 4.6 5.3 5.7 5.0 Wholesale and retail trade........................... 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.1 Wholesale trade.................................... 3.9 3.9 4.3 4.6 Retail trade....................................... 2.5 2.6 2.8 2.8 Transportation and utilities......................... 4.7 4.9 5.3 4.9 Transportation and warehousing..................... 4.0 4.3 4.7 4.3 Utilities.......................................... 11.5 13.4 13.3 10.4 Information (1)...................................... 3.4 3.3 4.3 4.8 Publishing, except Internet........................ 4.2 4.8 4.7 5.3 Motion picture and sound recording industries...... 1.6 2.3 2.2 1.9 Broadcasting, except Internet...................... 3.6 3.1 4.0 4.6 Telecommunications................................. 4.3 3.4 4.6 5.3 Financial activities................................. 3.5 3.6 3.9 4.0 Finance and insurance.............................. 3.6 3.9 4.1 4.1 Finance.......................................... 3.3 3.6 4.0 3.9 Insurance........................................ 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.7 Real estate and rental and leasing................. 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.4 Real estate...................................... 3.1 3.2 3.5 3.5 Rental and leasing services...................... 3.0 2.2 2.9 3.1 Professional and business services................... 2.4 2.7 3.2 3.2 Professional and technical services................ 2.6 3.1 3.6 3.8 Management, administrative, and waste services (1). 2.0 2.1 2.6 2.5 Administrative and support services.............. 1.8 1.9 2.4 2.4 Waste management and remediation services........ 3.6 4.3 3.4 4.1 Education and health services........................ 3.4 3.5 3.6 4.0 Educational services............................... 3.2 3.6 3.8 4.0 Health care and social assistance.................. 3.5 3.5 3.6 4.1 Hospitals........................................ 5.1 4.9 4.7 5.2 Health services, except hospitals................ 3.2 3.1 3.3 3.6 Social assistance................................ 2.4 2.5 2.8 3.1 Leisure and hospitality.............................. 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.9 Arts, entertainment, and recreation................ 2.6 2.3 2.8 3.1 Accommodation and food services.................... 1.5 1.6 1.9 1.6 Accommodation.................................... 2.8 2.7 3.1 2.5 Food services and drinking places................ 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.4 Other services....................................... 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.2 Other services, except private households.......... 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.3 Repair and maintenance........................... 3.0 3.0 3.2 2.9 Personal and laundry services.................... 2.7 2.8 3.4 2.8 Membership associations and organizations........ 4.0 4.1 3.9 4.2 Other services, private households................. 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.8 Public sector............................................ 7.1 6.7 6.9 6.9 Federal government..................................... 11.5 11.3 10.4 9.9 State government....................................... 5.5 5.4 6.4 6.3 Local government....................................... 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.6 1 Includes other industries, not shown separately. NOTE: Data for January 2004 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2003 and 2004. Data for January 2006 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and 2006. Table 6. Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by occupation, selected years, 2000-06 Occupation February January January January 2000 2002 2004 2006 Total, 16 years and over............................. 3.5 3.7 4.0 4.0 Management, professional, and related occupations....... 4.6 4.6 5.0 5.2 Management, business, and financial operations occupations.......................................... 4.9 5.2 5.5 5.5 Management occupations............................. 5.3 5.6 6.0 6.0 Business and financial operations occupations...... 4.0 4.2 4.5 4.7 Professional and related occupations.................. 4.4 4.2 4.7 5.0 Computer and mathematical occupations.............. 3.1 3.2 4.8 4.8 Architecture and engineering occupations........... 4.8 5.2 5.8 6.5 Life, physical, and social science occupations..... 4.6 4.3 4.2 4.7 Community and social services occupations.......... 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.7 Legal occupations.................................. 3.9 4.5 4.1 5.0 Education, training, and library occupations....... 5.4 4.8 5.1 5.3 Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations....................................... 3.2 3.0 3.6 3.6 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations....................................... 4.6 4.3 4.5 4.8 Service occupations..................................... 2.5 2.4 2.8 2.8 Healthcare support occupations........................ 2.8 2.5 2.9 3.1 Protective service occupations........................ 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.5 Food preparation and serving related occupations...... 1.6 1.5 1.8 1.8 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations.......................................... 3.4 3.0 3.3 3.7 Personal care and service occupations................. 2.3 2.3 2.7 2.4 Sales and office occupations............................ 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.4 Sales and related occupations......................... 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.8 Office and administrative support occupations......... 3.4 3.6 4.0 4.1 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations............................................ 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.5 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations............ 2.8 4.0 3.7 3.6 Construction and extraction occupations............... 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations..... 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.6 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations............................................ 3.9 4.3 4.2 4.0 Production occupations................................ 4.5 5.2 5.0 4.8 Transportation and material moving occupations........ 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.3 NOTE: Data for January 2004 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2003 and 2004. Data for January 2006 reflect the introduction of revisions to population controls in January 2005 and 2006.