Decline of the company man - job tenure statistics

American Demographics, April, 1997 by Diane Crispell

If you're a man, your chances of retiring with that gold watch celebrating umpteen years of devoted service are getting slimmer, Men aren't sticking with jobs as long as they used to. Women are holding more or less steady.

In 1983, half of men aged 45 to 54 had been with the same employer for more than 13 years, according to an analysis of Current Population Survey data by the Washington D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). By 1996, median tenure for men this age was down to ten years. For women the same age, 1996 median tenure was shorter than men's, at seven years, but no shorter than it had been in 1983.

Tenure is highest for older men, but even those in the last decade of their work life are spending fewer years with their last employer. Men aged 55 to 64 had been with their current employer for a median of 12 years in 1996, down from a peak of 17 years in 1983. Women aged 55 to 64 saw just a slight decline over the same period, from 10.5 years to 10.0.

Despite recent declines, today's tenure levels are not the lowest on record. In 1951, half of 35-to-44-year-old men had been with their current jobs for less than five years, compared with six years in 1996. Of course, in the five or so years before 1951, millions of average men and women were just finishing up stints with one particular employer -- Uncle Sam.

EBRI will investigate the implications of tenure on workers' economic security in a future study. The preliminary trend analysis of tenure by sex and age is available by calling (202) 659-0670; it is also posted on EBRI's web site at http://www.ebri.org.