Average length people stay at jobs

By Metro Creative

According to a 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of baby boomers, the average number of jobs held in a lifetime is 12. Women spend slightly less time in companies than men.

In its 2018 Employee Tenure Summary, the BLS reported that the median tenure for women is 4 years and 4.3 for men. However, women hold nearly as many jobs as men across their careers, despite some taking time off to raise children. Comparatively, women hold 12.1 jobs to men’s 12.5.

Certain industries lend themselves to higher rates of tenure. Federal government employees, for example, have long rates of tenure, while the shortest average tenure belongs to workers in the leisure and hospitality sector, according to the career experts at Zippia.

Columbia College Calgary reports similar trends in Canada, where the average individual has about 15 jobs in a lifetime. Studies suggest that Canadians in Generation Y tend to hold positions for 2.7 years, Generation X at 3.4 years, and Baby Boomers for 12 years.

— Metro Creative